Weird West Adams crime bus tour November 5, 2011

Explore L.A. crime lore with LAVA's Phil Spector / Cold Case / Weird West Adams weekend

EVENT #1: Saturday, November 5, 12-4pm - Esotouric presents "Weird West Adams" crime bus tour (departs from Benny H. Potter West Adams Avenues Memorial Park, 2413 2nd Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90018, $58/person)
INFO/RESERVATIONS: http://esotouric.com/westadams-11-5-11

EVENT #2: Sunday, November 6, 12-4pm - Professor Donald Johnson, in association with LAVA and Esotouric, presents a fundraiser lecture/tour benefiting the CSULA Criminalistics graduate department "Deep Identifications: Using National Evidence Databases To Solve Local Crimes" (at The Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center at Cal State L.A., 1800 Paseo Rancho Castilla, Los Angeles, CA 90032, $36.50/person)
INFO/RESERVATIONS: http://lavatransforms.org/crimelabnov6

LOS ANGELES - There's just something special about the notorious crimes of Los Angeles, the way they resonate in the consciousness, and continue to fascinate years after the fact. In November, LAVA – The Los Angeles Visionaries Association, dedicates a weekend to uncovering the reality behind some of the city's most compelling and unusual murder stories.

These two remarkable events – Esotouric's historic Weird West Adams crime bus tour exploring the criminal lore of a grand old neighborhood, and a crime lab tour and lecture featuring the true stories of crime investigation from working L.A. Sheriff's Department forensic scientists, Criminalist Dale Falicon and DNA Tech Lead/CODIS Administrator Steve Renteria. The program offers an opportunity to get behind the headlines and the hype and explore fascinating true crime cases with a depth and seriousness rarely offered to the public. This LAVA weekend is a must for intelligent crime aficionados and those with a passion for the untold stories of Los Angeles.

ABOUT ESOTOURIC'S WEIRD WEST ADAMS TOUR: On this guided tour through the Beverly Hills of the early 20th Century, Crime Bus passengers thrill as Jazz Age bootleggers run amok, marvel at the Krazy Kafitz family's litany of murder-suicides, attempted husband slayings, Byzantine estate battles and mad bombings, visit the shortest street in Los Angeles (15' long Powers Place, with its magnificent views of the mansions of Alvarado Terrace), discover which fabulous mansion was once transformed into a functioning whiskey factory using every room in the house, and stroll the haunted paths of Rosedale Cemetery, site of notable burials (May K. Rindge, the mother of Malibu) and odd graveside crimes. Featured players include the most famous dwarf in Hollywood, mass suicide ringleader Reverend Jim Jones, wacky millionaires who can't control their automobiles, human mole bank robbers, comically inept fumigators, kids trapped in tar pits, and dozens of other unusual and fascinating denizens of early Los Angeles.

There are even some celebrity sites along the route, including the death scenes of Motown soul sensation Marvin Gaye and 1920s star Angels baseball catcher Gus Sandberg. And the architecture too is to die for, as the Crime Bus rolls down the elegant streets of old West Adams, lined with gay mansions, adorable bungalows and signs of a century's decay which only enhance the neighborhood's charm. Passengers on this eye-opening, funny and informative tour will forever see the West Adams district in a new light. It is highly recommended for natives and newcomers alike, crime and history buffs and anyone who likes to seek out the unexpected.

ABOUT LAVA'S CRIME LAB EVENT: The November 6 event “Deep Identifications: Using National Evidence Databases To Solve Local Crimes” is a fundraiser for the Criminalistics graduate department at Cal State L.A., the latest in a series of events at the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center at Cal State L.A.

Deep Identifications: Using National Evidence Databases To Solve Local Crimes” consists of one crime investigation lecture by LASD Criminalist Dale Falicon, a two-part crime investigation lecture by LASD DNA Tech Lead/CODIS Administrator Steve Renteria, and related breakout scientific workshops offering illustration of the concepts raised by Mr. Falicon’s investigations.

LECTURE #1 is Dale Falicon’s presentation on his role in a fascinating “cold case” investigation, the 2003 closure of a 1957 double homicide, resulting from the arrest and conviction of Gerald Mason. Mason, a transient, kidnapped four teenagers in Hawthorne, stripped them, raped one and stole their car. Pulled over about 1:30am at Rosecrans and Sepulveda for a routine traffic stop by El Segundo PD officers Richard Phillips and Milton Curtis, Mason shot and killed both men. Mason fled the scene and a 48-hour manhunt followed. No substantial leads were found, and the case remained cold until September 2002, when a deathbed confession (soon proved false) renewed El Segundo’s interest in the investigation. ESPD asked the LASD to re-examine the existing evidence in the hope that new clues would be discovered. Investigators turned to the evidence collected at the scene to see if modern crime investigation techniques could do something that was impossible at the time of the murders. Dale’s work with a composite fingerprint taken from two partial fingerprints resulted in a positive match against the recently introduced “IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System)”, and the name of a convicted felon: Gerald Mason. Tracked down in Columbia, South Carolina, Mason confessed to the crime and was imprisoned for two life terms. He had been a law-abiding citizen in decades since the crime, and was a wealthy retiree respected in his community.

