BRIEFLY ARMED MAN SHOT NEAR TACO STAND.

A Los Angeles police officer shot and wounded an armed man in a pickup truck parked near a taco stand in the Hollywood area, officials said Sunday.

Police were sent to the location near Melrose Avenue and Heliotrope Drive around 4:15 a.m. Saturday after a report of a man with a gun.

The officer shot the man once, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said. Their names were not released by the LAPD.

The wounded man was taken to a hospital where he was in stable condition and was expected to survive. The LAPD is investigating the incident.

- Daily News

Popeye's worker jailed in robbery

PALMDALE - A 17-year-old fast-food worker scolded by his boss was arrested on suspicion of helping rob the Palmdale Popeye's where he worked, a sheriff's sergeant said Saturday.

Three masked men, two of them with guns, and the employee robbed the Popeye's at 39462 Trade Center Drive a few minutes before midnight, said Sgt. Anthony Gunn of the sheriff's Palmdale station.

The employee, whose name was withheld because of his age, was told by his boss earlier in the day to shape up or ship out, Gunn said.

After the store closed and employees were shutting down for the night, three robbers believed to be 18-20 years old entered the business through the back door, he said.

The robbers escaped with about $600 from the cash registers, Gunn said.

The employee was later picked up, booked on suspicion of robbery and jailed in Lancaster, he said. No other immediate arrests were made.

- City News Service

Man fatally shot, dumped on road

INDUSTRY - Authorities searched Saturday for whoever fatally shot a man and dumped him onto the Pomona (60) Freeway in Industry.

The victim was found near the Fairway Drive off-ramp about 8:20 p.m. Friday, Deputy Josie Woolum said.

He was identified - through a driver's license - as a 25-year-old Los Angeles resident, but his name was not released, said coroner's acting Lt. Richard Hanna.

The man was dumped on the freeway by a passenger who got out of the car, opened the driver's door, pulled the victim out and put him on the eastbound fast lane, according to a Sheriff's Department statement.

The passenger then got back into the car, which was last seen getting off the freeway at Fairway Drive in Industry, the statement continued.

The vehicle was described as an older-model silver Chevrolet Camaro with a partial license plate of 7HZ. The plate was from outside of California, possibly from Mexico, sheriff's Lt. Jack Jordan told KABC-TV (Channel 7).

- Associated Press

Brown uninjured after hard landing

MALIBU - A helicopter carrying former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown made an emergency landing at an elementary school playground Friday night after a warning light indicating a possible technical problem came on, officials said.

There were no injuries, said Sgt. Phil Morris of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The helicopter was en route to Los Angeles International Airport from Santa Barbara when the warning light forced the pilot to make a ``hard landing'' at Malibu's Juan Cabrillo Elementary School about 9:10 p.m, Morris said.

It was unclear why the light came on, he said. Helicopters typically have multiple indicators to warn of problems with the electrical system, hydraulics and other engine parts.

According to witnesses, the helicopter swooped 20 feet above two-story buildings at a neighboring high school where a football game was under way.

- Associated Press