Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Crime

Public Safety meeting on May 24 will include bail bonds, pot and checkpoints

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Crime, David Benavides, Dream Act, Drugs, Entertainment, Health and Medical, immigration, Latinos, Marijuana, Politics, Public Safety, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 5 Comments

The City of Santa Ana’s Public Safety Committee meeting, on Tuesday, May 24, promises to be an interesting one – with activists coming to the meeting to talk about illegal bail bond solicitation at the O.C. jail, medical marijuana sales in northeast Santa Ana, and the seizure of cars driven by immigrants, at SAPD DUI checkpoints.

Medical marijuana is not on the agenda for the meeting, but it sounds like activists are going to try to talk about it anyway, from what I have read in blog comments this week.

A Facebook group is prodding their members to go to this meeting to speak up about seizure of immigrants’ cars at SAPD DUI checkpoints.  See the video above.  Here is what they posted on Facebook:

We demand that the City of Santa Ana stops targeting unlicensed drivers. Safe drivers are denied the possibility of applying for licenses and are routinely stripped of their vehicles at traffic stops. We want to see the leadership in Santa Ana end these practices.

The bail bond solicitation issue is one we have previously addressed here on this blog.  Out of town bail bond agents are breaking the law by soliciting bail bonds on city sidewalks outside of the O.C. Jail and the City and the SAPD have refused to do anything about this.  The O.C. District Attorney recently pressed charges against eight individuals for illegal bail bond solicitation in the O.C. Jail.

Here is the meeting agenda:

CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENDA
May 24, 2011, 5:30 P.M.

Santa Ana Police Department
60 Civic Center Plaza, Community Room
Santa Ana, California

CALL TO ORDER

ROLL CALL Councilmembers: ALVAREZ, BENAVIDES, TINAJERO
City Manager, City Attorney

AGENDA ITEMS

1. Approval of Minutes – Meeting of March 22, 2011
2. Impound Policy – Chief Walters
3. Building Healthy Communities – Chief Walters
4. Security/Firewatch for the Saddleback Inn – Fire Chief Thomas
5. Downtown Dance Ordinance – Chief Walters
6. Bail Bond Solicitation – Teresa Judd
7. Public Comments*
8. Committee Member Comments
9. Items for Next Meeting
10. Next Meeting Date – July 26 , 2011, 5:30 PM, Santa Ana Police Facility, 60 Civic Center Plaza, 4th Floor Conference Room, Santa Ana, California

ADJOURNMENT

*NOTE: Members of the public are allowed three minutes to speak on each agenda item.

Eight charged with illegal solicitation at the O.C. jail

Posted on by Posted in Business, Courts, Crime, Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Cynthia Cheryl Shirey booking photo, courtesy of the O.C. District Attorney’s Office

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

Tony Rackauckas, District Attorney
401 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701

For Immediate Release: May 20, 2011

Case # 11CF0730

Contacts:

Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff
Office: 714-347-8408, Cell: 714-292-2718

Farrah Emami, Spokesperson
Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-323-4486

BAIL BOND AGENT CHARGED IN 8-CO-DEFENDANT SCHEME TO ILLEGALLY SOLICIT INMATE CLIENTS FROM ORANGE COUNTY JAIL

SANTA ANA – A bail bond agent was charged today in an 8-co-defendant scheme to illegally solicit inmates as bail clients from Orange County Jail. Cynthia Cheryl Shirey, 42, is charged with nine felony counts of violating bail license regulations by permitting an unlicensed person to solicit and negotiate bail bonds on her behalf, seven felony counts of violating bail license regulations by using a fictitious name to conduct bail bonds business, 10 felony counts of violating bail license regulations by failing to keep complete records of all business done under the authority of her license, and five felony counts of violating bail license regulations by transmitting to another person a fictitious communication authorizing the solicitation or negotiation of bail.

