The 96-foot Christmas tree worth $120,000 was destroyed Monday morning in a fire outside the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel, according to the O.C. Register.
Firefighters got a call at 6:34 a.m. that the tree, a 96-foot white fir from Mt. Shasta, was burning, Costa Mesa fire spokesman Capt. Chris Coates said, according to the L.A. Times. Continue reading→
Santa Ana City Councilman David Benavides has married Erika Carranza, the girlfriend that he previously appointed to the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission.
The wedding, which took place this Saturday, appeared to be a political affair as Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Phil Bacerra was featured prominently in the wedding pictures. Continue reading→
A townhome complex located at 3600 Bear St., in Santa Ana caught fire on Saturday afternoon at around 4:50 p.m., according to the O.C. Fire Authority’s Twitter page.
Thirty firefighters responded to the fire, from the OCFA and the Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley Fire Departments.
The fire on S. Bear St. that started around 4:50 PM yesterday destroyed two garages and three vehicles. Continue reading→
An unidentified dead man was found near a water canal at Santa Ana’s Heritage Park today, at 3:30 p.m., according to the O.C. Register.
Heritage Park is located at 4800 block of West Camille Street, which is adjacent to Heritage Elementary School, which serves children from kindergarten through the sixth grade. Continue reading→
December 9, 2015
CLCA HONORS ORANGE COUNTY AREA’S BEST LANDSCAPERS AND LANDSCAPE PROJECTS WITH TROPHY AWARDS
Local landscape professionals receive prestigious honors for commercial and residential properties
The California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA), the only state-wide non-profit trade organization of licensed and landscape-related contractors, presented Trophy Awards to Orange County area landscape contractors during its annual convention recently. Continue reading→
Ricardo “Ricky” Salgado, a 22-year-old, was killed in a car accident this week, in Santa Ana, on Friday morning.
An online fund has been set up to help pay for funeral expenses, at this link. Continue reading→
A 16-year-old driver in a BMW ran into and injured a 19-year-old Costa Mesa man, Missael Espinoza, who was running across the southbound lanes of the 55 Freeway, near 19th Street, just after 10 pm. on Friday, according to the O.C. Register.
The driver, who has not been identified, also resides in Costa Mesa. He was driving a four-door 1998 BMW 328i, when the accident occurred. Continue reading→
Fifty five firefighters from the Orange County Fire Authority and the Orange Fire Department put out a two alarm fire at a six-unit strip mall at the 200 block of West 1st Street in Santa Ana, at 12:45 a.m. on Friday morning, according to the OCFA’s Twitter page.
The fire was blamed on an electrical failure inside the Roda’s Dulceria party store located at 200 W. 1st St., according to the O.C. Register. Continue reading→
Bring your pet to OC Animal Care for a Photo with Santa. All participants will receive a festive holiday frame and a digital copy to share with family and friends. All donations received will benefit shelter pets.
All adoptions during this event will receive FREE spay/neuter and microchip! Help give an animal a furever home for the holidays and give them the gift of a loving family. Continue reading→
New Case Management System for Family and Juvenile Cases
By: OC Supervisor Lisa Bartlett
This week the Orange County Superior Court successfully launched the use of a new case management system to manage family and juvenile cases. It is the latest step in the on-going effort to move to an all-electronic court record that provides better service at reduced cost. All-electronic court records are already in use for traffic, criminal, civil, probate, and mental health cases; as such, the Court has reaped vast rewards in organizational strengths and efficiencies.
The new system eliminates the use of paper files and automates several functions that have been done manually in the past. This allows for greater efficiency and enables multiple parties to view the document at the same time. The system will also allow documents filed by justice partners, such as the District Attorney and the Social Services Agency, and lawyers to be filed electronically. Continue reading→
The OC Armory Emergency Shelter Program Seeks Volunteers
By OC Supervisor Lisa Bartlett
With the cold weather upon us, the Orange County Armory Shelter opened on November 14 and will remain open through April 15, 2016. The Armory Program provides up to 400 beds per night for the homeless in Fullerton and Santa Ana. Volunteers are needed 7 days per week to help both in the evening (5-8 PM) and morning hours (5-7 AM). Volunteer activities include assisting with set-up, clean up, passing out meals and donations. Continue reading→
Ricardo Salgado, a 22-year-old resident of Santa Ana, died tragically before 1:15 a.m. this morning when he crashed his car into a lamp post near the intersection of Valencia and Red Hill Avenues, in Tustin, according to the O.C. Register.
Salgado was speeding in a Honda before he crashed into the lamp post, according to the police. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Tustin Police and the O.C. Fire Authority.
The police do not know what direction that Salgado was heading in before the crash or whether he might have been under the influence. However the police investigators do suspect that speeding was a factor in the accident. Continue reading→
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Case #14ZF0337
Date: December 11, 2015
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) announced today that he will seek the death penalty against a registered sex offender for the special-circumstances murder of four women after kidnapping and raping the victims. Steven Dean Gordon, 46, Anaheim, was indicted by the grand jury on Oct. 2, 2014. He is charged with four felony counts of special circumstances murder during the commission of rape, kidnapping, lying in wait, and multiple murders. He is also charged with four felony counts of forcible rape. Gordon was in court today and is next scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Jan. 22, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-35, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Prior to seeking the death penalty against Gordon, a special circumstances committee consisting of the District Attorney, the Senior Assistant and Assistant District Attorney in charge of the Homicide Unit, and other prosecutors experienced in capital cases meet and discuss the nature of the crime, the vulnerability of the victims, the defendant’s criminal record, and other factors. The committee also considers mitigating circumstances presented by the defense attorney. Continue reading→
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYPRESS RELEASE
Case # 15WF2533
Date: December 10, 2015
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) is seeking the public’s help identifying potential additional victims of a children’s clown performer who was charged today and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow for sexually assaulting two girls under 10 years old. Gualberto Torres-Vargas, 37, Huntington Beach, is charged with three felony counts of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years old or younger, five felony counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger, two felony counts of committing a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, and a sentencing enhancement allegation for committing lewd acts upon multiple victims. If convicted, Torres-Vargas faces a maximum sentence of 175 years to life in state prison. Torres-Vargas is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, Dec. 11, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.
Torres-Vargas was initially charged in this case on Nov. 23, 2015, with five felony counts for sexual assaulting Jane Doe 1. The complaint was amended today to reflect two felony charges pertaining to Jane Doe 2 and three additional charges pertaining to Jane Doe 1. Continue reading→
PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 11, 2015
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A famous Hispanic band member has been charged for assaulting his ex-girlfriend outside an apartment complex in Santa Ana. Regulo Cristobal Valentin, 36, Las Vegas, Nevada, is charged with one felony count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by violence. If convicted,
he faces a maximum sentence of four years and eight months in state prison. He is out of custody on $50,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on a later date.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2015, Valentin is accused of verbally arguing with his ex-girlfriend Jane Doe outside a Santa Ana apartment complex near his car. Several neighbors reported hearing the incident to the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), who investigated this case with assistance from the U.S. Marshal’s Pacific Southwest Task Force
(U.S. Marshal). SAPD arrived after the initial argument and completed an incident report as no injuries were reported or observed by officers. Continue reading→
