Violent crime has soared in Los Angeles County this year because criminals have been emboldened by progressive law enforcement policies as well as the “defund the police” movement, the county’s sheriff says. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the county recorded 60 homicides during the first two months of the year, compared to 21 in the year-earlier time frame, he told Fox News in an interview. Villanueva specifically blamed new Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, a Democrat who was elected to lead the nation’s largest prosecutorial office in December 2020, amid the widespread unrest and calls to “defund the police” following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. Gascón’s victory over incumbent Jackie Lacey was seen as a repudiation by voters of more traditional, tough-on-crime policies, according to the Los Angeles Times. “I recognize for many this is a new path,” Gascón, a former officer with the …