Aliso Viejo man convicted of killing former friend in Santa Ana shooting

• October 19, 2023

An Aliso Viejo man who shot and killed a former close friend, who the gunman apparently believed had sexually assaulted his longtime girlfriend, was convicted Wednesday of first degree murder.

An Orange County Superior Court jury also found Carlos Alexander Gonzalez, 26, guilty of shooting into an occupied vehicle and the use of a handgun in the May 19, 2018 slaying of 20-year-old Bryan Steubing Jr.

Both the prosecution and defense agreed that Gonzalez, then 20, shot Steubing to death, and that it was an unlawful killing. But jurors were left to decide whether the killing was a premeditated murder, as the prosecution argued, or a slaying carried out in the heat of passion and therefore a lesser charge of manslaughter, as the defense countered.

Gonzalez and Steubing were in the same social circle, according to a prosecution trial brief, but had a falling out several months before the shooting after Gonzalez accused Steubing of raping Gonzalez’s longtime girlfriend.

It isn’t clear if a sexual assault actually occurred, with Steubing apparently contending the sexual activity between he and Gonzalez’s girlfriend was consensual, according to the court filing. Others in their group of friends didn’t appear to believe the allegations.

Weeks before the shooting, Gonzalez attacked and stabbed Steubing, according to testimony. And in messages exchanged among their group of friends on social media, Gonzalez wrote that Steubing “didn’t deserve to breathe,” adding he would “hit him where it hurts.”

Steubing was sitting in his parked car in the early morning hours at an industrial strip mall in the 3100 block of South Main Street when Gonzalez shot him. A man who was sitting in the passenger seat of Steubing’s vehicle was apparently not hit by the gunfire.

A friend of Gonzalez’s girlfriend told police that the girlfriend texted her the morning of the shooting and asked to be picked up at an apartment complex across from the crime scene, but said when they arrived it was Gonzalez — wearing a dark hoodie and armed with a handgun — who jumped into the car. Gonzalez indicated he had “shot the kid who messed” with his girlfriend, according to the trial brief.

Gonzalez is scheduled to return to a Santa Ana courtroom for sentencing on Jan. 19. He faces up to 50 years to life in prison.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

NLCS: Can the Diamondbacks slow homer-happy Phillies in Game 3?

• October 19, 2023

By DAVID BRANDT AP Baseball Writer

PHOENIX — Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt had some good moments on the mound during the regular season, but he struggled to contain the long ball, giving up 22 homers in just 96 innings.

Now the Diamondbacks turn to the rookie right-hander for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series in an effort to slow the homer-happy Philadelphia Phillies, who have built a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven playoff thanks to six homers.

If that doesn’t sound ideal for the D-backs, well, it’s not.

“Yesterday was a really frustrating outcome,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday, a day after Philadelphia’s 10-0 rout at Citizens Bank Park. “We didn’t perform up to our capabilities, didn’t meet our expectations. We’ve got to find a way to get this turned around.

“Our mindset is one well-played game could lead to one win and we’re right back in the series.”

The two-game deficit is the first adversity the surprising D-backs have experienced this October. They were just 84-78 in the regular season, earning the last NL spot as the No. 6 seed, but they won their first five games of this postseason while sweeping Milwaukee in a best-of-three Wild Card Series and the second-seeded Dodgers in a best-of-five NL Division Series.

That success came to a screeching halt in Philadelphia. Kyle Schwarber has three homers in the series, including a pair in Game 2, while Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner have also gone deep.

“They’re a hot team. We knew they were a hot team,” Lovullo said. “They’re built to slug.”

The good news for the D-backs is that Pfaadt is coming off one of his best outings this year. The 25-year-old threw 4⅓ scoreless innings in Game 3 of the NLDS, helping Arizona complete a sweep of the 100-win Dodgers and a lineup that included former MVPs Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

The difference is the Dodgers were scuffling. The Phillies, most certainly, are not.

Pfaadt hopes a change of scenery to the desert can help the D-backs.

“We went through Milwaukee’s lineup. We went through the Dodgers’ lineup,” Pfaadt said. “I think we can hold our own. If we show that, coming into our ballpark, limiting damage, getting the momentum on our side, I think we can come out on the strong end.”

