Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Alcohol

Sample DTSA’s food and drinks at return of Savor Santa Ana on July 23

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Savor Santa Ana

Downtown Inc. presents Savor Santa Ana on Thursday, July 23, 2015 from 5:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. at Spurgeon St. (between 3rd and 4th), in Downtown Santa Ana.

Savor Santa Ana lets you sample dozens of OC’s hottest restaurants in the walkable urban DTSA restaurant district all in one evening and at a great price – $10 for 5 tastings, buy online or at the event.

At Savor Santa Ana pick up a booklet of 5 taste tickets for ONLY $10 or upgrade to the FOODIE FAST PASS and take advantage of shorter lines, more tastings, drink tickets and a VIP experience for only $45. With your booklet and a route map in hand, you will traverse downtown, devouring your most-wanted food tastings at local eateries. Continue reading→

SAPD DUI checkpoint set for June 19

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SAPD DUI Checkpoint

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD conducting DUI/Drivers License checkpoint Fri, June 19, 2015, 9:00PM -3:00AM, 1000 E. Fourth Street,

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, June 19, 2015. It will begin at 9:00PM and is scheduled to conclude at 3:00AM. It will be conducted in the area of 1000 E. Fourth Street, in the City of Santa Ana. Continue reading→

The SAPD is conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, June 5

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dui checks in santa ana

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint Fri, June 5th, 2015 9:00PM – 3:00AM in the area of 3300 W. 5th Street

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, June 5th, 2015 It will begin at 9:00PM and is scheduled to conclude at 3:00AM. It will be conducted in the area of 3300 W. Fifth Street, in the City of Santa Ana.

The primary purpose of a DUI Checkpoint is to deter impaired driving, not to increase arrests. All too often, members of our community are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by impaired drivers. This DUI/Drivers License checkpoint is an effort to reduce those tragedies, as well as ensuring drivers have a valid driver’s license. The DMV reports that unlicensed drivers are 4.9 times more likely to cause a fatal crash than a licensed driver. Continue reading→

SAPD DUI checkpoint set for May 22

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dui checks in santa ana

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Fri, May 22nd 9:00PM to 3:00AM in the area of 1400 S. Bristol Street

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, May 22nd, 2015. It will begin at 9:00PM and is scheduled to conclude at 3:00AM. It will be conducted in the area of 1400 S. Bristol Street, Santa Ana, CA. Continue reading→

DUI driver charged with vehicular manslaughter after teenager killed in accident

Posted on by Posted in Accidents, Alcohol, Crime, OCDA, Orange County 2 Comments

OCDA Seal

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 15CF0864

Date: April 23, 2015

DRUNKEN DRIVER CHARGED FOR ROLLING VEHICLE SEVERAL TIMES RESULTING IN THE DEATH OF 16-YEAR-OLD PASSENGER

SANTA ANA – A drunken driver was charged today for crashing and rolling vehicle several times ejecting his 16-year-old passenger who died at the scene. Antonio Jesus Escamilla, 21, was charged today with one felony count of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated without gross negligence, one felony count of driving under the influence causing bodily injury, one felony count of driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent or more causing bodily injury, and a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. The defendant is scheduled for pre-trial on May 28, 2015, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

At approximately 1:40 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2013, Escamilla is accused of driving a Honda Civic while under the influence of alcohol, traveling southbound on Santiago Canyon Road, north of Silverado Canyon Road in unincorporated Orange County. The defendant is accused of having three other passengers in his vehicle at the time, including 16-year-old Marie Johnson who was sitting in the right rear passenger seat. Continue reading→

SAPD DUI checkpoint set for Saturday, April 25, at 500 W. Warner Ave.

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dui checks in santa ana

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD conducting a DUI/Driver’s License checkpoint on Sat., April 25th, 2015, 9PM – 3AM, area of 500 W. Warner Ave.

