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One of two hawks stolen from SoFi Stadium during Rams game is found

One of two trained hawks stolen from outside SoFi Stadium during a Rams game was recovered Sunday in Hacienda Heights, nearly 25 miles from where the vehicle taken during the heist was found a week ago.

A two-seat motorized cart with a key left in the ignition was stolen Sept. 28 from the stadium. The hawks — named Bubba and Alice — were housed in green containers in the back seat and vanished along with the vehicle.

Bubba was recovered near Seventh Street in Hacienda Heights after a homeowner spotted the hawk in her backyard and contacted the Inglewood Police Department. Falconer Charles Cogger, who trained and owned the hawks, raced to the location.

“I made arrangements, got over there as quick as I could and got Bubba back,” Cogger told NBC Los Angeles. “Alice is still out there, but this gives me hope she will show up.”

The hawks were employed by SoFi Stadium to deter other birds from flying over SoFi Stadium during the game, keeping fans safe from unpleasant aerial droppings and also keeping birds from eating discarded food.

The Harris’s hawks, also known as bay-winged hawks, are large, lanky raptors that breed in the southwestern U.S. and throughout South America. They have vision eight times better than that of humans and are known for hunting together as a team.

The Kawasaki Mule UTV that housed the hawks was found abandoned Sept. 29 in a South L.A. neighborhood about five miles from SoFi Stadium and 25 miles from Hacienda Heights.

Inglewood police released a photo of the suspect taken by stadium security cameras, describing him as a male adult “wearing a black jacket with a white stripe going down the shoulder, black pants and black shoes.”

Cogger is holding out hope that Alice will turn up. Each of Cogger’s hawks wears a metal band around its leg that identifies it as captive-bred.

“They can only go so long without eating or getting water,” he said.

Anyone with information about Alice can contact the Inglewood Police Department watch commander at (310) 412-5206. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for the hawk’s safe return.

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Two trained hawks stolen from SoFi Stadium during Rams game

Any Rams fans whose attention was diverted Sunday at SoFi Stadium by an aerial assault of bird droppings should know whom to blame.

Not the birds. They were just doing what they do (do).

Blame the thief who stole two trained hawks tasked with keeping the skies above the stadium free of other birds, so that the only airborne objects would be tight spirals off the right hand of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.

But the hawks — who have names: Alice and Bubba — were stolen at 2:22 p.m. by a suspect the Inglewood Police Department described as a “male Black adult wearing a black jacket with a white stripe going down the shoulder, black pants and black shoes.”

Police said the key was left in the ignition of the Kawasaki Mule UTV that housed the hawks. The thief drove off with the maroon two-seater and hadn’t been caught as of Tuesday morning. The vehicle was last seen in the Village at Century shopping area in Inglewood.

“Affixed to the bed of the UTV were two Harris’s Hawks … housed in green containers,” the police said. “These Hawks are used during the games by a Falconer in order to deter other birds in the area.”

The falconer is Redlands police officer Charles Cogger. The trained birds are Harris’s hawks, also known as the bay-winged hawk, large and lanky raptors that breed from the southwestern United States and throughout South America. They are known for hunting together as a team with vision eight times better than that of humans.

It’s a shame Alice and Bubba weren’t there to see the gorgeous 88-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Tutu Atwell in the fourth quarter that gave the Rams a 27-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

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Female Texans fan bloodied at SoFi in a fight during Rams game

A bloodied female and her male companion were escorted out of SoFi Stadium during the fourth quarter of the Rams season opener Sunday along with two other spectators who had engaged in the same violent altercation.

The woman and her companion were wearing jerseys of the Houston Texans, who the Rams defeated 14-9. Video clips on social media showed her face covered with blood when security guards led her from Section 428 high above the end zone.

The incident appeared to begin with words and shoving between the woman in the No. 99 jersey of retired Texans legend JJ Watt and a woman wearing a Rams jersey. The altercation escalated, with the man wearing the No. 7 jersey of Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud pouring a cup of beer on the head of the woman in the Rams jersey.

Two men in Rams jerseys one row above the brawl stood and began shoving and grabbing the two Texans fans until security personnel arrived about two minutes into the incident.

The two men from the row above removed their jerseys — one of former Rams great Aaron Donald and the other of Rams receiver Puka Nacua — but additional security personnel arrived, handcuffed both men and escorted them away.

SoFi Stadium, which opened in 2020, has been plagued by brawls. Oakland chef Daniel Luna was in a medically induced coma for weeks after Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics discovered him lying on the ground in the stadium’s Lot L during the NFC Championship Game between the Rams and San Francisco 49ers.

It took three days and an inquiry from The Times before Inglewood authorities acknowledged the incident. Bryan Alexis Cifuentes, 33, was charged with one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury after video showed that he dropped Luna with one punch. Cifuentes pleaded not guilty and investigators determined that Luna started the altercation when he shoved Cifuentes.

Luna sued the Rams and L.A. County, claiming that because he was drunk deputies should have put him in a form of protective custody after he was denied entrance to the stadium because he didn’t have a ticket.

The suit was dismissed by Inglewood Superior Court Judge Ronald F. Frank, who wrote that “the Sheriff’s Department did not create the peril in which plaintiff found himself. [Luna] alleges that he was already inebriated when he was detained initially. The sheriffs took no affirmative action which contributed to, increased, or changed the risk which would have otherwise existed.”

At least four fights have broken out at Chargers games at SoFi Stadium. The most recent was a brawl in a game against the Raiders in September 2024. A video provided to KTLA shows showed a group of Chargers fans fighting a shirtless man.

Moments before the Chargers and Dallas Cowboys squared off at SoFi in 2023, the teams scuffled at midfield after several Cowboys ran through the Chargers’ defensive backs as they were conducting pregame drills.

Several fights broke out off the field during the game, including one on a concourse exit that involved a dozen or more fans. No fans were arrested, according to the Inglewood Police Department.

After a game between the Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs in November 2022, a man was thrown over a railing. A person who recorded a video of the incident told KABC-TV Channel 7 that the fight began after one man bumped into another. A third man tried to intervene and was thrown over the railing onto the concrete steps below.

A 2022 poll of more than 3,000 fans by Sportsbook Review concluded that many NFL stadiums are more violent than SoFi Stadium and that fans generally feel safe attending games at the venue.

Crimes in and around stadiums occur all too often, with 39.2% of poll respondents reporting having witnessed or fallen victim to at least one crime in or outside a stadium. Only 5.4% of fans had witnessed a crime at SoFi, and only one of those polled said they had been a victim of a crime while attending a Rams or Chargers home game.

Sportsbook Review updated its rankings last week, with SoFi moving up from the 15th to the 11th most dangerous NFL stadium. M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens, is ranked as the most dangerous; Highmark Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills, is ranked as the safest.

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