Progressive prosecutors blasted as homicide numbers climb in Los Angeles, other left-wing cities

The policies of progressive district attorneys in Los Angeles and elsewhere around the country are failing their own communities, according to the L. A. County prosecutor who led the Gabriel Fernandez case in 2014.

After a homeless man allegedly knifed a 24-year-old California grad student to death in a furniture store -- and another one allegedly killed a 70-year-old woman at a Los Angeles bus stop last week -- Jon Hatami says voters need to pay closer attention to D. A. races in their communities and choose more qualified candidates.

Brianna Kupfer was at work Thursday at the Croft House, an upscale furniture store on North La Brea Avenue, when the suspect, who the LAPD later identified as 31-year-old Shawn Laval Walker, walked in and stabbed her to death. Investigators called it a "random act" at a news briefing Tuesday.

Sandra Shells was a longtime ER nurse who police say needed brain surgery after an attack near Union Station early Thursday morning. She succumbed to her injuries at the same hospital where she worked. Kerry Bell, a 48-year-old homeless man who police reportedly arrested nearby, faces a single charge of murder.

Crime in Los Angeles is on the rise – and critics, including Hatami, are blaming the progressive politics of the city’s new top cop, George Gascon, and other left-wing leaders like him.

"When you say, ‘here's a list of crimes I'm not going to prosecute,’ -- Yeah, you are not a good D. A.," said Hatami, a longtime LA prosecutor. "And you are not a good prosecutor. That shouldn't be the first thing you do when you become D.A."

With the hunt for Kupfer’s killer ongoing, authorities and a group of donors are offering a $250,000 reward for information. Anyone with information is asked to call West Bureau Homicide at 213-382-9470.

Smith is described as a thin Black man, standing more than 6 feet tall, with short dreadlocks. Surveillance images show he was wearing dark-rimmed sunglasses with orange lenses and a white face mask. He had on a black long-sleeved shirt, dark gray pants, and a dark backpack and shoes.

Police said he should be considered armed and dangerous, and a law enforcement source tells Fox News Digital that he has a criminal record on both coasts.

Police released surveillance video Tuesday that they say shows him buying a vape pen at a city 7-Eleven store just 30 minutes after the attack.

Hatami told Fox News Digital Tuesday that voters in cities with progressive prosecutors need to wake up to their new realities and vote them out.

"The homicide rate in L. A. City compared to 2019 is up over 50%," he said. "The homicide rate in L.A. County compared to 2019 is up over 90%, and we’re at a 15-year-high in homicides."

He also said city leaders need to take tangible efforts to address the root causes of homelessness – which can include mental illness and substance abuse -- rather than pumping money into housing that goes unused.

Los Angeles’ current district attorney, Gascon, is a progressive whom critics accuse of being soft on crime.

In a mission statement pinned to the top of his Twitter feed, Gascon declares that his office "will advance an effective, ethical, and racially equitable system of justice that protects the community, re... (Read more)

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