Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Author Archives: Art Pedroza

Remember when former SAPD Police Chief Walters cut gang violence by 40%?

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Gangs, Paul Walters, Santa Ana Leave a comment

 

Walters plaque unveiled

With all the talk about combating gang violence in Santa Ana we thought it would be worthwhile to revisit what our former, and far more capable, Police Chief, Paul Walters, accomplished a few years ago.

Walters was forced out of Santa Ana by the last City Council – and some of those Council members are still around, including David Benavides, Vince Sarmiento and Sal Tinajero.

Here is what the O.C. Register reported in 2013, about how effective Walters was: Continue reading→

Former SAPD Police Chief Walters first introduced a gang homicide reward program back in 2007

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Rojas, Crime, Gangs, Guns, Juan Villegas, Paul Walters, Public Safety, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Apparently current SAPD Police Chief Carlos Rojas, who was hired by the Santa Ana City Council despite the fact that he had zero experience running a police department, wants us to believe that he has come up with a solution to the tsunami of gang violence in our city. So tomorrow he is going to face the media, at last, and talk about his new reward program.

But hold the presses – it turns out the SAPD already has a reward program in place for those who give tips about gang-related homicides. That program was put in place by former SAPD Police Chief Paul Walters, who now serves as the Chief of Staff to Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett. Continue reading→

SAPD Chief Rojas will talk about this week’s 4 homicides and his new reward program tomorrow

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Embattled and overwhelmed SAPD Police Chief Carlos Rojas has finally woken from his slumber as the year 2017 has started with a bloody bang in Santa Ana – with 27 shootings in the month of January. Rojas will hold a press conference tomorrow, Feb. 15, 2017, at 10:30 a.m., at the SAPD’s  Community Room to talk about the four homicide cases that occurred over this past weekend.

Rojas will also be introducing his new idea to try to convince fearful local residents to talk to the police. The SAPD is going to be offering monetary rewards to witnesses of gang violence. Continue reading→

There was apparently a bomb threat at the Reagan Federal Courthouse late this afternoon

Posted on by Posted in Courts, Crime, Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Bomb Threat at the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse

There was apparently a bomb threat late this afternoon at the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse, located at 411 W 4th St #1-053, in Santa Ana’s Civic Center.

The O.C. Sheriff typically responds to such threats – and they have a bomb squad. Usually the SAPD will block off the streets and manage traffic in such instances. Continue reading→

Burglars have hit a Sprint store in Santa Ana five times including this morning

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 1 Comment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB4Uhe2m8f0%20

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Detectives Requesting Media & Public’s Assistance in Identifying Suspects in Commercial Burglary Series

The Sprint store located at 3611 South Bristol Street has been the victim of five separate commercial burglaries. The first burglary in this series occurred on November 24th, 2016, and the fifth this morning February 14th, 2017.

Each of these crimes was captured on the business’ video surveillance system and occurred between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00 a.m. In each of the cases it appears one or both of the suspects participated in the burglary. Continue reading→

Man thought to be high on meth crashes in DTSA after leading police on a pursuit

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Drugs, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana Leave a comment

SAPD Police Pursuit in DTSA

An unidentified man lead SAPD police officers on a brief pursuit this morning before he crashed into two cars and was finally arrested, according to the O.C. Register.

The SAPD received calls about the man being passed out in a Toyota Prius that was parked but left running, at around 8 a.m. on Flower Street. The callers thought the guy might have been drunk. Continue reading→

A Santa Ana man was arrested for allegedly videotaping a woman at a 7-11 bathroom

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana, Westminster Leave a comment

A 22-year-old Pablo Eduardo Nava Diaz of Santa Ana, a 7-Eleven cashier, was arrested on Sunday after a woman said he videotaped her while she used the store’s bathroom, according to the O.C. Register.

The woman called the Westminster police at about 7:40 p.m. on Sunday night from the 7-11 store at Newland Street and Westminster Ave. The woman said that a store clerk had used a cell phone to record her while she was using the store’s bathroom. Continue reading→

A man was killed in a gang-related shooting near Roosevelt Elementary on Sunday night

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Fatal Shooting at 621 E. Chestnut in Santa Ana

SAPD police officers responded to yet another a call regarding a male who was shot on Sunday at 10:40 p.m., at the 600 Block of East Pine St., in Santa Ana. A caller had reported the shooting occurred in the alley at that address, according to SAPD Case #: 1704066.

