Michael Krikorian
Something happened one week ago, Friday, May 1, 2026, that was the single most gratifying moment of my up and down career as a journalist. If this had occurred anywhere it would have been a treasure, but it just so happened at the very place where I became a journalist and started working for the...
Michael Krikorian
“It was never about the destination. It was always about the journey.” - Bogard, aka George Thomas talking about Gregory “Batman” Davis On the streets of Greater Los Angeles – and most of the United States now - “OG” means Original Gangster. But those initials - and those words - are thrown about...
Michael Krikorian
A former gang leader once described by an FBI agent and several LAPD homicide detectives as one of the deadliest men in Los Angeles could be paroled in a few months after he pled “no contest” to a murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Thing is Cleamon Johnson, much better - and...
Michael Krikorian
(This was published in the Los Angeles Times’ Opinion page on April, 29, 2023) Can a man really change? Or more precisely, can an absolute badass change? A violent, brutal, reckless, drunk, defend-the-’hood-at-all-costs gang member? A Folsom Prison “graduate”? A 6-foot-4, 240-pound defender of...
Michael Krikorian
There was the city equivalent of a state funeral here in town over the past weekend as Royalty was memorialized and laid to rest. The local television news didn’t cover it, nor did the Los Angeles Times. To their credit, PBS did try to film the memorial service, but were turned away.Still, none...