By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
Tracking this week’s cases in Los Angeles County Superior Court
Windsor Hills crash trial finally reaches opening statements
Los Angeles County District Attorney (DA) Nathan J. Hochman‘s office presented opening statements Tuesday in the long-awaited trial of Nicole Linton, the driver charged with six counts of murder in the August 2022 fiery crash that killed six people, including a pregnant woman, at the intersection of La Brea and Slauson Avenues in Windsor Hills.
Linton allegedly ran a red light at high speed in her Mercedes-Benz, slamming into multiple vehicles and igniting a fireball that killed Asherey Ryan, her unborn child, her boyfriend Reynold Lester, and three members of another family, Nathesia Lewis and her children Alexis and Dean.
Prosecutors have argued Linton was under the influence at the time of the crash, while her defense has previously raised questions about her mental state. The trial, which has faced years of delays, is now underway.
Deputy District Attorney Antonella Nistorescu of the DTAPS/Major Crimes Division is prosecuting the case.
Serial arson suspect faces possible death penalty in fatal Hollywood fires
The Los Angeles DA’s office is moving forward with capital murder charges against a man accused of setting a string of fires across Hollywood earlier this year, one of which killed two elderly sisters in their own home.
Jovan Lamar Duverne, 39, is charged with two counts of murder and 11 counts of felony arson after allegedly igniting fires at 10 separate Hollywood locations between Jan. 26 and Feb. 4, using a handheld torch-style lighter to set rubbish and structures ablaze as he walked between sites, according to the DA’s office.
One of those fires, set around 2 a.m. on Feb. 4, killed 76-year-old Maria Del Consuelo Alarcon-Valdez and her 82-year-old sister, Yolanda Honda, inside their home.
Duverne faces a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, along with sentencing enhancements tied to a prior arson conviction and a second-strike allegation. He was arrested the same day near Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Place and remains held without bail.
“Setting fires anywhere is reckless and extraordinarily dangerous, but deliberately igniting multiple fires in a residential community shows a shocking disregard for human life. We allege this defendant went on a dangerous arson spree across Hollywood that ultimately claimed the lives of two elderly sisters inside their home,” said Hochman.
If convicted as charged, Duverne faces a possible death sentence or life in prison without parole; prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek execution.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec of the Arson and Explosives Section is prosecuting the case, which the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division investigated with assistance from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Arson Counter Terrorism Section.
Man charged in killing spree targeting unhoused Angelenos still in proceedings
Los Angeles County prosecutors continue moving forward against a man accused of fatally shooting three unhoused men as they slept on city streets, along with a fourth victim killed during a separate home-invasion robbery, in a case that first shocked the county nearly three years ago.
Jerrid Joseph Powell is charged with four counts of murder, one count of residential robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm, facing special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder during a robbery.
According to police accounts at the time, Powell allegedly approached three sleeping unhoused men in separate incidents over a four-day span in late November 2023 and shot each one, before separately following a Los Angeles County IT project manager home from an EV charging station and killing him during a robbery at his San Dimas garage.
Investigators said surveillance footage and a recovered firearm linked Powell to all four killings.
Deputy District Attorney Antonella Nistorescu of the Major Crimes Division is prosecuting the case.
Man held to answer on hate crime charge in Pico-Robertson synagogue attack
The Los Angeles DA’s office is prosecuting a South Los Angeles man accused of attacking a Jewish man walking home from synagogue earlier this year, in a case that comes up for a preliminary hearing setting Friday, the same day Rosh Hashanah begins.
Semaj De Leone James, 21, is charged with one felony count of violation of civil rights by force after allegedly following the victim by van into an alley near Adas Torah synagogue in Pico-Robertson around 9:50 p.m. on April 27, then attacking him without warning, according to the DA’s office.
The victim told NBC Los Angeles his attacker yelled “Free Palestine” during the assault. A judge released James on his own recognizance over prosecutors’ objections, citing a recent California Supreme Court ruling, and ordered him to stay away from the incident location.
“Attacking someone because of their faith is not just a crime against one person, it’s an assault on our community. When individuals commit crimes motivated by prejudice or intolerance, they must answer for the harm they’ve caused. Every person has a fundamental civil right to worship freely without being harassed, attacked or threatened,” Hochman told the Beverly Press & Park Labrea News.
ADL Los Angeles Senior Regional Director David Englin welcomed the charges, noting the organization’s 2025 audit found antisemitic assaults in the LA region rose 22% over the prior year, according to the Beverly Press.
Deputy District Attorney Daniel Linehan of the Airport Branch Office is prosecuting the case, which remains under LAPD investigation.
Two unlicensed contractors accused of targeting Eaton Fire victims return to court
The Los Angeles DA’s office continues prosecuting two men accused of illegally posing as licensed contractors to prey on Eaton Fire survivors, part of a broader crackdown tied to Supervisor Kathryn Barger‘s push to protect fire victims from rebuilding scams.
Guillermo Ramirez, 54, of Pomona, and Edgar Geovanni Lopez Revolorio, 42, of Arleta, each face a felony count of contracting without a license during a declared state of emergency, accused of offering unlicensed construction services in the Eaton Fire disaster zone on Oct. 8, 2025.
Both were among five men originally charged in the case following an undercover sting conducted with the Contractors State License Board; prosecutors allege Ramirez has two prior felony convictions, including a prior strike. Both pleaded not guilty and were ordered not to act as contractors or advertise construction services without a license while the case proceeds.
“My office is cracking down on criminal contractors who prey on residents who have already lost so much and cannot afford to lose more,” said Hochman at a December news conference held at a fire-damaged Altadena property, according to Pasadena Now.
Barger, whose district includes Altadena, joined Hochman at the announcement. Deputy District Attorney Alice Kurs of the Consumer Protection Division is prosecuting both cases.