Lovullo has said that even if Pfaadt is pitching well in Game 3, he’ll likely face 18 to 22 batters. The D-backs used that strategy with Pfaadt against the Dodgers, yanking him at the first hint of trouble, and it led to the series-clinching 4-2 victory.

“It’s about going out, landing pitches, and not placing the ball in the nitro zones,” Lovullo said.

Arizona had just four hits in each of the first two games for a .129 batting average. The defense has not been crisp; three fielders let a short pop-up fall for a base hit in the seventh inning of Game 2.

Lovullo said the D-backs need the synergy from offense, defense and pitching to recover.

“Grinding out at-bats, having mature at-bats, driving up pitch counts, catching popups, picking up the baseball,” Lovullo said. “You know, the pitching and defense goes hand in hand, and we find a way to score five runs or more and win a baseball game by just being a really smart, stubborn baseball team in all areas.”

Arizona weathered a 7-25 stretch in July and August that knocked the Diamondbacks out of the NL West lead, and the team recovered to reach the NLCS for the first time since 2007.

“We’ve been playing meaningful baseball games for about the past 45 days,” Lovullo said. “So we’re battle-tested from an emotional standpoint. We know that one quick turn, one quick moment, can turn the tide.”

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt throws to the plate during the fourth inning of Game 3 of their NL Division Series against the Dodgers on Wednesday night in Phoenix. Pfaadt will start Game 3 of the NL Championship Series on Thursday night with his team trailing the Phillies 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

​ Orange County Register 

Clippers head into preseason finale with plenty of room for improvement

• October 18, 2023

The Clippers have one more preseason game to work out the kinks, decide on a starting power forward, smooth out the offense, especially from the second unit, and just plain get it right.

The regular season starts in a week, with a home game against the Portland Trailblazers, and as Tuesday’s 116-103 victory over a team of Denver Nuggets backups showed, there is room for improvement. The Clippers face some version of the Nuggets again in Thursday night’s preseason finale at Crypto.com Arena.

Turnovers were a nagging problem last year that cost the Clippers several games. Against the Nuggets on Tuesday, they turned the ball over 16 times, which led to 22 Denver points. Not alarming in the bigger picture, but the double-digit miscues came against the Nuggets’ reserves with the core of their rotation sitting out.

“I feel like our turnovers are so careless,” said Clippers backup point guard Bones Hyland, who contributed three turnovers. “It’s not really pressure turnovers, it’s like careless turnovers. We can clean that up a little bit more. But other than that, I think we are pretty good at executing too, a little bit.”

Coach Tyronn Lue has increased the intensity of practices, clamping down on the need to get faster with daily runs and speed drills. Behind the playing of point guards Russell Westbrook and Hyland, he hopes to push the pace this season.

Hyland said the increased tempo doesn’t always lead to turnovers. He said it’s a matter of understanding the game plan and protecting the ball.

Lue didn’t seem as bothered by the turnovers and was more concerned with the team’s ability to score transition baskets. Against the Nuggets’ role players, they converted on seven of 10 fast-break opportunities.

“We know Russ and Bones are going to push it,” Lue said. “We just got to get our wings to run and follow suit as well as (center) Zu (Ivica Zubac) running, getting easy duck-ins getting down the floor early so it’s collective.

“It’s not just on Bones and Russ, it’s our whole team just having that mindset and taking that approach. We got to get better with that and then when we do run and we actually get out in transition, we got to do a better job of converting.”

Lue praised his starters after a slow start in Tuesday’s game.

Related Articles

“I thought (the starters were) better when they came in in that second stint,” he said. “They did a better job, but it’s hard to assess a game like this. Pretty tough. But I thought when they came in for that second stretch, the starters did a better job defensively.”

Despite the flaws, Lue said that unlike the past, he is willing to be patient in developing a consistent lineup, especially when it comes to the power forward position. Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington and Terance Mann have been auditioning for that job, with each having started a preseason game.

“As long as the consistency is PG (Paul George) and Kawhi (Leonard) out there on the floor,” he said. “I mean, we’ll see. I’ve changed. I’ve evolved. So, we’ll see. Like I said, we always had that 10-, 15-game sample size of kind of seeing what works and, like I said, all three of those guys have done a great job so far. So, we’ll see going forward.”

NUGGETS AT CLIPPERS

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV/radio: KTLA (Ch.5), 570 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Early intelligence suggests Gaza hospital blast was caused by Palestinian fighters, US says

• October 18, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say they have multiple strands of intelligence — including infrared satellite data — indicating that the deadly blast at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday was caused by Palestinian fighters.

