Kim McGill's Camayak portfolio

Raised by Dogs: What dogs have taught me about being human

The first time I remember falling in love, I was four years old. I was at a community carnival thrown by SoCal Gas and discovered a fenced-in patch of dirt filled with puppies. There was nothing I wanted more than one of those dogs. My dad had sternly warned my mom and me that morning: Bring home a goldfish or...

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Men convicted of killing El Camino College student sentenced, face up to life in prison

Juan Hernandez’s mother, Yajaira Hernandez, right, and his aunt, Stephanie Pineda, both gave victim impact statements in court at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, April 25. “I want you to look at Juan Carlos Hernandez’s picture, to imprint his face and name in ...

The two marijuana dispensary workers found guilty of El Camino College student Juan Hernandez’s murder face up to life in prison after their sentencing Thursday, April 25. Judge Mark Hanasono sentenced Weijia Peng of Alhambra to at least 26 years in prison with the posiibility of life imprisonment and Ethan Astaphan of San Gabriel to 25 to life for the...

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Two marijuana dispensary workers found guilty in murder of El Camino student

Yajaira Hernandez and her partner Joel Wright wait outside Department 117 on the 11th floor of Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles during a break in closing arguments on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. On Monday, Feb. 26, jurors found Weijia Peng, 34, of Alhambra and Ethan ...

Jurors found both the owner and manager of a marijuana dispensary shop guilty of first-degree murder for killing an El Camino College student. VIP Collective LA owner Weijia Peng and manager Ethan Astaphan were convicted on Monday, Feb. 26 of killing El Camino student and dispensary employee Juan Hernandez on Sept. 22, 2020. Peng was also found responsible for the...

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Hernandez murder trial: Phone messages and security video frames reveal possible motive

On Feb. 14, 2024, Glendale Police Department Detective Juan Giraldo waits to testify outside Department 117 at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown L.A. A specialist in computer forensics for the Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory, Giraldo was able to recover images from deleted videos that showed an attack ...

Messages between Ethan Astaphan and Weijia “James” Peng, two men on trial for the murder of El Camino College student Juan Hernandez, reveal they suspected Hernandez of stealing from them. LAPD Robbery and Homicide Detective Jennifer Hammer testified on Feb. 14 on the WhatsApp messages exchanged between Peng and Astaphan, obtained by the police through a search warrant. Los Angeles...

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Hernandez murder trial: Security video shown in court, cell phone tracking leads law enforcement to slain student's body

Dr. Brian Hutchins, Chief Forensic Pathologist with the Coroner Division of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department leaves Department 117 at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles after testifying in the case against two men accused of murdering El Camino student Juan Hernandez. Hutchins first examined ...

A security video showing what happened in the marijuana dispensary a day after the slain El Camino College student disappeared was presented in court on Feb. 13. LAPD Robbery and Homicide Detective Jennifer Hammer described to the jury what she and other LAPD detectives saw when they first inspected the digital video recording. The video was then projected onto the...

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Trial of two men accused of murdering El Camino student starts in Downtown L.A.

LAPD detective Jennifer Hammer (left) and L.A. County Assistant District Attorney Hamid Balian meet outside court on Jan. 17, 2024 at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles. Hammer has served as one of the lead investigators in the murder of El Camino College student Juan Hernandez. ...

More than three years after an El Camino College student's body was found in a remote section of the Mojave Desert, the trial of two men accused of killing him has begun. Ethan Astaphan, 30, from San Gabriel and Weijia Peng, 34, from Alhambra are charged with murder in the death of 21-year-old Juan Hernandez. Hernandez worked at VIP Collective...

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By Kim McGill + 2 others for ECC Union - 16 min read

Hip Hop just turned 50. For the love of rap radio, gangsta flows and low lows, visit these spots to celebrate South L.A.’s contributions to the world’s most popular culture

Large murals decorate the outside walls of the Del Amo Swap Meet in Rancho Dominguez, pictured here on Oct. 29, 2023, including a tribute to Compton rapper and co-founder of both Ruthless Records and N.W.A., Eazy-E (Eric Wright). Swap meets sold Hip Hop mix tapes and records long before commercial ...

Happy Birthday, Hip Hop. You’re #1. Hip Hop is officially the planet’s most popular culture. By 2017, 31% of US radio listeners preferred Hip-Hop, according to Nielsen Ratings’ tracking of TV and radio use. In 2020, 23.3% of worldwide album sales came from Hip-Hop / Rap. Respecting the Roots of Hip-Hop There is no doubt that the East Coast gave...

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My experiences locked up in the world’s largest jail system expose why caging people increases the problems the injustice system claims to address

L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies raid a marijuana dispensary on Imperial Highway in South Central Los Angeles on March 9, 2022. The majority of the workers frisked and detained were women. Kim McGill | Warrior Life

Four days before Americans elected Barack Obama president in 2008, I was sitting on the hard plastic back seat of an LAPD squad car parked on the corner of Manchester and Figueroa in South Central Los Angeles. It was a seat designed to survive the blast from a strong water hose to wash down blood, urine and vomit. The seat...

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El Camino breaks ground on new 'state-of-the-art' public safety training center

El Camino College, elected officials and several municipal fire departments break ground on the construction of a new South Bay Public Safety Training Center on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023 in parking lot L. Participating in the groundbreaking ceremony were, from left to right, City of Torrance Mayor George Chen, former ...

A new South Bay Public Training Center is being built at El Camino College to help train fire technology students and working firefighters. Emergency medical service professionals and law enforcement will also use the center. Located on the western edge of parking lot L adjacent to Dominguez Channel, the new center will include a five-story tower, water hoses, fire suppression...

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El Camino to break ground on new Public Safety Training Center Friday

El Camino Fire Academy students line up in front of the rescue tower on Dec. 13, 2021. For more than 20 years, El Camino has been training future firefighters at this center located at 206 W. Beach Ave. in Inglewood. On Friday, Sept. 29 El Camino will break ground on ...

El Camino College will break ground on the construction of its new Public Safety Training Center on Friday, Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. The on-campus site will be located on the western edge of parking lot L, past the area designated for the new Warrior Pantry, adjacent to the Dominguez Channel. The new center received $10 million in state funding...

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