New Tour of Famous Crime Scenes Features Real Cops as Guides

While Los Angeles is famous for its ties to the entertainment industry, the city can also stake its claim as a world class center of high-profile crimes. For people who can’t get enough crime drama from their favorite media outlets, Crime Scene Tours has arrived to fill in all of the gruesome details of our city’s most notorious murders.

The new tour business opened last week, and offers a different view of L.A. than the stops covered on a standard-issue guided tour of the city. Passengers on a Crime Scene Tour get up close to the sites of the North Hollywood shootout and Vitello’s in Studio City, where Robert Blake took his wife Bonny Lee Bakley the night she was murdered.

Tours are led by law enforcement personnel who offer personal perspectives on the crimes. Los Angeles Police Officer Ramon Muniz led a recent tour. His first police assignment was in the North Hollywood Division. He learned the division (at the time) held the record for the highest incidence of injuries for rookie cops.

Early in his career, Muniz was frustrated to be on desk patrol when he showed up for work the morning after the Bonny Lee Bakley murder. But missing the chance to go out on the particular call certainly did not hamper his ability to bring it and other crimes vividly to life.

Jean Franzblau was on a recent Crime Scene Tour led by Muniz. She chose to go on the tour because her boyfriend is fascinated by criminology and Los Angeles history. But since she does not share those interests with him, she was concerned the trip could be disturbing or too gruesome for her. Muniz’ personal accounts gave her an entirely different experience than she expected.

“My favorite part was the first stop where I learned about a North Hollywood bank robbery,” Franzblau said. “It was exciting to see real time helicopter footage playing on the screen in the front of the tour bus while simultaneously crawling along the actual street where the action occurred. That plus the police commentary created an exciting and chilling experience.”

On that particular stop, Muniz recounted details of how officers responded to the scene in creative and daring ways. The criminals came armed with unprecedented gun power and body armor. So, two officers went to get additional firearms from a gun shop across the street from the Bank of America at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Archwood Street, where the robbery occurred.

Muniz helped to change Franzblau’s view of the LAPD by humanizing the experiences of him and his fellow officers.

“I had never thought an L.A. police officer would also be an actor like me,” she said. “It makes me realize I have more in common with him.”

Indeed, Muniz’ background as an actor adds to his storytelling skills, but it also means he has his own personal stories to tell. As a college student in New Jersey, he was inspired to move to Los Angeles to pursue acting. He thought police work would be an ideal, steady job for him while still being able to audition. The film Heat, which starred Al Pacino as a Los Angeles cop, was an early inspiration for both of Muniz’ career goals.

When the real life police officer was called to respond to a theft, he wasn’t expecting the crime victim to be Pacino. He got to thank the star for making a film that had such a strong influence on his career choices.

While different crimes are covered on different tours, other stops include the home of Nicole Brown and details about the car chase and trial of her husband O.J. Simpson; and the home where Jose and Kitty Menendez were killed -- a crime for which their sons were convicted. The Charles Manson family murders, the Nightstalker and the Hillside Strangler cases are also part of the repertory. The deaths of celebrities in famous L.A. locations are often touched on as well, including River Phoenix, who died outside of the Viper Room in West Hollywood and John Belushi’s death at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.

Crime Scene Tours was started by Lonnie M. Levine. He worked with the LAPD for eight years as a civilian detective and went out on calls for homicides and robberies. Levine got the idea for the business because he learned that “most people are rubberneckers” who like to stop and look at accidents and crimes. But his experience working with the police department made him want to offer people a view of police work that is rarely presented.

“Most people, when they encounter police, it’s usually negative,” Levine said. His tour guide officers “show that you can’t solve a case in 48 hours … plus most of these cops have been to these calls,” and can offer details about what really happened on the scene, he said.

His business plan is working well. Before the first official tour had started, numerous buses were pre-booked for visitors from Japan. The Japanese had followed the Kazuyoshi Miura case very closely. Miura was scheduled to go to trial in Los Angeles for killing his wife, but hung himself in his Los Angeles prison cell. That crime, which Levine said was Japan’s version of the O.J. Simpson trial, will be included for his Japanese tourists.

The international appeal of the tours doesn’t stop there. Levine describes the Australians as sharing an interest that is innate to many Americans.

“They are fascinated by gore and everything sensational,” he said. As part of his evidence, Levine said he had customers who got off the plane from Melbourne and made the crime tour their first stop in Los Angeles.

However, as Franzblau attests, the tour provides Angelenos with a fresh take on their city and its officers as well.

“It was more than just a journey into history for me,” Franzblau said. “It changed my thinking about the LAPD.”

For more information about Crime Scene Tours call 323.580.6155