Police check suspicious packages in downtown

LOS ANGELES - A downtown thoroughfare near the site of the Democratic convention was cut off for an hour Saturday when police found what they called a suspicious package outside a Marriott hotel.

The hotel on Figueroa Street, located across from the Los Angeles World Trade Center, was blocked around 11 a.m. with yellow police tape and police cruisers.

Police determined the package was an empty cardboard box wrapped in tape, said Sgt. Daniel Bunch. Police did not know how the box got there or who put it there. About an hour after blocking off the hotel, police reopened the street and began letting guests back into the hotel.

Earlier Saturday, another suspicious package was reported near the intersections of Pico and Flower, Officer Jason Lee said. Officers blocked off the area, but closed no streets, around the site for about an hour and a half. The object was a package of computer books, Lee said.