Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.
—Arleta: A group of thieves is wanted for raiding L.A. locations of GameStop and is possibly connected to as many as eight robberies of expensive gaming merchandise already. An Arleta store was the last to be hit on Monday night. Officials say the thieves pose as customers before pulling off a coordinated heist, typically involving weapons, masks, and physical assaults. That one of the wanted criminals has a skeleton tattoo on the back of their hand. The company is offering a $5,000 reward for their capture. [KTLA]
—Gustavo Dudamel is leaving L.A. for New York, where the 42-year-old Venezuelan conductor will be the new music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic. Dudamel has served as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009. [NPR]
—Lakers star LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time scoring leader on Tuesday night, putting up 38 points in a team loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. James has now surpassed the record of legendary Hall-of-Famer and former Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with many noting today's different style of play and the introduction of the three-point line in 1979. [ESPN]
—Thirty-year-old Jamal “Mookie” Darby was sentenced to 15 years-to-life in state prison for killing 57-year-old Victor Talavera, a Long Beach liquor store clerk, in 2020. after shaking the man off the hood of his car in 2020. Talavera had clung to Darby's hood in an attempt to thwart Darby from stealing items from inside the shop. [LBPT]