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
Author Archives: Art Pedroza
19-year-old man struck and killed while running across the 55 Freeway
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
Fire wrecks Roda’s Dulceria and damages two other stores at a Santa Ana strip mall
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
Pet photos with Santa Claus on Saturdays in December at OC Animal Care
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 O.C. family and juvenile cases
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
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
22-year-old Santa Ana man dies after crashing into a lamp post in Tustin
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
The OCDA will seek the death penalty against a man accused of murdering three Santa Ana women
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
H.B. payaso arrested for sexually assaulting two girls under 10 years old
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
Regulo Valentin charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend at a Santa Ana apartment complex
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
Arrest made in 2007 Santa Ana murder by the O.C. Cold Case Homicide Task Force
Yacshicka Watts was found deceased on October 20, 2007, when she was 25-years-old in the parking lot of a commercial complex located at the 2300 block of West Second Street, in Santa Ana, according to the Orange County Cold Case Homicide Task Force.
Santa Ana Police detectives determined that she had been strangled and initial forensic testing located DNA evidence that identified 39-year-old Jose Esteban Zuniga as a possible suspect in the incident.
The case however grew cold as primary leads in the case failed to gain enough corroborating evidence to charge Zuniga with a crime. Continue reading
Former President of a Little Saigon bank and 15 others arrested for laundering narco money
Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 10, 2015
Two Other Money Laundering Indictments Unsealed as Part of Operation “Phantom Bank”
Federal authorities today arrested 11 defendants named in a sweeping racketeering indictment alleging a series of money laundering schemes that revolved around the former head of Saigon National Bank, based in Westminster, California, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California. Four other defendants, who are named in separate indictments, were also arrested today.
The majority of the defendants arrested today are named in a racketeering indictment that was returned on Dec. 1 by a federal grand jury and unsealed today along with two other indictments returned by the grand jury over the past year. The three indictments charge a total of 20 defendants. Continue reading
Santa Ana nonprofit appoints local leaders to its Board of Directors
MOMS ORANGE COUNTY APPOINTS PUBLIC HEALTH EXECUTIVE AND WOMEN’S HEALTH ADVOCATE TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Craig G. Myers and Dr. Candice Taylor Lucas are Welcomed as the Newest Board Members Bringing Extensive Experience in Hospital Leadership, Obesity Prevention and Pediatric Care
SANTA ANA, Calif. (December 1, 2015)–MOMS Orange County, a nonprofit organization serving low-income pregnant women for more than 20 years, is proud to announce the appointment of Craig G. Myers and Candice Taylor Lucas, M.D., M.P.H. to its board of directors. Continue reading
SAUSD’s Middle College High School to celebrate National Blue Ribbon Honor with ceremony
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 10, 2015
Contact: Deidra Powell, Chief Communications Officer, deidra.powell@sausd.us, (916) 534-6559 Mobile
SAUSD’s Middle College High School to Celebrate National Blue Ribbon Honor with Ceremony
(December 10, 2015) – To celebrate the recognition of Middle College High School in the Santa Ana Unified School District being recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School for its excellence in providing high learning standards for students, a ceremony will be held on Friday, December 11, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. at Phillips Hall, located on the campus of Santa Ana College, 1530 West 17th Street, Santa Ana.
Middle College High School joins 334 other schools across the United States with the prestigious distinction of being selected a National Blue Ribbon school for their overall academic excellence and their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups – clearly a demonstration that all students can achieve to high levels.” I’m extremely proud to be the principal of a school with students that work so hard and teachers that put in such an amazing amount of effort to make sure that each student’s needs are being met,” said Dr. Kathy Apps, Principal of Middle College High School. Continue reading
Free performance by the Banda Sinfónica de Morelos, Zacatecas set for 12/13 at the Bowers
Free Performance by the Banda Sinfónica de Morelos, Zacatecas
In partnership with Consul of Mexico Mario Cuevas-Zamora, the Bowers Museum is proud to present “Banda Sinfonica de Morelos, Zacatecas,” a multi-generational band of 42 musicians who will be performing Mexican classical music in conjunction with our new exhibition Popol Vuh: Watercolors of Diego Rivera, on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, from 2-3 p.m.
A Banda Sinfónica is an ensemble with wind instruments, percussion, cello, and double bass, and occasionally piano and harp. With special thanks to the Federation of West Coast Zacatecan Clubs. Continue reading