City of Fountain Valley – Police Department
PRESS RELEASE: Feb 11, 2015
Fountain Valley Police seek suspect who robbed a 7-Eleven store
On February 10, 2015, at 4:27 am, the pictured suspect entered a 7-Eleven store in the 9000 block of Warner Avenue in Fountain Valley and demanded cash from the clerk, while holding what appears to be a gun wrapped in black cloth. The clerk complied, and the suspect fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. No vehicle was seen. Continue reading
News Release Newport Beach Police Department
Public Information Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PRESS RELEASE: 02/11/15
Subject: Woman Arrested for Multiple Commercial Burglaries
Contact : Jennifer Manzella, Press Information Officer, 949-644-3662, jmanzella@nbpd.org
Arrested: Thu Thao Thi Vu, Female Asian, 59-year-old resident of Huntsville, Alabama
On Friday, February 6, 2015 at 1:15 pm, the Newport Beach Police Department arrested Thu Thao Thi Vu for a number of Commercial Burglaries committed in the City. Ms. Vu has also been tied to numerous other Commercial Burglaries in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, and San Bernardino Counties. This arrest was made possible through the strong relationships between the Police Department and the Loss Prevention teams from our local department stores. Continue reading
Two men stole a white Honda today and when an SAPD police cruiser tried to pull them over, at 9 am, on Dyer Road by the 55 Freeway, after an alarm in the car had been triggered, they got onto the 55 North and began a high-speed getaway that eventually ended up on the South 5 Freeway, where they gott of on the Red Hill Ave. exit in Tustin, according to the O.C. Register.
The Orange County Sheriff lent support during the chase by providing their helicopter, dubbed “Duke” and the Tustin Police helped out too. Continue reading
Officials Ask Public’s Help to Stop Spread after Invasive Pest Found in Orange County
By Todd Spitzer, Chairman, OC Board of Supervisors, portions courtesy of the Orange County Fire Authority
Gold Spotted Oak Borer (GSOB), an invasive beetle that has killed thousands of oak trees in San Diego and Riverside counties in a short span of time, has now been detected in Orange County. The GSOB was discovered in approximately 60 trees on County park land in northern Orange County. Since GSOB is transported in oak firewood, it is critical that Californians keep firewood local and not move it out of the area.
This new detection of GSOB represents the second long-distance movement of the beetle from its known areas of infestation in San Diego and Riverside Counties. It is believed to have made the jump from either San Diego or Riverside to Orange County through the movement of infested firewood. “The public plays a key role in stopping the spread of the GSOB,” said Orange County Board Chairman, 3rd District Supervisor and OCFA Board Member Todd Spitzer. “When choosing firewood make sure you buy it from a local source and not from out of the area. This infestation could have devastating effects on Orange County and all California and we all must work to stop its spread.” Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Date: February 9, 2015
SANTA ANA – A jury determined today that a mother was legally sane when she murdered her 2-month-old baby girl by drowning her in a bathtub. Lucero Carrera, 30, Santa Ana, was previously found guilty by the same jury, Jan. 26, 2015, of one felony count each of first degree murder and assault on a child under 8 years old with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death. Carrera faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison at her sentencing March 27, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-45, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
As Carrera entered pleas of “not guilty” and “not guilty by reason of insanity,” the trial was held in two phases. The first phase was the guilt phase, during which jurors heard evidence about the crime and the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the crime. In the second phase, the sanity phase, the same jury considered evidence and determined Carrera was legally sane at the time of the crime. When a defendant pleads “not guilty by reason of insanity,” the burden is on the defense to prove that the defendant was more likely than not legally insane when she committed the crime. To be considered legally insane, the defense must prove that the defendant had a mental disease or defect when she committed the crime, and also that this defect kept the defendant from understanding the nature of her act or from understanding that his act was morally or legally wrong. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Case # 15CF0256
Date: February 9, 2015
*Defendant is also charged for illegally performing cosmetic surgery on another victim
SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) are seeking the public’s help identifying potential additional victims of a defendant charged with illegally performing cosmetic surgeries which resulted in the death of one victim. Liborio De La Luz Ramos, 44, Santa Ana, was charged today with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter by unlawful act and two felony counts of unauthorized practice of medicine. If convicted, Ramos faces a maximum sentence of four years and eight months in state prison. The People will request that the defendant be held on $500,000 bail at today’s arraignment in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.
At the time of the crime, Ramos is accused of having no medical license or authorization to perform medical or surgical procedures in California. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2.8.15
Contact: Eric Eberwein, 714.902.5716
OCPA Studios presents…Artistic Endeavors, a new play by Jordan R. Young
SATURDAY, February 28 – 2:30 pm
Theatre Out at 402 W. 4th St., Santa Ana, CA 92701
$6 suggested donation
The Orange County Playwrights Alliance turns 20 in 2015 and kicks off the celebration of its 20th year with a new play event at Theatre Out in Santa Ana’s Artists Village. On February 28 at 2:30pm, the OCPA Studios series presents Jordan R. Young’s Artistic Endeavors, directed by Jesse Runde (Alchemy Theatre Company), in cooperation with Theatre Out. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Case # C-53262
Date: February 6, 2015
MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPE AND STABBING-MURDER OF 22-YEAR-OLD WOMAN OUTSIDE OF BAR IN 1983
*Defendant was previously sentenced to death but the case was overturned on appeal by a federal district judge
SANTA ANA – A man was sentenced today to receive the death penalty for raping and murdering a 22-year-old woman in an alley behind a bar in 1983. The defendant was previously convicted and sentenced to receive the death penalty in this case in 1985. In June 1990, Richard Raymond Ramirez appealed to the California Supreme Court, who affirmed the defendant’s conviction. His conviction was later overturned by the Federal District Court for the Central District of California on writ of habeas corpus.
