Erika Martin is a digital news producer at KTLA.
Erika Martin
Recent Articles
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440-Acre Wildfire Forces Evacuations on Santa Barbara County Coast
A wind-driven brush fire triggered evacuations after breaking out Thursday along the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, authorities said. The flames had also shut down a stretch of the 101 Freeway after they first reported around 4:30 p.m. near the 12000 block of Calle Real, about 13 miles west of Goleta, according to county fire officials. The blaze, being dubbed the Real Fire, covered about 443 acres and was 20% contained Thursday night, fire officials said. #RealInc UPDATE: 443 […]
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Body Recovered From Trunk of Abandoned Car in Anaheim: Police
A tarp-wrapped mass found in the trunk of an abandoned car in Anaheim Thursday proved to be human remains, officials said. California Highway Patrol first notified local police around 10:45 a.m. about a suspicious car parked on Santa Ana Canyon Road, just west of Gypsum Canyon Road and the junction for highways 91 and 241, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt. It’s unclear how long the vehicle had been sitting there. Video from the scene showed the tarp was wrapped […]
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Officials Voice Opposition to Plan to Relocate Violent Sexual Predator to Joshua Tree
Authorities in San Bernardino County said Thursday that they’re fighting against plans to relocate a habitual sex offender to Joshua Tree. Ross Leo Wollschlager, 56, has been convicted in multiple rapes, including that of a 10-year-old girl who was asleep in her family’s home while he was on parole, according to a news release from San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials. Court and inmate records show the violent sexual predator was being held at Coalinga State Hospital in the Central Valley […]
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Saddleridge Fire Now More Than Half Contained as Crews Halt Flames’ Progress
Containment on the Saddleridge Fire rose to 52% Wednesday as firefighters were able to stop the blaze from gaining any ground for the second day in a row. The blaze has stood at 8,391 acres — or about 13 square miles — since Monday night, and crews say they’re taking advantage of favorable conditions to tame the inferno that forced thousands to evacuate and destroyed homes. With the threat of stronger winds returning this weekend, firefighters plan to work overnight […]
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Central Valley Food Plant Worker, Accomplice Accused in Long-Running, Large-Scale Cheese Theft Operation
After a Central Valley food plant uncovered thieves had been pilfering their cheese for years, a monthslong probe ended in the arrest of two men accused of running an operation to sell the product across the state, sometimes even going door-to-door, officials said Wednesday. An investigation was opened Aug. 22, after about $50,000 worth of cheese was stolen from the Leprino Foods Co. plant in Lemoore, according to a news release from Lemoore police. Lemoore sits between Fresno and Bakersfield. […]
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2 Women Arrested, Others at Large After Thieves in Moving Truck Target Commercial Marijuana Grow in Adelanto
Authorities are searching for a handful of suspects who got away after a burglary at a commercial weed growing operation in Adelanto, deputies said Wednesday. The alarm at High Caliber Organics started going off around 2:40 a.m., and within 10 minutes the business’ owner had called authorities to report he saw people inside the facility on remote security cameras, San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials said in a news release. The owner reported seeing about six to eight people who he […]
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Man Who Posed as Uber Driver Sentenced to Life in WeHo, Beverly Hills Sex Assaults
A Los Angeles man was sentenced Wednesday to 29 years to life in state prison after being convicted of picking up women by posing as a driver for ride-hailing apps and sexually assaulting them, prosecutors said. Carlos Omar Pichinte, 42, had pleaded no contest Sept. 17 in a series of four attacks in West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. The crime series included incidents in October 2016 […]
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LAFD Says 107 Structures Damaged or Destroyed in Saddleridge Fire, Shares New Map of Blaze’s Path
Los Angeles fire officials released a map Tuesday showing how the Saddleridge Fire tore its way across the northern San Fernando Valley, consuming homes and vegetation. Authorities now say the blaze damaged 88 structures — up from 58 on Monday — and destroyed another 19 as it seared across Sylmar, Granada Hills and Porter Ranch. The revised structure numbers appeared to be the result of more thorough surveying, since firefighters said the flames gained no acreage Tuesday. As of Tuesday […]
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4.5 Magnitude Quake Rattles Bay Area
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake shook the Bay Area Monday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor hit at about 10:33 p.m. just north of Walnut Creek, about 24 miles east of Oakland, USGS says. The quake originated at a depth of about 9 miles. It was preceded by a 2.5 magnitude foreshock that struck at about 9:23 p.m., officials said. The rattling was not expected to generate a tsunami, the National Weather Service said. There were no immediately […]