If convicted on all counts, Shirey faces a maximum sentence of 23 years in state prison. She is expected to post $20,000 bail this afternoon. Shirey was arraigned today and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Aug. 5, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-57, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

“These consumer laws that regulate bail referrals protect the consumer and the public from unscrupulous secret dealings. These laws protect bail clients who are in some of the most vulnerable times of their lives, as well as legitimate, licensed bail agents who are following the law,” stated District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. “I wanted to commend Sheriff Hutchens for working with our Special Prosecutions Unit to keep integrity in her jails and enforcing the law.”

“These arrests are the result of an 18-month long investigation by Sheriff’s investigators working closely with our Department’s jail staff,” said Sheriff Sandra Hutchens. “The illegal soliciting of inmates by unscrupulous bail bond agents will not be tolerated in our facilities.”

“Bail agents who misuse and abuse their license to provide bond services will face the possibility of losing their license,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “Let this case stand as a warning to those who would contemplate allowing any unlicensed person to unlawfully negotiate bail bonds on their behalf.”

Seven Co-defendants

Ernesto Perez, 36, Burbank, is charged with 49 felony counts of negotiating bail without a license and 56 felony counts of identity theft. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 72 years and four months in state prison. Perez is out of custody on $150,000 bail and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Aug. 5, 2011, in Department C-57.

Richard Anthony Arant, 28, Silverado Canyon, is charged with five felony counts of soliciting bail without a license and two felony counts of violation of bail license regulations. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison. A $20,000 warrant has been issued for his arrest. At the time of the crime, Arant was in custody for misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended license (Case #11CM01467).

Jonathan Thomas Campos, 28, Long Beach, pleaded guilty April 29, 2011, to two felony counts of violation of bail license regulations and two felony counts of soliciting bail without a license. He is expected to be sentenced to four years in state prison as a combined sentence with two other criminal cases (Case # 09HF1568 and Case #10WF1614), for which he was incarcerated at the time of the bail bonds scheme. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 24, 2011, in Department C-5. At the time of the crime, Campos was in custody for multiple felonies including residential burglary, driving a stolen vehicle, and possession of a controlled substance (Case #10WF1614).

Jason Anthony Gatewood, 22, Fullerton, is charged with two felony counts of violation of bail license regulations and four felony counts of soliciting bail without a license. He faces a maximum of seven years and four months in state prison if convicted. A $20,000 warrant has been issued for his arrest. At the time of the crime, Gatewood was in custody for felony false imprisonment by violence (Case #10CF1804).

Vaughn Michael Hutchins, 26, San Clemente, is charged with four felony counts of soliciting bail without a license and two felony counts of violation of bail license regulations. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of seven years and four months in state prison. The People will be requesting $20,000 bail in this case and an arraignment date is to be determined. At the time of the crime, Hutchins was in custody for two felony counts of commercial burglary and misdemeanor providing false information to a police officer (Case #11CF0286).

Frank Matthew Tokeshi, 50, West Covina, is charged with four felony counts of soliciting bail without a license and three felony counts of violation of bail license regulations. He was charged with a sentencing enhancement for a prior strike conviction for robbery in 2004. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in state prison. The People will be requesting $20,000 bail in this case and an arraignment date is to be determined. At the time of the crime, Tokeshi was in custody for felony possession for sale of a controlled substance and misdemeanor driving under the influence of drugs (Case #10WF2031).

Mark Ward, 47, Las Vegas, is charged with one felony count of violation of bail license regulations and two felony counts of soliciting bail without a license. He faces a maximum of four years and four months in state prison if convicted. The People will be requesting $20,000 bail in this case and an arraignment date is to be determined. At the time of the crime, Ward was in custody for felony attempted murder, domestic violence with corporal injury, and residential burglary (Case #10HF1909).

Defendants Perez, Campos, Gatewood, and Ward were previously charged in this case on March 17, 2011. The new charges and co-defendants are a result of additional investigation.

Law Addressing Bail Bond Practices

California law prohibits licensed bail bond agents from soliciting bail business from any inmate or incarcerated person.

