AROUND THE VALLEY.

MISSION HILLS

Paparazzi chasing Spears arrested

Four paparazzi were arrested on suspicion of reckless driving while chasing Britney Spears in the Valley.

Los Angeles police Lt. Mario Munoz said officers observed several cars following a white Mercedes-Benz about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday in Mission Hills.The cars were following the car too closely, traveling at unsafe speed and made several unsafe lane changes.

Munoz said officers stopped the Mercedes, interviewed Spears and released her after verifying her license.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD

Charges are filed in dental lab case

The operator of a dental lab in North Hollywood is one of four men charged with practicing dentistry without a license, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

Francisco Antonio Padilla, 48, the operator of a lab on Oxnard Street, is charged with two counts of practicing dentistry without a license, one count of operating a business furnishing or dispensing dangerous drugs, and one count of unlawfully possessing a hypodermic needle.

The charges were filed after undercover officers from the Health Authority Law Enforcement Task Force, acting on anonymous tips, visited four labs, posed as patients with toothaches, were examined by the suspected unlicensed dentist, diagnosed and recommended to have the aching tooth extracted, according to Frank Mateljan of the City Attorney's Office.

After each appointment, search warrants were obtained, leading to confiscation of pharmaceuticals, dental supplies and equipment, along with syringes at two offices, Mateljan said.

ENCINO

Graffiti on wall may be hate crime

Los Angeles police are investigating the spray-painting of anti-Semitic graffiti in four spots along a two-mile-long wall in Encino as a possible hate crime, authorities said Thursday.

The vandalism was reported about 8:10 a.m. Thursday. The images were painted on a wall along Wells Drive between Tampa and Louise avenues.

CANOGA PARK

Man arrested in shooting of woman

A 23-year-old man who allegedly shot a woman in Canoga Park on Thursday morning was captured by Fontana police later in the day, police said.

The shooting took place about 10:30 a.m. in the 20900 block of Gresham Street after an argument broke out between a man identified as Michael Bekele and a friend at her residence, said Officer Jason Lee, an LAPD spokesman.

The woman, whose name was not released, was shot in the leg and will recover, Lee said. After the shooting, police set up a perimeter near Arch Drive and Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, where they believed Bekele might have gone, Lee said.

About 4 p.m., Fontana police officers notified the Los Angeles Police Department that they had arrested Bekele there.

-- Staff and Wire Services