The intelligence includes satellite and other infrared data showing a launch of a rocket or missile from Palestinian fighter positions within the Gaza Strip. U.S. intelligence agencies have also analyzed open-source video of the launch showing that it did not come from the direction of Israeli military positions, the officials said. Israeli officials have also provided the United States with intercepts of Hamas officials saying the strike came from forces aligned with Palestinian militant groups.

“While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open-source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council.

Other U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information, cautioned that the analysis was preliminary and that they were continuing to collect and analyze evidence. Multiple officials said the evidence gathered so far refutes claims that Israeli forces were responsible for the blast and was strong enough for President Joe Biden to make comments supporting Israel’s account of events.

“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel during a joint appearance.

Related Articles

A senior Defense Department official said based on the launch data collected by infrared sensors that the United States is “fairly confident” the launch did not come from Israeli forces.

On Tuesday, Israeli officials provided U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted communications between Hamas members that indicated the rocket was fired by their side. Israeli officials have said the rocket was fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a group aligned with Hamas.

U.S. officials spent the night analyzing those intercepts along with the open-source data, videos captured by journalists and others that show a rocket flying in the vicinity of the hospital.

The United States regularly uses infrared satellite collection to analyze launches. The warning system was one of the first pieces of intelligence that showed that a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down by Russian forces over Ukraine in 2014.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

​ Orange County Register 

Manhattan Beach police officer killed in freeway crash remembered as an ‘everyday hero’

• October 18, 2023

Chad Swanson, a 35-year-old Manhattan Beach police officer, was honored Wednesday, Oct. 18, during a celebration of life service in Cypress two weeks after he was killed in a crash on the 405 Freeway.

Family, friends and law enforcement personnel gathered Wednesday morning at the SeaCoast Grace Church after a procession from the Manhattan Beach Police Department to share stories of the man who had touched so many in such a short amount of time.

Swanson, a 13-year veteran with the department was killed on Oct. 4 when a car collided with his police motorcycle while he was likely on his way to work.

“We’re going to mourn, we’re going to cry. But we’re also going to laugh,” Pastor Cody Surratt said at the start of the service.

And despite the heavy emotions weighing on Swanson’s loved ones, many laughs were shared while remembering the life of the officer, husband, brother, son and father of three.

Swanson was born in 1988 to Kip and Valerie.

Growing up in his South Gate neighborhood, he spent his childhood skateboarding, camping at Salton Sea and Lost Lake and getting into trouble with his friends. He was described by his parents as passionate, independent, competitive to the max, loyal, smart and impulsive.

“I’ve been told (by his family) that as a child, Chad is what we’d politely describe as spirited. So spirited that he became well familiar with the decor in the principal’s office at school,” Police Chief Rachel Johnson said while holding back tears.

On a middle-school day, Johnson said, one of Swanson’s classmates broke a sign that was in the parking lot. Rather than let his friend get in trouble, he took the blame — despite his mother’s skepticism.

When asked why he would take the fault, Swanson said his classmate was not used to getting into trouble and wouldn’t know how to handle it.

That would mark the start of Swanson’s path toward becoming an “everyday hero of extraordinary courage,” Johnson said.

When he entered St. John Bosco High School, Swanson stood at 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 85 pounds, but that did not deter him from joining the school’s wrestling team and competing in the 103 pound weight class.

His signature move was known as the cradle, and once in that position, Swanson became an unstoppable force for his opponents.

“Every time he would come up to me and say he learned a move, I would groan because I knew I was about to get tapped out in some new way,” said Scott Johnson, a childhood friend of more than 30 years.

“What I would give for one last time to tap,” he said.

Swanson was the wresting team’s captain by his senior year, as well as member of the academic decathlon and honors society, the junior class president and the Associated Student Body vice president, achievements his mother said he made look easy.

When he came him about joining the police force, Scott was initially confused by his friend’s decision, he said, “but watching him grow in his career and his passion and dedication to serving and protecting people I knew. He had no fear.”

Swanson started his career working as a park enforcement officer for the Hawthorne Police Department before joining with the Manhattan Beach Police in 2010.

