East Valley News: Body Discovered at Elementary School; Man Shot in Sylmar

Editor's note: These are Police/Fire stories from areas the San Fernando Valley east of the 405 Freeway not covered by Patch. Check North Hollywood-Toluca Lake Patch, Studio City Patch and Sherman Oaks Patch for new in those areas.

Sylmar

A man in his 20s suffered a lower body wound Thursday in a possibly gang-related shooting in Sylmar, police said.

The shooting was reported around 12:50 a.m. in the parking lot of an apartment complex at 14155 Foothill Blvd., said Lt. Robert Rivers of the Los Angeles Police Department's Mission Station.

The victim, who was taken to a hospital for treatment, claimed no gang affiliation, but Rivers said the shooter was possibly a gang member. No description of the suspect was immediately available, however.

Lake View Terrace

The body of a woman who apparently committed suicide was found this morning on the grounds of a Lake View Terrace elementary school, police said.

The body was discovered at Brainard Avenue Elementary School at 11407 Brainard Ave. about 7:15 a.m., said Officer Rosario Herrera, a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman.

"It was an apparent suicide," she said.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Matt Spence said, "Our paramedics responded to a call at that location at 7:17 a.m. but there was no (ambulance) transport from the scene."

The woman's name was withheld pending family notification. How the woman killed herself was not immediately revealed.

Van Nuys

There were five reports of identity theft in Van Nuys in a three-day span, police said Thursday.

The thefts were reported between Monday and Wednesday in the 4300 block of Mammoth Avenue, 13700 block of Valley Vista Boulevard, 13400 block of Moorpark Street, 14900 block of Dickens Street and 3500 block of Camino de la Cumbre.

Credit card information seems to be just one of the items being stolen, police said.

Officers suggest people take special care to deliver any important outgoing mail directly to their mail carrier or post office.

Burbank

A jury this week rejected a lawsuit brought by a Burbank police officer who alleged she was discriminated against when she became pregnant and was later the victim of retaliation.

Officer Cindy Guillen-Gomez's attorney had argued that his client deserved up to $530,000, most of it for emotional distress.

Outside the courtroom after the verdict, lawyer Solomon Gresen he said he was disappointed with the panel's decision.

"In light of he unsuccessful jury verdict, I'm worried that she might suffer more retaliation," he said.

The panel deliberated part of Friday afternoon and this morning before finding in favor of the city.

Gresen told jurors the Burbank Police Department did not follow the city's own policies with its allegedly discriminatory and retaliatory conduct toward Guillen-Gomez.

But attorney Linda Miller Savitt, arguing on behalf of the city, denied the officer was treated differently as an expectant mother.

"She was not discriminated against because she was pregnant," Savitt said, describing Guillen-Gomez as someone who was "looking for problems; not being objective."

Guillen-Gomez was hired by the BPD in 2000 and became pregnant in 2007. She alleges she was ridiculed, and that she was reprimanded for not complying with the department's height-to-weight ratio.

Guillen-Gomez tried to transfer to the Newport Beach Police Department, but was unsuccessful because her employer retaliated against her for taking maternity leave by telling the NBPD's background investigator that she was a "cancer" in her own department and that she had "anger management issues," according to her court papers.

Guillen-Gomez was among several officers who filed a joint lawsuit against the city in May 2009, alleging they were subjected to disparate treatment. She also filed a complaint that month with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Savitt said Guillen-Gomez's emotional distress is likely attributable in part to a difficult pregnancy. She also said the officer did not seek counseling offered to department members when Officer Matthew Pavelka became the first BPD member killed in the line of duty in 83 years when he was shot to death in November 2003.

Guillen-Gomez is still with the BPD and is the department's spokeswoman with the Spanish-language media.