Ryan Michael Booth, a 31-year old Long Beach man, faces 128 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting a family member in Costa Mesa for more than a year, starting when she was 9 months old, and circulating videos of his acts online, according to the O.C. Register.
Booth was convicted on Wednesday of multiple felony counts of sexually assaulting a child, using a child for obscene matter and possession of child pornography, according to the DA. Continue reading
CMPD HAS IDENTIFIED HOMICIDE SUSPECT IN 1997 COLD CASE RAPE-MURDER OF 26-YEAR-OLD FEMALE VICTIM
Case will be submitted to the Orange County District Attorney
COSTA MESA, Calif. – The Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) has identified the suspect in the 1997 cold case rape-murder of 26-year-old Sunny Adrienne Sudweeks. The identity of the suspect has been unknown until recently and after extensive follow-up investigation and exhausting all avenues to capture the suspect, CMPD hopes to bring the suspect to justice by making his identity known. Felipe Vianney Hernandez Tellez, 43, has been identified as the homicide suspect who raped and murdered Sudweeks in 1997. Continue reading
Costa Mesa Police Department
Advisory: COSTA MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT TO CONDUCT SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT
COSTA MESA, Calif. – As part of the Costa Mesa Police Department’s (CMPD) continued commitment to reducing injury and fatalities caused by impaired drivers, a sobriety checkpoint will be conducted by CMPD’s Traffic Unit Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, from 8:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. within the city limits.
The checkpoint will be clearly marked and vehicles will be selected for further screening on a pre-set basis to ensure objectivity. Motorists will be greeted and given information about impaired driving. Driver’s licenses will be checked and trained officers will direct suspected impaired drivers to a secondary area for further evaluation. Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000. Motorists can expect a slight delay driving through the checkpoint. 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
Jocelyn Cano of Santa Ana, a 23-year-old woman with a lengthy criminal history pleaded guilty on Monday and was immediately sentenced to nine years in prison for carjackings in Irvine, Costa Mesa and Tustin, according to the O.C. Register.
Cano flipped out on March 9, 2015, when she smashed the driver-side window of a 27-year old Huntington Beach resident’s 2011 Toyota Prius as he was stuck in traffic on the 73 Freeway going north. She ordered the victim out of his car and then took off in his vehicle. Continue reading
Stephanie Senechal, 22, of Santa Ana, Tyrone Brinson, 35, of Ontario and Benedict Erazoquinones, 28, of Paramount were arrested at the 1300 block of Begonia Avenue in Costa Mesa on Sunday with stolen mail and instructions on how to commit identity theft, according to the O.C. Register.
Costa Mesa police officers were patrolling the area at around 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon after receiving calls about suspects rifling through mailboxes, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: Pedestrian Identified In This Mornings Vehicle vs. Pedestrian Fatal Collision
Deceased: Kassim Mohamed Kassim (65) Costa Mesa
On 01/05/17 at 0531 hours, officers were dispatched Code 3 to the area of Warner Avenue and Susan Street for a report of a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision. The pedestrian was reported to still be down in the street. Officers arrived and the found the pedestrian lying in the westbound #3 lane of Warner between the two Susan Street offset prolongations.
The Orange County Fire Authority responded and the pedestrian was transported to a local trauma center in grave condition. The pedestrian succumbed to his injuries a short time later at the hospital. Physical evidence and eyewitness accounts of the event indicate that the pedestrian was attempting to cross Warner Avenue in a northbound direction from the south curb when he was struck by a white Dodge Ram pickup truck that was traveling westbound on Warner. Continue reading
A suspected car thief led the California Highway Patrol in a pursuit that started in Laguna Beach and ended in by the John Wayne Airport, according to the O.C. Register.
As is often the case the car in question, a blue Honda Civic, was reported stolen in Santa Ana. The suspect took the stolen car to Laguna Beach where local police officers tried to stop the driver but of course he took off, traveling down Newport Coast Drive before heading southbound on the 73. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
December 1, 2016
Case # 16CF3024, 16WF0849, 16CF2991
*Co-defendant charged with dissuading witnesses for contacting the victims on behalf of the incarcerated man
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Corona man was arraigned yesterday for pimping and pandering two women and a 17-year-old boy in Costa Mesa, then assaulting and furnishing meth to the minor. Kenneth Wayne Phillips, 28, was charged on Nov. 29, 2016, with one felony count of human trafficking of a minor, one felony count of pimping a minor, one felony count of pandering a minor over 16 by promise, threat, or violence, one felony count of furnishing methamphetamine to a minor, three felony counts of dissuading a witness, and three felony counts of violation of a protective order, with a sentencing enhancement for crime-bail-crime. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 16 years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. Phillips is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Dec. 7, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading
Costa Mesa and Santa Ana Police were searching for a man who led officers on a short, high-speed vehicle pursuit early this morning, but got away, according to the O.C. Register.
Costa Mesa police officers tried to pull the suspect over this morning for a vehicle code violation at 2:35 a.m. as he was driving a Honda Accord near the intersection of 17th Street and Newport Boulevard, according to the Costa Mesa police. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 12ZF0154
Date: November 9, 2016
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was convicted today of the shooting-murder of his live-in girlfriend during a confrontation after listening to a Guns N’ Roses song. Thomas Michael Wilhelm, 52, Costa Mesa, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of first-degree murder and a sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death was found to be true. He faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in state prison at his sentencing on Feb. 3, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-45, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading
Artists Wanted! Segerstrom’s Center for the Arts, Santa Ana Unified, The City of Santa Ana and Business Improvement Groups Downtown Inc. and Santa Ana Business Council want you to be part of an innovative arts map and index connecting Santa Ana artists and arts organizations with buyers, grantors and employers.
What: Arts Roundtable II: Artists Wanted!
Date/time: Saturday, August 27, 1-5 PM
Location: Segerstrom Center for the Arts Concert Hall Lobby
RSVP Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artists-wanted-tickets-26919145890 Continue reading
Eduardo Vidal Avalos, 20, of Orange was arrested after he turned himself into the SAPD earlier this week, on Thursday, after he was accused of an alleged sexual assault at the South Coast Plaza, according to the O.C Register.
Avalos was booked into Costa Mesa Jail on suspicion of assault with intent to commit a felony and attempted penetration with a foreign object, according to the Costa Mesa police. Continue reading
The Costa Mesa Police are searching for a male believed to be in his late teens to early 20s, who is suspected of sexually assaulting a female yesterday in a parking area at South Coast Plaza, according to the O.C. Register.
Tuesday evening, at around 5:45 p.m., the Costa Mesa police responded to a call about a male suspect who had followed a female to her vehicle in the parking area and then sexually assaulted her. Continue reading