BRIEFLY.

Resident arrested in identity theft

SIMI VALLEY -- A Simi Valley man was arrested on suspicion of identity theft after police said his 5-year-old son received a bill from a collection agency.

Roy Langhammer was arrested after police who searched his home Thursday said they found identity theft-related items, including computer programs, and a small amount of methamphetamine.

Langhammer, who was booked on suspicion of identity theft, receiving stolen property and possession of a controlled substance, was ordered to appear in court Tuesday.

Police said they began investigating Langhammer, 38, after hearing last July from authorities in Mesa, Ariz., that his son, who lives there, had received a bill from a collection agency. In August, they spoke with a Simi Valley woman who said a man identifying himself as Langhammer fraudulently used her credit account to purchase airline tickets to Arizona.

-- Associated Press 

Officer kills man who charged him

SUNLAND -- A patrolman caught in the middle of a domestic dispute shot and killed a man Saturday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Officials said a woman flagged down an officer exiting the northbound Golden State Freeway at Sunland Boulevard at 3:30 p.m. and told him she'd been slapped by a man standing nearby.

The officer got out of his cruiser and hailed the man, who began to flee and ignored the officer's commands to stop.

Officer Rick Quintero said the man then charged the officer with a metal object believed to be a tire iron or crowbar.

The officer fired at the suspect. An unknown number of bullets struck the suspect, whom community members described as a transient, Quintero said. The man was taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, where he died, officials said. His identity was not released.

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department came to the scene to investigate and the freeway off-ramp remained closed several hours.

-- Staff and Wire Services

2 men arrested, weapons found

NORTH HOLLYWOOD -- A father's early-morning drive with his children, friend, guns and drugs resulted in a pair of arrests, police reported Saturday.

A patrol unit from the North Hollywood station heard several gunshots near Sherman Way and Fulton Avenue about 2:15 a.m. and saw two Latinos running toward a parked car with its doors open, authorities said. Officers gave chase as the pair split up and ran away. Another vehicle, apparently the target of the gunshots, sped off.

One 40-year-old suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was arrested as he tried to hide a .40-caliber Glock pistol behind the security bars of a nearby minimart, officials said.

The other man, 27, ran into the parking lot of a gas station in the 7100 block of Fulton Avenue and knelt down for several seconds before running again. He was arrested, as well, and the officers found a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol on the ground where he'd paused.

Upon their return to the parked car, Sgt. Colin Braudrick said, police found the 27-year-old's 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son waiting, along with methamphetamine and both powdered and rock cocaine. They took the children into protective custody.

-- Daily News