The law prohibits any person from negotiating the execution or delivery of bail unless they are a bail bonds licensee. Even for a licensed bail bondsman, California law prohibits bail bond licensees from unlawfully soliciting bail business from any inmate or incarcerated person.

California law prohibits any person without a bail bonds license from soliciting or arranging for the bail of another for compensation or receiving commission for a bail transaction.

Conduct by Defendant Perez and Six Inmate Co-defendants

Between Aug. 5, 2010, and March 15, 2011, defendants Arant, Campos, Gatewood, Hutchins, Tokeshi, and Ward were in custody in the Orange County Jail. During this time, Perez is accused of plotting with these six co-defendants for them to solicit other in-custody inmates to contact Perez to provide their bail. Perez was employed by Plotkin Bail Bonds but is not a licensed bail bondsman.

On 49 occasions, Perez is accused of acting as a bail bondsman without a license by negotiating with inmates to post their bail. Arant, Campos, Gatewood, Hutchins, Tokeshi, and Ward are accused of receiving payment from Perez in the form of money posted to their jail accounts in exchange for the illegal solicitations on behalf of Perez.

On 56 occasions during this time period, Perez is also accused of illegally using a legitimate bail bond license number belonging to a licensed bail bondsman from Bakersfield without the victim’s knowledge or consent. Perez is accused of using this stolen license number to log into an Orange County Sheriff’s Department database accessible only to licensed bail bondsmen to look up inmate bail information.

Conduct by Defendant Shirey

Shirey is a licensed bail bond agent who worked with Perez at Plotkin Bail Bonds. She is accused of permitting her unlicensed co-defendants to illegally solicit and negotiate bail bonds on her behalf with inmate in the jail.

She is accused of conducting business under the names Bail Right Bail Bonds and Bail Star Bail Bonds without receiving authorization to use those business names by the California Department of Insurance.

When visiting inmates in jail, bail bond agents are required to complete a Bail Bonds Visitation request form. This form is intended to prevent unscrupulous bail bond agents from gaining access to the jail to engage in illegal client recruitment. Shirey is accused of filling out false information on this form, claiming that her company had been initially contacted directly by the inmate or inmate’s family, in order to gain access to the jail to speak with inmates who had been illegally solicited as clients by her co-defendants.

Bail bond agents are required by law to keep complete and accurate records of all business done under the authority of their license to be available for inspection. On March 15, 2011, Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) detectives reviewed Shirey’s records. She is accused of failing to complete several of her records and failing to document how the agent or company was initially contacted by several inmates for the purpose of arranging bail.

This case was investigated by OCSD. Deputy District Attorney Brock Zimmon of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.

###

Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government’s attack on Paul Walters misfires

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Crime, Politics, Public Safety, Santa Ana 50 Comments

The so-called “Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government” ripped the Santa Ana City Council and Santa Ana Police Department Chief Paul Walters today, in a mass email that questioned how much Walters will get paid as interim Santa Ana City Manager (see the graphic above or click here).

The Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government is registered as a Political Action Committee.  It is run by two Republicans, John Acosta and Art Lomeli, who do not live in Santa Ana.

Walters’ team responded to the mass email thusly:

Double-dipping: Paul is not double-dipping. About 6 years ago, he actually did retire and the city asked him to come back temporarily on a contract basis to groom one of the deputy chiefs to take over his position. During the process, the deputy chief, Dan McCoy, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and subsequently died. The next in line was Bruce Carlson, who was eventually diagnosed with and succumbed to liver cancer. Since there was no one else the city felt comfortable with as chief, they asked Paul to un-retire, which he did.

Actually, it will cost the City of Santa Ana less money for Walters to serve as both Interim City Manager and Chief of the SAPD.  It would cost quite a bit more to pay two people to do those jobs.