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Driver’s License checkpoint on Saturday, April 25th, 2015. It will begin at 9:00PM and is scheduled to conclude at 3:00AM. It will be conducted in the area of 500 W. Warner Avenue, in the City of Santa Ana.

The primary purpose of a DUI Checkpoint is to deter impaired driving, not to increase arrests. All too often, members of our community are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by impaired drivers. This DUI/Driver’s License checkpoint is an effort to reduce those tragedies, as well as ensuring drivers have a valid driver’s license. The DMV reports that unlicensed drivers are 4.9 times more likely to cause a fatal crash than a licensed driver. Continue reading→

Suspected Santa Ana DUI driver crashed with his wife and kids on board this morning

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DUI Accident in Santa Ana

A Santa Ana family had a very bad day today as a man suspected of a DUI crashed his SUV into a tree at 3:50 am, with his wife and two kids inside the vehicle, according to the O.C. Register.

Leonardo Morales, 23, apparently failed to turn with the curve of the road near the 17th Street off-ramp on the 55 Freeway, when he crashed his 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe into a tree, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The SUV caught fire after the accident and the CHP officers who arrived on scene, T. Montoya and D. Hansen, found the driver standing Morales outside the car with his 2-year old son in his arms. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man sentenced for fatal hit and run DUI crash

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Guillermo Velasquez Flores

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 14CF2899

Date: April 9, 2015

DRIVER SENTENCED FOR HIT AND RUN CRASH AFTER RUNNING RED LIGHT AT INTERSECTION AND CRASHING INTO SUV KILLING PASSENGER AND INJURING DRIVER

SANTA ANA – A driver was convicted and sentenced today for a hit and run crash after running a red light at an intersection and crashing into a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that killed a passenger and injured the driver. Guillermo Flores Velasquez, 45, Santa Ana, pleaded guilty to one felony count of hit and run with permanent injury or death and one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter by unlawful manner of driving without gross negligence. He was sentenced to three years in state prison and ordered to pay restitution.

At approximately 7:10 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2014, Velasquez was driving his Dodge Stratus traveling westbound on Santa Ana Boulevard approaching a red light at the intersection of Broadway in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Suspect jumped bail after a DUI accident that killed his 5-year old daughter

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Antolin Brito-Soto

NEWS, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Lt. Jeff Hallock, 714.904.7042, JHallock@ocsd.org; Emily Osterberg, 714.647.1840, EOsterberg@ocsd.org

Investigators Seeking Public’s Assistance Locating Vehicular Manslaughter Suspect

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – (March 8, 2015) – On Saturday, March 22, 2014 at approximately 7:35 p.m., Antolin Brito-Soto, 33, San Juan Capistrano, was involved in a solo-vehicle collision near Camino Capistrano and Junipero Serra Road. Brito-Soto’s four (4) children were in the vehicle; three were seriously injured and one, a 5 year-old daughter, died from her injuries resulting from the collision.

The collision occurred as Brito-Soto drove his 2002 Ford Explorer westbound on Junipero Serra Road, through Camino Capistrano into an adjacent parking lot and over an embankment. Based on the preliminary investigation, it was determined Brito-Soto was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision. Brito-Soto was arrested the night of the collision and posted his $150K bail several weeks later. He has not returned to court since his arraignment on charges of vehicular manslaughter and child abuse. Continue reading→

Does DTSA’s Top Acid have a license to party?

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Crime, music, Planning, Public Safety, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Top Acid in DTSA

Top Acid is supposedly a vintage clothing store, located on Downtown Santa Ana’s supposed “East End,” which used to be called the “Fiesta Marketplace” until developer/landlord Ryan Chase turned it into a hipster hangout.  However my sources tell me they hardly have any clothes for sale.