He quickly made a name for himself at the department, namely as the guy whose first order of business after a briefing was to ask “what’s for lunch?,” and answering the phone with “sup girl,” to anyone that called him — something that would annoy his wife who thought he was talking to another woman, said Officer David Gibbons.

“You can’t do police work on an empty stomach,” Gibbons recalled being Swanson’s mantra.

In his time with Manhattan Beach Police, he went on to serve on the department’s SWAT team, as a crime scene investigator, a use-of-force instructor and a member of the Honor Guard.

In 2017, Swanson, a huge country music fan, along with his wife Hailey, attended Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas where a lone shooter killed 59 people and injured more than 500.

In the midst of the chaos, Swanson helped get shooting victims and others out of the area.

“Chad didn’t miss a beat. ‘Those are gunshots and you need to get out of here,’” Hailey said. “He turned to me and said hold my beer before running towards the smoke.”

While running back and forth carrying people to safety and applying tourniquets, he was struck in the arm by a fragment of a bullet that hit the ground.

Hailey said she was finally reunited with Swanson in a casino the next morning, where he came in shirtless and covered in blood, asking his wife where his beer koozie was.

“Being loved by Chad meant never having to worry about anything except for Chad,” she said.

During a press conference following the mass shooting, Swanson said he just wanted to help as many people as he could.

“In times of crisis, the true measure is laid bare for all to see, and Chad’s true measure was that of a loyal friend, courageous stranger and selfless sacrifice to others,” Johnson said.

Swanson is survived by his wife and three young sons. There is a fund set up by Fund a Hero, through the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) to support the family.

“I hate that you had to die,” Hailey said. “But I’m so grateful that you lived.”

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Ducks’ Leo Carlsson expected to make NHL debut against Stars

• October 18, 2023

The Ducks have already faced two of the NHL’s top teams, looking respectable against the reigning Stanley Cup champs on their maiden voyage before upending one of the Eastern Conference finalists from last season in their home opener. Thursday night’s match against another 2023 conference finalist, the Dallas Stars, adds yet another layer of intrigue: the debut of the highest draft selection in Ducks history, Leo Carlsson.

After a loss in Vegas, a victory over Carolina and three days of preparation, the Ducks will be back at it Thursday at Honda Center when they will welcome Dallas, which fell to Vegas in last year’s Western finals. Dallas also lost to Vegas in its most recent game after beating St. Louis in its opener, with both matches reaching a shootout.

The downtime came at the right moment for the Ducks as No. 2 overall pick Carlsson returned to practice after missing their first two games with a lower body injury. He is expected to appear in his first NHL game on Thursday. He will likely center the top line alongside Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras as well as log significant power-play time. He is one of three No. 2 overall draft picks in Ducks history, the others being Bobby Ryan and Oleg Tverdovsky. Tverdovsky and Mason McTavish are the only players to be younger when they joined the Ducks than Carlsson will be Thursday.

Carlsson’s delayed debut further lengthened the shadow of Chicago’s Connor Bedard, the ubiquitously hyped prospect who was taken just one pick before Carlsson but covered widely as if he were already light-years ahead in his development. Bedard recorded a point in each of his first three games before going scoreless against Toronto on Monday.

“I don’t really care, to be honest,” Carlsson, a Swede, told the Associated Press. “I think I’d rather be the underdog. Well, the second pick isn’t the underdog, but I’m still not in the media and stuff like that. I feel like that’s easier, to surprise people and not let them down that way. Maybe if I was from Canada or the U.S., it would be bigger as well. But I’m comfortable.”

The Ducks have had three full days off since topping the Hurricanes, 6-3, catapulting off a hat trick by Frank Vatrano. Vatrano and Ryan Strome have flanked McTavish thus far, and the trio has combined for nine points in two games.

“They’ve got a little chemistry. You can see it,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. “I’m big into team and big into chemistry and communication. When you have lines that are comfortable with each other, you can see it on the bench, [in the way] they talk to each other.”

Against Carolina, Jackson LaCombe’s assist on Pavel Mintyukov’s goal gave each defenseman his first NHL point. After Jamie Drysdale, who like Cam Fowler scored two points in two games from the blue line for the Ducks, missed practice time this week, it might have opened the door for a third rookie defenseman, Tristan Luneau, to make a contribution. Luneau, whom Cronin described as “a stallion” during training camp, appeared to be the most likely replacement for Drysdale since they are both right-handed shots with offensive ability.