The truth is that the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government is just a mouthpiece for failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Al Amezcua.  He dislikes Walters because Amezcua makes a living defending drug dealers and gang bangers in court – while Walters and his department do their best to arrest these people.

I also found it interesting that the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government’s latest email also focused on Code Enforcement – a tool often used in the past by Santa Ana’s dwindling white minority to make life tough for their Latino neighbors.

SAPD gang detectives arrest 5 suspects for homicide

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Crime, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santa Ana Police Department Case Alert

Gang Detectives Arrest 5 Individuals for Homicide

On Friday, 5/6/11, at about 2249 hours officers were dispatched to 900 W. Highland St. regarding an assault in-progress. Responding officers located an adult male victim with severe blunt-object injuries and stab wounds. The victim was transported to a local hospital with life threatening injuries. The incident appeared to be gang related and the motive was gang rivalry.

On 5/8/11, medical staff notified SAPD that the victim had suffered irreversible cessation of brain stem activity as a result of his injuries and the incident was considered a homicide.

On 5/9/11, SAPD Gang Homicide Unit Detectives and Patrol Officers arrested five suspects involved in the incident and booked them on murder and additional gang related charges.

On 5/13/11, at about 0600 hours the victim was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Victim: Abin Humberto Delgado, age 20, of Santa Ana.

Suspects/Arrested and Charged:
1. Juvenile (17)
2. Juvenile (17)
3. Juvenile (17)
4. Najera, Johnny (18)
5. Solorzano, Fernando (18)

All suspects are Santa Ana residents. All juveniles were charged as adults. The investigation is on-going and photographs of the suspects are not available.

The Santa Ana Police Department is offering monetary rewards for information leading to the arrest of gang homicide or felony gang assault suspects. If you have information about any gang homicide or felony gang assault suspects, please call (714) 245-8648.

Contact Information

Contact Name: Gang Investigations
Contact Phone: 714-245-8648

See More Details/Translate

Solorio bill to help youthful offenders re-enter society advances

Posted on by Posted in california, Crime, Jose Solorio, Politics, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Youth Activities Leave a comment

For Immediate Release: May 4, 2011
For More Information Contact: Carol Chamberlain – Office: (916) 319-2069, Cell: (916) 804-5355

Solorio Bill to Help Youthful Offenders Re-enter Society and Reduce Recidivism Clears First Policy Committee

AB 1387 would establish the Youthful Offender Reentry Grant program under the authority of the California Emergency Management Agency

Sacramento – State Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s (D-Anaheim) effort to help youthful offenders re-enter society gained momentum yesterday as his bill, AB 1387, passed unanimously out of the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee. The bill would establish the Youthful Offender Reentry (Cal-YOR) grant program under the authority of the California Emergency Management Agency to provide youthful offenders with integrated education and job training services.

“We know that acquiring an education and learning job skills is the best defense against recidivism for troubled youth,” said Solorio. “But we often fail to sustain the funding for these worthwhile programs. AB 1387 will stabilize the Cal-YOR program by continuing it on an ongoing basis rather than having to reauthorize it year to year.”

Cal-YOR is based on a national award winning re-entry model developed by YouthBuild USA, a national coalition of job training programs specializing in at-risk youth. AB 1387 would ensure that the Cal-YOR program, as funding is available, continues its critical role in reducing crime and offering young men and women a second chance.

“There are 30 YouthBuild programs operating throughout California and their success rates are phenomenal,” Solorio added. “They are a testament to the types of evidence-based programs that Cal-YOR wants to fund.”

Currently, nearly 80 percent of youthful offenders commit new crimes within three years, costing the Division of Juvenile Justice $224,712 per ward, annually to house them. Cal-YOR is federally funded and provides competitive grants for programs that help youthful offenders between 16 and 23 years of age upon their release from custody.

State Assemblyman Jose Solorio is the Chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee and also serves on the Assembly Appropriations and Transportation committees. He represents the Sixty-Ninth Assembly District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana. For more information about Assemblyman Solorio, visit www.assembly.ca.gov/solorio.

