Panorama City

A 20-something man shot twice in a gang-related attack in Panorama City was hospitalized today.

The shooting in the 9000 block of Orion Avenue was reported about 2:10 a.m., said Los Angeles police Lt. Robert Rivers of the Mission Station.

Initial reports indicated the shooting may have been associated with a party in the area.

"The man was wounded in the upper torso and lower extremities," Rivers said.

Police withheld the man's name, and no hospital condition was available early today. No immediate arrests were made.

Sylmar

Eight drivers were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving at a Sylmar checkpoint and one vehicle was impounded, police said today.

Police screened nearly 500 vehicles at Foothill Boulevard and Hubbard Street between 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 a.m. today, Sgt. Bill Kelly of the Valley Traffic Division said.

Officers wrote five tickets, he said.

In the case of unlicensed drivers, or drivers caught with a suspended or revoked license, a recent change in state law gave police the option of letting a properly licensed driver, if available, take the vehicle home. Before the change, vehicles seized from unlicensed drivers were almost always towed and impounded for up to 30 days. Then, towing and impound charges sometimes made it impractical to retrieve less valuable cars.

Protesters set up a few blocks away from the police operation, which was paid for via federal highway funds administered by the state Office of Traffic Safety. They advised drivers headed toward the checkpoint that they could turn around to avoid being scrutinized.

Oftentimes, police will stop drivers who appear to be going out of their way to avoid a checkpoint.       

"It sounds like it was quite an event," Kelly said.

Van Nuys

A jury is ready to hear the case against an former Los Angeles police art-theft detective charged with murdering the wife of an ex- boyfriend 26 years ago.

An eight-woman, four-man panel was sworn in Friday after nearly a day of questioning by attorneys in the trial of Stephanie Lazarus. Four men and two women were chosen as alternate jurors.

Judge Robert J. Perry told the jurors to be ready for opening statements Monday.

Lazarus, now 51, is charged with the Feb. 24, 1986, shooting death of 29- year-old Sheri Rasmussen, a hospital nursing director who months earlier had married Lazarus' ex-boyfriend, John Ruetten.

Lazarus was allowed to retire after her June 5, 2009 arrest by Robbery- Homicide detectives police headquarters. She has been jailed since, with bail set at $10 million.

Defense attorney Mark Overland said jurors are "not going to see Stephanie Lazarus walking around the halls" and that it is "going to be clear after a while that she's in custody."

He warned jurors that they will have to examine photos of Rasmussen after she was killed -- which Overland told them are "not pleasant to look at."

The panelists were selected from 84 people who answered questionnaires about the case, whether they had read or heard about it and if they thought it was unfair to prosecute someone more than 20 years after a homicide.

A teacher who knew one of the witnesses expected to be called was dismissed, as was a woman who said she thought there were too many guns on the street.

Rasmussen was found shot and beaten to death by Ruetten on the floor of a Van Nuys condominium they shared. A bite mark was found on an arm, police said.

According to police, the killing was made to look like a break-in.

The defense is expected to take issue with DNA evidence from the bite mark to Lazarus.

Rasmussen's father has said that Lazarus should have been suspected from the start. He said he had been told that his son-in-law had been in a relationship with a police officer who had threatened his daughter.

Police pensions are generally untouchable, even when officers are convicted of serious crimes.

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