Cronin said that heading into the Carolina game, he was slightly concerned about the pace of the game and how his young defenders might handle it, but in the end, he “was impressed with the way our guys skated for 60 minutes.”

Indeed there was plenty to build on in Sunday’s win, which had the crowd electrified and more going right than just the numbers on the scoreboard.

“I kept seeing events happen on the ice – us getting pucks back on the forecheck, controlling the puck on cycles, getting scoring chances in the shot, using our defenseman on the cycles – I kept thinking ‘no matter what happens in the game, these are events that we can sink our teeth into as a staff and create some believability,’” Cronin said.

Related Articles

They’ll need plenty of belief in themselves against Dallas, which got top center Roope Hintz back against Vegas. The Stars also have do-it-all defenseman Miro Heiskanen orchestrating their attack from the back end and Arcadia native Jason Robertson pouring in goals up front. Veterans Joe Pavelski and Jamie Benn quaffed from the fountain of youth last season when the two forwards, 39 and 34 respectively, chased a point-per-game pace and finished Nos. 2 and 3 on the team in scoring behind MVP candidate Robertson.

What separates Dallas from the rest of the West’s top teams is its goaltending. Where Vegas, Edmonton, Colorado and the Kings have all been searching for the right fit between the pipes, Dallas has never wavered in its confidence in Jake Oettinger. He finished third in the NHL in wins and his statistics this season have been even more parsimonious than last year when he finished in the top 10 in almost every major category.

STARS AT DUCKS

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Honda Center

TV: Bally Sports SoCal

​ Orange County Register 

25 Hyatt Regency Long Beach workers to split $4.8 million fine

• October 18, 2023

State regulators fined the Hyatt Regency Long Beach hotel $4.8 millionfor failing to provide timely job offers to 25 workers who were laid off during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but not rehired when business picked up again.

The settlement divided equally would amount to $191,000 per employee, a potentially life-changing payday for servers, bartenders, housekeepers, attendants, cashiers, and stewards who struggled to make ends meet during the tourism lockdown.

Also see: Long Beach hotel workers hail $4-an-hour pay hike in new contract

The California Labor Commissioner’s Office called that a violation of Senate Bill 93, commonly known as the Right to Recall Law.

The law — which took effect April 16, 2021, and runs through Dec. 31, 2025 —  requires employers in the hospitality and building services industries to offer available job openings that are the same or similar to jobs held by workers laid off during the pandemic, based on company seniority.

Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower said the hotel’s failure to rehire the employees is especially unfair to long-time workers.

“Some of these employees had as much as 24 years of experience and were suddenly out of work due to a public health emergency,” Garcia-Brower said in a statement. “The employer failed to offer them their old jobs back in compliance with the law.”

Rigoberto Villagrana, who was laid off by the Hyatt Regency after working at the hotel since 1996, said the layoff took a significant toll.

“Being laid off during the pandemic has been devastating for me and my family,” he said. “We’ve struggled to pay our mortgage and keep food on the table.”

The Labor Commissioner’s Office began its investigation in September 2022 after receiving complaints from several Hyatt workers. The state issued subpoenas, interviewed employees and conducted depositions of human resources managers.

The LCO ultimately issued a citation against the hotel for 8,983 aggregate days of violations under SB 93. The law allows liquidated damages of $500 per worker for each day the employee’s recall rights are violated. The $4,799,564 citation will be paid to the 25 affected workers. Specific amounts per worker were not provided by the commissioner’s office.

The LCO has cited numerous employers for violating the Right to Recall law.

In July 2022, Terranea Resort paid $1.52 million in a settlement with the agency involving 57 former employees who were laid off but not called back to work in a timely manner after the resort re-opened for business in 2021.

Each worker received a share of the $1.52 million settlement, with an average payout of $26,500.

Hyatt Regency’s $4.8 million settlement comes amid a protracted strike among some 15,000 Southern California hotel workers that began over the July 4 weekend.

The employees, represented by Unite Here Local 11, are seeking an immediate $5-an-hour wage increase to keep pace with the rising cost of housing, in addition to continued family healthcare coverage, upgrades to their pension plan and “humane workloads.”

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites and Biltmore Los Angeles — two of the largest hotels in L.A. — are the only ones that have reached tentative labor agreements with the union.