###

State Assemblyman Jose Solorio represents the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana. To learn more about State Assemblyman Solorio and his legislative work, visit his official website. This e-mail communication was authorized and paid for by Jose Solorio Assembly Officeholder Committee, ID 1337257, P.O. Box 26063, Santa Ana, CA, 92799.

O.C. Bail Agents Association opposes illegal bail solicitation in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Business, california, Civic Affairs, Courts, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Members of the Orange County Bail Agents Association are not too pleased about bail bondsmen who have been soliciting business outside of the Orange County Central Men’s jail.

“Newport Beach attorney Richard P. Herman filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Orange County Bail Agents Association on to stop these guerrilla marketeers and their aggressive solicitation outside jails and police stations,” according to the Bail Bonds Monitor Blog.

That lawsuit was filed last year.  I don’t know yet the status of the case.

I spoke to one of the legitimate bail bondsmen, Luis Mier, about this issue this week.  He said that it is illegal, according to a state law, for bail bondsmen to solicit business on the sidewalk.

Here is an excerpt from the state law in question:

Title 10 § 2079 – Soliciting of Bail; Persons

No bail licensee shall solicit bail except in accordance with Section 2079.5 and from:

(a) An arrestee;
(b) The arrestee’s attorney;
(c) An adult member of the arrestee’s immediate family; or
(d) Such other person as the arrestee shall specifically designate in writing. Such designation shall be signed by the arrestee before the solicitation, unless prohibited by the rules, regulations or ordinances governing the place of imprisonment. If so prohibited, it may be signed after release of the arrested to ratify a previous oral designation made by him.

Mier, who owns a bail bonds business located in Santa Ana, says that it is also supposedly illegal for the out of town bail bondsmen to solicit business on the sidewalk according to Santa Ana’s civic code, but he can’t get anyone at City Hall to enforce the law.

Mier visited City Hall this week.  He spoke to a clerk who said anyone can buy a soliciting license for $300.  Mier asked him if he would sell such a permit to a pimp.  The clerk said he would!  How disturbing.

Mier met this week with Assemblyman Jose Solorio to ask for his help in enforcing the state law against solicitation of bonds on city sidewalks.  I also suggested to him that he meet with State Senator Lou Correa.  Ultimately the State Insurance Commissioner, Dave Jones, needs to do something about these solicitors.  Hopefully Solorio and Correa will put some pressure on Jones to do something about this.

It is unfair to local businessmen like Mier for out of town bail bondsmen, from as far away as Riverside and San Bernardino, to come here to Santa Ana and illegally take their business away from them.

County of Orange bans perverts in parks, should Santa Ana do so too?

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Orange County, Parks and Recreation, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Youth Activities Leave a comment

Orange County supervisors have approved a law significantly restricting the movements of registered sex offenders, banning them from entering some beaches, parks and harbor areas, according to the L.A. Times.

Under the proposal, registered sex offenders caught in designated county recreational areas where children regularly gather would be subject to misdemeanor charges. Violators could be punished with up to six months in jail and/or a $500 fine, according to the OC Weekly.

Kudos to O.C. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and O.C. Supervisor Shawn Nelson for drafting this ordinance.  Now we need to pass a similar law here in Santa Ana.

As my readers might recall, I spent a lot of time researching the problem of men lurking at Santiago Park, after I personally observed these men and found spent condoms and vinyl gloves on the park’s trail.

I found a report by the Santa Ana Police Department, dated 2001, indicating that the City of Santa Ana has known about this problem – for over 25 years.

The SAPD ended up arresting a bunch of these perverts after I wrote a few posts about this problem.  Click here to read about their sting operation.

Is this a problem in Santa Ana?  You bet.  In fact, we have over 200 registered sex offenders in our city, according to another of my investigative reports.

It is time for our City Council to pass a law, like the new County law, banning sexual predators from all of our city parks.