Police officers found one male adult victim with a single gunshot to the upper torso. Orange County Fire Authority responded and pronounced the male deceased at 10:55 PM. Continue reading→

Is it too late to save Santa Ana?

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Drugs, homeless, Santa Ana 14 Comments

When I started this blog back in 2009 I was hopeful that Santa Ana was at last heading in the right direction. Now, in 2017, things seem darker than ever. There are daily shootings and stabbings – and if you did not notice these are now happening in broad daylight. The gangbangers have become utterly fearless – and drive by shootings have once again become the norm in our city.

We can point fingers all day long but that won’t change anything. The fact is many good people in our city are now wondering if Santa Ana has sunk too low. Women are being run over and killed in our city for crying out loud! It is just too horrible to even begin to comprehend.

How did we end up in such a fix? Continue reading→

A man was shot and killed today in a gang-related shooting near Pio Pico Elementary

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Fatal shooting at W. Cubbon and S. Flower St

At 1:44 p.m. today the SAPD received a phone call from a man who reported that his friend had been shot in the area of 800 West Cubbon Street, in Santa Ana.

The man drove the victim to a local hospital were he died from his injuries. Continue reading→

Body found after a fire was put out under a 5 Fwy. bridge at N. Broadway this morning

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Fires, homeless, Jose Solorio, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Fire at the Santiago Creek by Broadway and the 5 Fwy.

If you live or work anywhere near the Santiago Creek, from Broadway to Main, then you know the area is rife with the homeless. This morning, at about 5:40 a.m., there was a fire at one of the homeless encampments in that area, at the 2700 block of N. Broadway and the 5 Freeway, and firefighters discovered a body after the fire was put out, according to the O.C. Register.

OCFA firefighters were able to put out the fire, which was under a bridge, in about 15 minutes. Then they found the body. Continue reading→

Now we know why Councilman David Benavides had a meltdown

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Last Tuesday during the Council meeting, Santa Ana City Councilman David Benavides had a meltdown. It was weird and over the top, Sean Mill tells us why in his Voice of OC comment:

“I wonder if the reason Councilman Benavides was upset is because the council majority had shot down city staffs recommendation to give KidsWorks, the non-profit headed by Benavides and where he draws his paychecks, $125,000, which was almost a quarter of the money. Continue reading→

A brazen burglar stole a security camera off a porch of a Park Santiago home

Posted on by Posted in Crime, homeless, Jose Solorio, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santiago Park burglary suspect

A brazen burglar stole a security camera right off a home in Santa Ana’s Park Santiago Neighborhood on February 9, but the camera caught his image and now the home owner is hopeful that someone will recognize the suspect.

The suspect was wearing a hooded poncho, khaki pants and black work boots. Continue reading→

The ACLU requests a restraining order to stop the County from trapping the homeless at the Santa Ana River

Posted on by Posted in homeless, Lawyers, Orange County, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Santa Ana River Homeless Camp. Photo by Vern Nelson.

The ACLU requested a temporary restraining order Friday against county officials, demanding they remove the fences they erected this week around part of the homeless encampment along the Santa Ana River, according to the O.C. Register.

Earlier this week the O.C. Department of Public Works erected multiple six-foot, chainlink fences around the Santa Ana Riverbed between the Chapman and Orangewood bridges, entrapping nearly 100 individuals and their belongings, according to the ACLU. Continue reading→

The family of the woman who was killed at a Santa Ana shopping center needs help to pay for her funeral

Posted on by Posted in Charities, Crime, Orange, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Trisha Verdugo and her family

As we reported yesterday, 27-year old Trisha Irene Verdugo of Orange, was maliciously run over and killed on Thursday at the parking lot of the vacant Food 4 Less store at 1900 N. Grand Ave., in Santa Ana. Verdugo was there to pay her respects for her 23-year old cousin Joseph Frank Garcia who was shot and killed at the same location the night before.

Verdugo left behind a 2-year old daughter and her partner, Rene Acosta. Her family is now trying to raise money to pay for her funeral services. Click here to donate. Continue reading→