New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Crime

SAUSD Superintendent talks about the arrest of a former S.A. High School teacher

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Education, Rick Miller, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

Media Statement from Superintendent Rick Miller, Ph.D. Regarding Arrest of Former Employee

“The Santa Ana Unified School District was notified today that a former teacher from Santa Ana High School was arrested for allegations of criminal misconduct involving a minor. Once the initial investigation and allegations were brought to the attention of the district, the teacher was immediately removed from the classroom, placed on leave, prohibited from all SAUSD campuses, and the matter was referred to the Santa Ana Police Department. This allegation is deeply troubling and disturbing as it is every employee’s responsibility to provide a safe environment for our students.

We take any form of misconduct involving our student’s well-being very seriously, and the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education, and I remain committed to providing an educational environment that promotes safety and a common bond of trust. Continue reading→

Santa Ana High School teacher arrested for unlawful sex with a minor student

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Education, Santa Ana, SAUSD 39 Comments

Alvar Albert Gonzalez

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD & SA School Police Arrest Teacher For Unlawful Sex With A Minor Student

On 9/4/15, after a joint investigation between the Santa Ana Police Department and the Santa Ana Unified School District Police, detectives arrested Alvar Albert Gonzalez, 45, of Santa Ana, for possessing/producing obscene matter and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

The female victim first met the suspect when she was in his class her freshman year at Santa Ana High School. In 2013, Gonzalez arranged to meet the 16-year- old victim in his classroom during school lunch breaks. There, Gonzalez allegedly engaged in consensual sexual intercourse with the victim on over 9 occasions. This activity was initially not reported. Continue reading→

Man arrested for molesting children whose families attend a Jehovah’s Witness church in Santa Ana

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Churches and Religion, Crime, Santa Ana, Tustin Leave a comment

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Santa Ana & Tustin Police Departments Arrested Suspect For Multiple Counts Of Sexual Assaults Against Children.

On 9/4/15, after a joint investigation between the Santa Ana Police Department and the Tustin Police Department, detectives arrested Jose Aguilera, 41, of Santa Ana, for multiple counts of sexual assaults against children.

Aguilera met, and befriended, the four families of his victims at the Kingdom Hall Jehovah’s Witness church in Santa Ana where they worship. Aguilera is not an employee of the church. Aguilera created situations where he was allowed to visit the victims’ homes or transport victims in his car. The alleged assaults occurred when Aguilera was alone with the children. Continue reading→

Homeowner took a gun away from a burglary suspect and shot him

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A Santa Ana homeowner, Erickson Dumaual, defended himself early today when a man tried to break into his home, at the 2500 block of West Manly Ave., in Santa Ana’s Ward 6, which is represented by Councilman Sal Tinajero.

The homeowner shot the suspected burglar and held him at gunpoint. The shots were fired before 4:30 a.m., according to the O.C. Register.

Dumaual saw two suspects in his backyard and he told the police that one of the suspects appeared to be brandishing a gun. Somehow Dumaual was able to wrestle the gun away from the suspect, who has been identified as 19-year-old gang member Bryan Bravo. Dumaual shot Bravo while the other suspect ran off. Continue reading→

SAPD DUI checkpoint set for Sep. 4 at 500 W. 1st St.

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alcohol, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD conducting DUI/Drivers License checkpoint Friday, Sept 4th, 2015, 9:00PM – 3:00AM, 500 W. First Street

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, September 4th, 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. First Street, Santa Ana, CA.

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→

Law enforcement is looking for more victims of suspected molester barber in DTSA

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, OCDA, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Ruben Olguin

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: REQUESTING PUBLIC’S HELP IN IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL VICTIMS OF BARBER CHARGED WITH MOLESTING TEEN BOY

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) and Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) are seeking the public’s help identifying potential additional victims of a barber who is charged with molesting a teen boy during a haircut. Ruben Olguin, 51, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of lewd act upon a child. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. He is being held on $100,000 bail and is scheduled for continued arraignment tomorrow Sept. 4, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in Department
CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Undercover SAPD sting nabs a man suspected of stealing over $400k worth of computer parts

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A Riverside man, Walter Levar Mallet, 37, was arrested by Santa Ana police in an undercover sting Wednesday over the theft, on May 22, of high-end computer parts from a computer manufacturer located at the 1300 block of East Edinger Avenue, according to the O.C. Register.

Mallet is thought to be one of three hooded men who smashed a glass door to get into the computer business, where over the course of several hours they made off with around $400K worth of computer components that are used in aircraft and medical equipment, according to the SADP.

The SAPD investigators are not sure how the burglars were able to disable the computer manufacturer’s security system for three hours. Continue reading→

U.S. Border Patrol stops convicted Santa Ana sex offender at the Mexican border

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Federal Government, mexico, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Border Patrol Stops Sex Offender at the Border

CALEXICO, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the El Centro Station arrested a previously deported convicted sex offender in the desert area approximately 13 miles west of the Calexico port of entry today.

The 34-year-old man was apprehended by Border Patrol agents when illegally entered into the United States. Agents later identified the man as Jesus Bermudez-Alvear, a citizen of Mexico.

