Melissa Guadalupe Hernandez, a 9-year old girl who attended Jim Thorpe Fundamental School, died after two cars crashed into each other on Sunday night at around 11:30 p.m., in front of the South Coast Global Medical Center at 2701 South Bristol Street, according to the O.C. Register.
Hernandez was riding in a Honda Civic, with her father, when their car was broadsided by a Toyota Camry, according to the SAPD. Continue reading
Washed up former NBA star Dennis Rodman will serve three years of probation after admitting that he drove an SUV unto the exit ramp for the carpool lane for the 5 Freeway, which is located on Main St., just south of the Discovery Cube, according to the O.C. Register.
At approximately 12:30 a.m. on July 20, 2016, Rodman drove a sport utility vehicle traveling north in the southbound carpool lane on Interstate 5 near Main Street in Santa Ana. The lane bears concrete dividing walls on either side. Rodman drove head-on toward a sedan, causing the driver of the sedan to swerve and crash into a dividing wall to avoid contact with the defendant’s vehicle. The victim called 911 and California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers responded to the scene. Rodman failed to exchange information with the other driver and fled the scene prior to CHP’s arrival, according to the OCDA.
Continue reading
McDonald’s at S. Pacific and Edinger Ave
This Sunday morning, at about 11:30 a.m., a man was exiting the McDonald’s parking lot at S. Pacific and Edinger Ave. when he realized that he was being followed by a black, older model Acura sedan.
When the man stopped his vehicle at W. Lingan and S. Raitt the Acura pulled up alongside the victim’s driver’s side door. The passenger of the Acura, described as a male Hispanic gang member, asked the victim where he was from, according to SAPD Case number 17-03359. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 16ZF0005-16ZF0009
Date: February 3, 2017
GRAND JURY UNSEALS INDICTMENTS ON WELFARE FRAUD AND PERJURY CHARGES FOR THREE WOMEN
*Two additional indictments were unsealed in January
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County Grand Jury unsealed three additional indictments today on welfare fraud and perjury charges for three women.
Shayla Frazier, 40, Aliso Viejo, was indicted Aug. 24, 2016, by the Orange County Grand Jury on one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and four felony counts of perjury by false application for aid (Case # 16ZF0005). Frazier was arraigned on the indictment today, and is set for pretrial on April 12, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C–49, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading
A guy in Costa Mesa found himself in hot water last night and as is often the case it started with a bad decision regarding an ex-girlfriend. You know when your gal is calling you an “ex” it is time to adios but 25-year old Marcos Antonio Vargas, of Costa Mesa, apparently didn’t get that message. And it did not end well.
Vargas refused to leave his ex-girlfriend’s apartment, at the 2300 block of Fairview, in Costa Mesa. So the ex-girlfriend finally called 911, shortly after 8:30 p.m. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 12ZF0154
Date: February 3, 2017
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison today of the murder of his former girlfriend during a confrontation after listening to a Guns N’ Roses song. Thomas Michael Wilhelm, 53, Costa Mesa, was found guilty by a jury on Nov. 30, 2016, of one felony count of first-degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death.
At approximately 6:25 p.m. on July 8, 2012, Wilhelm entered a neighbor’s home on Redwood Avenue in Costa Mesa and stole a handgun. The defendant returned to his own home to kill his former girlfriend and business partner of three years, 45-year-old Christine Murray. The victim sent text messages to a friend eleven minutes before her murder stating Wilhelm was drinking alcohol, loudly playing and singing along to a Guns N’ Roses song with the lyrics, “I used to love her, but I had to kill her.” Wilhelm then entered the victim’s bedroom, chased her into the bathroom, pulled out the firearm, and shot the victim six times. Since he had run out of ammunition, Wilhelm returned to his neighbor’s home, stole a shotgun, and fired one round into the ground as he unsuccessfully attempted to shoot himself. Continue reading
January 2017 was another violent month in Santa Ana with a total of 27 shooting incidents which resulted in 2 deaths. That includes the SAPD shooting incident on Jan 29. There was also one fatal stabbing incident and one Pedestrian/Vehicle incident which resulted in a death.
All of these reported incidents have been placed on a map to keep track of the violent crime incidents in our city, which can be found here. Continue reading
The city of Santa Ana decided to adopt the state of California’s new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance effective January 1st, which will allow a detached building up to 1,200 sq ft. to be built on an existing residential property or even an existing garage to be converted into a living space.
For the last year, Santa Ana residents have voiced their concerns that the state ordinance does not require the property owner to provide parking for the tenants of these new ADU’s and will just make the existing street parking problem in our city even worse. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case #14ZF0337
Date: February 3, 2017
*Co-defendant is also facing the death penalty
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A registered sex offender was sentenced to receive the death penalty today for the special-circumstances murder of four women after kidnapping the victims. Steven Dean Gordon, 48, Anaheim, was indicted by the grand jury on Oct. 2, 2014. He was found guilty by a jury on Dec. 15, 2016, of four felony counts of special circumstances murder with sentencing enhancements for kidnapping and multiple murders. The OCDA announced on Dec. 11, 2015, that it would seek the death penalty against Gordon, and a jury recommended the death penalty for Gordon on Dec. 21, 2016.
Co-defendant Franc Cano, 30, Anaheim, was also indicted by the grand jury on Oct. 2, 2014, and is charged with four felony counts of special circumstances murder and four felony counts of forcible rape. The special circumstance sentencing enhancements are for murder during the commission of rape, multiple murders, lying in wait, and kidnapping. The OCDA announced on March 15, 2016, that it would seek the death penalty against Cano. He is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on May 12, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-40, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading
County of Orange Reports First Influenza-Reported Death of Season
The County of Orange Health Care Agency has confirmed Orange County’s first influenza-related death in a person under 65 this season. Continue reading
Shooting at W 5th and N Fairview in Santa Ana
There was yet another shooting in Santa Ana, early this morning. A male adult shooting victim transported himself to UCI for a gunshot wound to his lower torso on Friday, Feb. 3, at 1:30 a.m., according to SAPD Case #17-3173.
When SAPD police officers arrived to speak to the victim, he said that he had been walking in the area of W. 5th and N. Fairview when he was shot. He is in stable condition. Continue reading
Daniel Cervantes, a 27-year-old man who lived in Santa Ana with his parents was arrested by the Irvine Police tonight on suspicion of stealing high-end jewelry, including an engagement ring from 1892, from at least four people who asked them to do work on the pieces, according to the O.C. Register.
Cervantes, a former employee at Nathan Alan Jewelers, told the victims that he could polish or resize their engagement or wedding rings. However he would never return the jewelry to his customers – even after they paid him for his services. Continue reading
A man believed to be a possible kidnapper was arrested by the SAPD after leading them on a fifteen minute police pursuit on Wednesday night, that ended at about 11:30 p.m. The pursuit ended in a crash at the 4000 block of El Camino Real in Irvine, according to Mynewsla.
The suspect, an unidentified man, was briefly trapped in his car after he crashed it into a tree, according to the O.C. Register. Continue reading
Do you live in Santa Ana? If you have kids then you need to know that you don’t have to put them in our local schools. That said there are some fine schools in Santa Ana. But are they the best ones for your kids?
Parents are allowed to indicate a preference for the school which their child will attend, irrespective of the child’s place of residence within the district. And surrounding school districts have to honor this parental preference if their schools have sufficient capacity without displacing other currently enrolled students, according to California Education Code Section 35160.5(b).
So what school districts are the best ones in our area? Continue reading