Dozens of other hotels, including the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton LA Live, Beverly Hilton, Fairmont Miramar and Anaheim Hilton, have yet to reach tentative agreements with Unite Here.

Hundreds of hotel workers at multiple properties near Los Angeles International Airport walked out on strike earlier this month to protest their employers’ proposal “to eliminate affordable healthcare.”

Employees at the Beverly Wilshire hotel walked off the job Sunday and Monday of this week to voice the union’s same concerns over wages, healthcare coverage, pension plans and workloads.

Kurt Petersen, Unite Here’s co-president, said it’s imperative that the two sides reach labor agreements, as “LA is the world’s most important tourist destination, with the World Cup and Olympics coming back to back in 2026 and 2028.”

​ Orange County Register 

Chargers’ Justin Herbert admits he can’t shake mistakes

• October 18, 2023

COSTA MESA — Justin Herbert acknowledged the obvious for the second time in three days Wednesday. He wasn’t at his best during the Chargers’ 20-17 loss Monday night to the Dallas Cowboys, bemoaning several missed connections, especially two intended for wide receiver Keenan Allen.

Herbert completed 22 of 37 passes for 227 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Above all, he failed to deliver the goods on the Chargers’ final possession. His interception on a third-and-10 play from his own 25-yard line sealed the deal for Dallas with 1:22 remaining.

On Wednesday, Herbert admitted that reliving poor throws and interceptions is a quarterback’s cross to bear.

“I’m worried about (poor) throws from four or five years ago,” he said. “Unfortunately, that’s part of the position of quarterback. I felt horrible. For Keenan to run routes like that and for me to miss him, it’s tough. I know if I get that shot again I’m going to make that throw. I hope he believes that, too.”

Moving on, putting the past in the past, is not a skill Herbert said he’s mastered during his first four seasons in the NFL, all with the Chargers. It also likely dates to his collegiate career at the University of Oregon and possibly to his high school days at Sheldon High in Eugene, Oregon.

“It’s incredibly tough,” he said. “It’s part of the game, unfortunately. I wish it were never to happen. Unfortunately, mistakes happen. You miss those two throws. The important thing for me is to move on, to understand that, hey, we’ve got to be realistic. We’ve got to be critical and understand that I can make those plays. I know I can make that throw. We’ve done that before.”

Herbert then acknowledged something else that seemed obvious during the Chargers’ loss to the Cowboys on Monday, but something he hadn’t admitted before meeting with reporters Wednesday. His fractured left middle finger did cause him trouble, especially when gripping the football.

“I didn’t have great use of it,” he said of his finger, which he injured during the third quarter of the Chargers’ victory Oct. 1 over the Las Vegas Raiders. “I think that’s pretty important for playing quarterback. Probably a lack of mobility or being able to flex it or use it to grip the football (was the biggest challenge).”

Herbert wore a small protective pad covered with white athletic trainer’s tape on his finger as he spoke to reporters from a lectern. The Chargers didn’t hold a practice Wednesday, but did a walk-through in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

“It doesn’t feel good,” he said.

Ever?

“No, not really,” he said. “It is what it is. It’s a broken finger. I’m going to do everything I can to minimize the movement and to minimize the damage to it. I felt I was safe going out there. The trainers did a great job of preparing me and getting me ready to go. I think all your fingers are pretty important. I was kind of thankful it is on the left hand and not on the right hand.”

LAYNE SIDELINED

The Chargers placed safety Raheem Layne on injured reserve after he suffered a season-ending knee injury while playing on special teams during Monday night’s game against the Cowboys. The Chargers also claimed safety Jaylinn Hawkins off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons.

“Raheem is one of our top special teams players,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said. “This is a tough moment for him, but he will be back. He has proven himself, in two years, that he can play in the league. Excited to get him back because he is one of those tough, smart, dependable players that you need. We’ll definitely pick it up around him. I thought that he was having a good season for us.”

Related Articles

Hawkins, who played at Buena Park High, spent three-plus seasons with the Falcons, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2020 out of Cal. He started 22 of 48 career games with the Falcons, including all 16 games in which he appeared last season. He played in only four of six games this season.

INJURY REPORT

Defensive backs Alohi Gilman (heel) and Deane Leonard (hamstring) didn’t participate in the team’s walk-through. Edge rusher Joey Bosa (toe), defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day (knee) and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (hamstring) were listed as limited participants.

​ Orange County Register