Criminal record checks revealed that Bermudez is a convicted sex offender, convicted of sexual intercourse with a minor out of Santa Ana. Bermudez was previously removed from the United States and served a 60 day prison term and a three year supervised release on Mar.30, 2000. Continue reading→

Third-striker charged with stabbing Robert Carranza to death at Frontier Park in Tustin

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, OCDA, Tustin Leave a comment

Robert Daniel Carranza

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 15CF1967

Date: September 1, 2015

THIRD-STRIKER CHARGED FOR STABBING-MURDER OF MAN IN TUSTIN

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A third-striker was charged today for stabbing and murdering a man at a park in Tustin. Robert Jesus Wilson, 51, is charged with one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon and prior strike convictions for assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer in 1998 and making criminal threats in 2014. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 85 years to life in state prison. He is being held on $1 million bail. The scheduled arraignment was continued in court today to Sept. 18, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Bandit who likes to wear hats strikes again at a bank in north Santa Ana

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Banking, Crime, FBI, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A bank robber who liked to wear hats when he commits crimes has struck again – this time he robbed the Farmers & Merchants Bank at 1750 E. Seventeenth St., in Santa Ana, on Monday at around 4:15 p.m., according to the O.C. Register. This bank is located in the parking lot of a Superior Grocers and is across the street from a Wells Fargo Bank.

The FBI believes this is the same guy who previously robbed a Farmers & Merchants in Orange on Tuesday and a Bank of the West in Santa Ana on Thursday.

The FBI has dubbed the suspect the “pre-season bandit” because he likes to wear sports caps while he robs banks. Continue reading→

Burglars caught red-handed with help from the O.C. Sheriff’s helicopter

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Bianca Renee McNair

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: OC Sheriff’s Airship “Duke” Assists SAPD Officers In Taking 2 Burglary Suspects Into Custody

Arrested: Stephone Jawonn Fellows (27) Los Angeles –Burglary, Conspiracy to Commit Crime, Resisting Peace Officer and Bianca Renee McNair (25) Santa Ana – Burglary, Conspiracy to Commit Crime

On 8-31-2015 at 8:50 am, a resident reported seeing a suspicious male knocking on his neighbor’s door. When the male received no answer at the door, he went through the side yard to the rear of the residence and out of sight. Responding officers requested the assistance of Orange County Sheriff’s Airship “Duke.”

The suspect, matching the description provided by witnesses was located by Duke in the rear yard of a residence where two window screens had been removed. When Duke arrived on scene the suspect observed the airship and ran out of the yard, entering the passenger side of a vehicle. Duke directed responding units to the vehicle, and a car stop was conducted. The male subject fled from the vehicle and ran through the apartment complex at the northeast corner of Fairview and Segerstrom. Continue reading→

Woman uses a knife to attack another woman but ends up getting stabbed herself

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A 24-year-old Santa Ana woman used a knife to attack a 36-year-old woman at the 400 block of South Birch Street, in Santa Ana, on Monday night, just before 9 p.m. But the other woman was able to disarm her younger attacker – and she then used the knife in self-defense, according to the O.C. Register.

The attacker ended up being hospitalized in serious condition. She is expected to survive her wounds. But she is also expected to be arrested on possible charges of assault with a deadly weapon. Continue reading→

Man charged with pimping and pandering a woman in Santa Ana, to pay for his car

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, OCDA, Santa Ana 2 Comments

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 15CF0824

Date: August 31, 2015

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MAN ARRAIGNED FOR PANDERING AND PIMPING WOMAN TO PAY FOR HIS CAR

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Northern California man is scheduled to be arraigned today for pandering and pimping a woman to pay for his car. Malcolm Money Fobbs, 23, Stockton, is charged with one felony count of pandering by procuring and one felony count of pimping. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. He is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon, Aug. 31, 2015, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.

Circumstances of the Case

Fobbs is accused of being a pimp who exploits women for financial gain. The victims are required to turn over all payment they receive for sex acts from sex purchasers to their pimp. Failure to follow these rules can result in physical and/or emotional abuse. Continue reading→

Santa Ana community policing forum set for 9/16 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Entertainment, Neighborhood Associations, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug 26, 2015

Connie Hamilton, Connect-to-Council, 714-745-1692, connect-to-council@earthlink.net

Connect-to-Council to present forum: Santa Ana Community Policing for the 21st Century

Santa Ana, CA, –The Connect-to-Council organization, along with NeighborWorks OC and OC Human Relations, will present “Santa Ana Community Policing for the 21st Century”, a forum for concerned residents of Santa Ana. This forum will feature a panel of community members and experts discussing the most effective Community-Policing methods for today’s challenges and for the future of Santa Ana.

This forum will take place on Wednesday, September 16, 2015, from 6:45-8:30 p.m. at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, located at 1100 S. Center St, in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Men sentenced for money laundering and conspiring to sell counterfeit merchandise

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Fountain Valley, irvine, OCDA, Westminster Leave a comment

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 14WF4259

Date: August 28, 2015

TWO MEN SENTENCED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING AND CONSPIRING TO SELL COUNTERFEIT ELECTRONIC MERCHANDISE VALUED AT NEARLY $3 MILLION

*Items included Apple iPhones, iPads, smartphones, and cameras. Third co-defendant in this case is a fugitive

WESTMINSTER, Calif. – Two men were sentenced today formoney laundering and conspiring to sell counterfeit electronic goods valued at nearly $3 million, including counterfeit iPhones and iPads, following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) and the Fountain Valley Police Department (FVPD).

RatebSaid Najjar, 60, and his son, Eyad Rateb Najjar, 36, both of Westminster, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit trademark counterfeiting, one felony count of trademark counterfeiting, one felony count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one felony count of money laundering, and sentencing enhancements for the value of the counterfeit merchandise seized over $1.3 million and money laundering over $2.5 million. Both defendants were each sentenced to eight years and four months in jail stayed pending the completion of three years formal probation, ordered to serve one year in jail and ordered to forfeit over $500,000 in cash assets to the County of Orange General Fund. Continue reading→