One Dead, One Jailed At Illegal "Pay At Door" Bash At Hillside Mansion In Foreclosure; Catered Events In Defaulted Upscale Homes More Common, Say Cops

In Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Times reports:

• Los Angeles police have arrested a man in the shooting death of a onetime local basketball star at a heavily promoted New Year's Eve party at a rented Coldwater Canyon mansion.

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• The shooting [...] is the latest incident involving so-called party houses, sprawling hillside mansions that host illegal, professionally catered and paid events. [...] Police described [the alleged shooter] as a friend of a female party promoter who organized the New Year's bash at the hillside estate on a winding street of three- and four-story houses with canyon and ridge-top views. The property, police said, is in foreclosure.

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• Police described the event as a "pay-at-the-door, illegal party," a type that has become increasingly popular during the real estate foreclosure crisis. "Unfortunately, we're seeing these in foreclosed homes," Hamilton said of the parties. "You get what you get in that type of situation."

• Fliers for the party invited guests to a "Winter Wonderland," according to several area residents, who declined to be identified. The fliers also requested that partygoers "dress to impress" and advertised appetizers and an open bar.

For more, see Man held in slaying at Coldwater Canyon party in Los Angeles (Police say a dispute over food at an illegal event in a foreclosed mansion escalated into violence. The victim, Felix L. Lang Jr., was a former star basketball player at Valley College).

See also, The Associated Press: Man held for shooting death at New Year's party.

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