Ramirez, 55, was found guilty by a jury in the re-trial of this case on May 15, 2013, of one felony count of special circumstances murder in the commission of rape, one felony count of rape, and a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. A mistrial was declared in the previous penalty phase of the trial on June 3, 2013. A new jury recommended Ramirez receive the death penalty on Nov. 24, 2014. Continue reading
Juan Carlos Covarrubias
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Case # 12NF1746
Date: February 6, 2015
GANG MEMBERS TO FACE TRIAL FOR FIRING SEVERAL ROUNDS AT OFFICER’S VEHICLE ON PATROL IN ANAHEIM
SANTA ANA – Three defendants are expected to face trial Monday for firing several rounds at a police officer’s vehicle that was out on patrol in Anaheim for the benefit of their Hispanic criminal street gang. Juan Carlos Covarrubias, 22, Jordy Roman Martinez, 21, Andrew Gomez Sanchez, 21, all of Anaheim, are each charged with one felony count of conspiracy to commit murder, two felony counts of attempted murder on a peace officer, one felony count of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, and one felony count of street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for the vicarious discharge of a firearm by a gang member and criminal street gang activity. If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in state prison. Opening statements are expected to begin Monday, Feb. 9, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. in Department C-40, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
At the time of the crime, Covarrubias, Martinez, and Sanchez are accused of actively participating in a criminal Hispanic street gang with knowledge that its members engage is a pattern of criminal gang activity. Continue reading
A man was stabbed Friday afternoon in Santa Ana, police said. at Fairview and Seventeenth streets in Santa Ana. When the police arrived, they found a man stabbed several times in the upper torso, Sgt. Don Humphrey said, according to the O.C. Register.
For some reason the man did not cooperate with the police. He admitted that someone stabbed him but that was it. He was taken to an unnamed hospital for treatment. Continue reading
Support Santa Ana’s historic Boy Scouts Troop 28, at a pancake breakfast on Sunday, February 8, 2014, from 8 to 10 am, at the Santa Ana United Methodist Church located at 2121 N. Grand Ave., in Santa Ana, next to Sierra Intermediate School.
The pancake breakfast will include freshly made fluffy pancakes, savory breakfast sausages and scrambled eggs. A $5 donation is requested. Continue reading
SAUSD’s 2nd Annual Healthier U 5K Resolution Run/Walk
Draws 250 Participants on Beautiful Sunny Morning
On the beautiful Saturday morning of January 31, 2015, Santa Ana Unified School District employees joined their friends and family at the district’s 2nd Annual Healthier U 5K Resolution Run/Walk held at Godinez Fundamental High School and Centennial Park.
With a start time of 8:30 a.m., participants were geared up and ready to go to demonstrate the importance of physical activity for a healthy lifestyle. It didn’t matter if you were a trained runner or casual walker, participants were cheered and motivated along the way to go at their own pace and most importantly, finish the race. Continue reading
NO-BURN ALERT: MANDATORY WOOD-BURNING BAN IN EFFECT TODAY AND TOMORROW FOR RESIDENTS OF THE SOUTH COAST AIR BASIN
All Indoor and Outdoor Residential Wood Burning Prohibited Due to High Air Pollution Predicted for Saturday, February 7 and Sunday, February 8
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has issued a residential no-burn alert effective Saturday, February 7 and Sunday, February 8, 2015, for all those living in the South Coast Air Basin, which includes the greater Los Angeles area, Orange County and the Inland Empire. SCAQMD reminds residents in these areas that burning wood in their fireplaces is prohibited today and tomorrow, through midnight on Sunday. No-burn alerts are mandatory in order to protect public health due to a high concentration of fine particle air pollution forecast for the area. The no-burn prohibition also applies to manufactured fire logs, such as those made from wax or paper. Continue reading
Santiago Elementary’s RAK Club Shows Kindness to Needy Animals
Santiago Elementary School’s Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Club, which is comprised of 30 5th grade scholars, can celebrate the success of their most recent project – “A Cause for Paws.”
Each trimester, the RAK Club ambassadors vote on a community service project to promote school-wide that will help all the students, parents and staff at Santiago practice kindness. This trimester, they organized “A Cause for Paws” to collect items needed by the Orange County Animal Shelter. Continue reading
Fast and Furious 7 is coming out soon in April but tonight we had a preview of it here in Santa Ana. A custom high performance Mercedes-Benz automobile on a road test crashed tonight into a building belonging to Cresta Verde Landscape in Santa Ana.
The fiery crash was captured on video by one of our readers, Anthony Monks, who shared the footage and a few pictures with us. Continue reading