So what exactly is going on at Top Acid?  Well, judging from their Facebook Page and Blog, as well as their Instagram account, it sure looks like what they are really doing at Top Acid is hosting mini-concerts. Continue reading→

MADD honors 14 OCDA attorneys for exceptional prosecution of DUI cases

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Todd Spitzer with Julie Schilling and Dave Doucette of the California Office of Traffic Safety at the MADD Luncheon

Todd Spitzer with Julie Schilling and Dave Doucette of the California Office of Traffic Safety at the MADD Luncheon

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Date: March 25, 2015

MADD HONORS 14 OCDA ATTORNEYS FOR EXCEPTIONAL PROSECUTION OF DRUNKEN DRIVING CASES

SANTA ANA – The Orange County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) honored 14 Orange County deputy district attorneys today for their time and effort in prosecuting driving under the influence (DUI) cases in 2014. MADD hosted the 28th Annual Law Enforcement and Prosecutor Recognition Luncheon today, March 25, 2015, to honor Orange County prosecutors and police officers for their outstanding contributions to the prosecution of DUI cases. The luncheon was held at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda.

At the luncheon, six Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) prosecutors including Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker and Deputy District Attorneys Jim Bilek, Devin Campbell, Stephen Cornwell, Anna McIntire, Devin Campbell, and Nick Miller, received the 2015 Diligent Prosecutor Award to recognize their support to victims and their families and diligent efforts in criminal prosecution of DUI defendants. Each was nominated by their OCDA supervisor or a MADD victim advocate. The recipients were verbally recognized and received a plaque at the luncheon. Continue reading→

SAPD DUI checkpoint set for tonight at 2400 W. 5th St.

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SAPD DUI Checkpoint

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, March 20th, 2015 9:00PM – 3:00AM, area of 2400 W. Fifth St.

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, March 20th, 2015 It will begin at 9:00PM and is scheduled to conclude at 3:00AM. It will be conducted in the area of 2400 W. Fifth Street, in the City of Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Wrong way DUI driver convicted after fatal crash on the 91 Freeway

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Ruben Gurrola

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 12NF0309

Date: March 6, 2015

DRUNKEN WRONG-WAY FREEWAY DRIVER SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR MURDERING ONE AND INJURING TWO OTHERS IN HEAD-ON CRASH

SANTA ANA – A drunken driver was sentenced today to 15 years to life in state prison for murdering one and injuring two others in a head-on crash after driving the wrong way into oncoming traffic on two separate Orange County freeways. Ruben Gurrola, 26, Pomona, was found guilty by a jury on Nov. 14, 2014, of one felony count each of murder, driving under the influence causing bodily injury, driving with a blood alcohol level .08 percent or more causing injury, and a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury.

Late on the night of Jan. 28, 2012, Gurrola left a Newport Beach bar with his then 24-year-old girlfriend Allison Poon after several hours of drinking alcohol with friends. The defendant took a cab with Poon to a friend’s house. After arriving at the home, Gurrola got into the driver’s seat of a Honda sedan and drove away with Poon in the passenger seat. At approximately 1:40 a.m., the defendant drove under the influence of alcohol on the wrong side of the freeway into oncoming traffic, heading northbound in the southbound lanes of the 241 toll road. Several motorists called 911 and had to swerve to avoid being hit by the defendant. Continue reading→

The SAPD is looking for two men who robbed Arthur’s Liquor

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Arthur's Liquor Store robbers

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD Robbery Detectives request assistance in identifying masked robbers

Location: 3535 S. Fairview Street – Arthur’s Liquor

Suspect #1 – Male, 20 – 30 years old, 5’9” – 6’0” tall, 175-220 lbs, heavy build. Armed with a revolver.

Suspect #2 – Male, 18 – 25 years old, 5’10” – 6’1’ tall, 180 – 220 lbs, medium build.

Synopsis: On 2/9/2015 at 1925 hours, Suspect #1 and Suspect #2 entered Arthur’s Liquor Store wearing masks and robbed the store at gunpoint. Suspect #1 was wearing a wrestling mask and Suspect #2 was wearing a black bandana and baseball cap. Continue reading→