LECTURE #2 is Steve Renteria’s presentation on his use of DNA evidence in two remarkable murder cases, and the provocative questions that were raised. Case #1 is the Phil Spector / Lana Clarkson murder investigation. Questions raised include: should DNA technology be used to answer questions which are not actually an issue in a specific crime scene purely to counter the impact of “The CSI Effect” on the jury? When should common sense take precedence over what the professionals think the jury needs to hear? Case #2 concerns the death of “Christina,” a woman kidnapped from an ATM and killed by her captors. Questions raised include: should crime labs apply an assembly-line approach for all cases in order to maximize numbers of samples tested? Why does each case and each item of evidence need special attention in order to get the most information possible?

By the afternoon’s conclusion, attendees will have a deeper understanding of the real work that’s done in the field by criminalists, and the tools and techniques used to interpret crime scenes for the benefit of investigating officers and juries. Come discover the reality, so different from and so much more interesting than, what you’ve seen on TV.

ABOUT LAVA: Through participation in LAVA, a select group of creative professionals come together to promote cultural programming that speaks to the urban experience while promoting positive public space. LAVA's creative partners share a love for L.A. and unique ideas for exploring it in their work. Formed by social historians RICHARD SCHAVE and KIM COOPER -- proprietors of Esotouric bus adventures and the 1947project time travel blog series (including On Bunker Hill and In SRO Land) -- LAVA brings together L.A.'s most visionary promoters, artists, writers and thinkers. The first crop of Visionaries in the growing curated community includes cultural chronicler ADRIENNE CREW, artist and Eastside historian AL GUERRERO, Cacophony Society co-founder AL RIDENOUR, avant garde fashion maven A. LAURA BRODY, poet/publisher ALEIDA RODRIGUEZ, back-to-nature pioneer ALICIA BAY LAUREL, filmmaker ALLISON ANDERS, writer/curator ALLON SCHOENER, designer/mom of Chicken Boy AMY INOUYE, custom tours maven ANNE BLOCK, documentarian/radio producer ANTHEA RAYMOND, author/gallerist APRIL DAMMANN, pop culture historian BECKY EBENKAMP, ethnomusicologist BETO GONZALEZ, puppeteer BOB BAKER, tile historian BRIAN KAISER, producer/promoter CHRISTIAN VOLTAIRE MEOLI, cultural events programmer CHRISTINA GALANTE, musician COUNT SMOKULA, performance artist CRIMEBO THE CLOWN, writer/Libros Schmibros proprietor DAVID KIPEN, sculptor DONALD GIALANELLA, forensic scientist/educator DONALD JOHNSON, author/educator DOROTHY RANDALL GRAY, artist ELENA MARY SIFF, documentarian ELIJAH DRENNER, conversation curator ERIC VOLLMER, social connector EVONNE HEYNING, musician/performance artist FEATHERBEARD, photographer GARY LEONARD, pop critic/outsider artist GENE SCULATTI, musician/artist GEORGE EARTH, songsmith HARVEY SID FISHER, theater director HOLLY WITHAM, musician/writer IAN WHITCOMB, artist JASON HADLEY, food blogger JAVIER CABRAL, musician JEFF BOYNTON, urban explorer (Ranger) JENNY PRICE, filmmaker JEREMY KASTEN, musician JIMI CABEZA DE VACA, social historian JOAN RENNER, writer/artist JOE OESTERLE, writer JOHN BUNTIN, filmmaker JON ALLOWAY, documentarian JOHN DULLAGHAN, Musso & Frank co-owner JORDAN JONES, performance artist JULES ROCHIELLE, curator JULIE RICO, "Kristin's List" cultural chronicler KRISTIN BEDFORD, songstress/prognosticator MADAME PAMITA, esoteric scholar MAJA D'AOUST, author/broadcaster MANNY PACHECO, performer McCRISTOL HARRIS, visual artist MELVIN HALE, journalist MICHAEL LINDER, photographic archivist MICHAEL RISNER, poet/dancer MONA JEAN CEDAR, architectural historian NATHAN MARSAK, writer NEAL POLLOCK, theater director NICHOLAS HOSKING, L.A. Historic Theater Foundation rep NICK MATONAK, music producer NO'A WINTER LAZERUS, musician OCTAVIUS, writer /photographer /musician PAUL KOUDOUNARIS, peace activist PAUL NUGENT of the Aetherius Society, 3-D photography expert RAY 3D ZONE, historic ghost seeker RICHARD CARRADINE, artist/musician RICH POLYSORBATE 60, filmmaker/preservationist ROSS LIPMAN, singer-songwriter RUTHANN FRIEDMAN, ghost hunter SARAH TROOP, social networking mistress SHAWNA DAWSON, painter/gallerist SUSAN DOBAY, artist/writer/activist SUSANNA DAKIN, Warhol star and writer TERE TEREBA, sculptor TOM WALKER, musical entertainer THE UKULADY, and hat designer YASMIN DIXON.

Applications from prospective LAVA members are being taken at http://lavatransforms.org/apply

To learn more about LAVA, please visit http://www.lavatransforms.org

Official Website: http://www.esotouric.com