If you would like to communicate your feelings about this to the SAPD, click here. Click here to contact the Santa Ana City Council.  You can contact City Manager Dave Ream’s assistant, Mark Lawrence, at MLawrence@santa-ana.org.

The SAPD explains what happened at the Caravana Mobile Home Park melee

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Crime, Public Safety, Santa Ana 6 Comments

The Santa Ana Police Department has drafted an Executive Summary regarding the melee that broke out this Saturday night, at a party at the Caravana Mobile Home Park. You have by now read our initial post about this fracas, which included a shaky video shot by someone at the party. Here is the other side of this story:

Santa Ana Police Department
Executive Summary

Disturbance and Arrests – 306 S. Sullivan #89
Caravana Mobile Home Park

On January 22, 2011 at 8:01 p.m., Santa Ana Police dispatch received a call of loud music coming from a party at 306 S. Sullivan #89. The dispatcher noted that the music could be heard loudly over the phone and that the calling party wanted no contact. At 8:47 p.m., officers who responded to the call gave the owner a warning and advised the dispatcher that the owner was advised of the SAMC regarding loud music and the owner would comply. At 9:10 p.m., a second call was received regarding the loud music and the officers arrived at 9:17 p.m.

The first officer that arrived heard the music “thumping” upon entering the mobile home park and indicates that he could hear the music from more the 200 feet. The officer contactedthe owner of the mobile home, Jose Zarate, and requested to speak to him away from the large crowd of approximately 50 people. Zarate did so reluctantly but was agitated and angry. Once out by the officer’s vehicle, the officer attempted to search Zarate for weapons due to his baggy jacket and pants. Zarate pulled away from the officer and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, Zarate yelled out for help from the partygoers. During the struggle, Maurilia (Zarate’s mother) grabbed the officer around the waist in an attempt to pull the officer away while three other partygoers began pulling Zarate away from the officer. With the help of another officer, the handling officer was able to overcome the resistance, handcuff Zarate and get him into the patrol car. However, the officers were then surrounded by approximately 50 angry partygoers. The officers stood back to back with their batons out as the partygoers pushed them around, pulled at their uniforms and attempted to open the door of the patrol car. The officers protected themselves by holding their batons up and pushing back as the partygoers assaulted them.

As back-up officers arrived, attempts were made to identify the partygoers who assaulted the officers in an attempt to free Zarate. During the arrest of the individuals that were involved, another subject threw a full can of beer at an officer narrowly missing his head and exploding on another mobile home. During the incident a total of 37 officers responded along with the helicopter. No officers were injured during this incident. A total of 8 subjects were taken into custody for a variety of charges related to assault, lynching and rioting. Four of the suspects were booked into Santa Ana Jail, one was cited and released (Zarate’s mother) and three were released after being interviewed.

Three of the arrestees sustained the following injuries:

• Jose Zarate – Two small lacerations on his arms
• Raphael Zarate Granados – Abrasion on the elbow and a small laceration on a finger
• Jorge Reyes – Bruise on lower lip

A video was posted on the internet (YouTube) and it shows officers tossing some chairs, a table and a stroller off to the side. An additional video with a better view was obtained from a witness at the scene and booked into evidence. The sergeant at the scene indicated that the chairs, tables and stroller were tossed to the side in order to clear a path for the officers who were struggling with arrestees who were resisting and to keep them from being used as weapons against the officers. Per departmental policy the sergeant is completing an administrative report related to the arrestees that were injured during the arrests.

Fracas breaks out at Santa Ana mobile home park when police try to stop a party

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Crime, Public Safety, Santa Ana 6 Comments

The talk of the town this weekend was a melee that broke out at a mobile home park, in Santa Ana, when police officers showed up, for the second time that night, to follow up on a complaint about noise.

At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, police responded to requests from residents at Caravana Mobile Home Park at 306 S. Sullivan St., after a party became loud, Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. Police issued a warning to the partygoers and left. They were called back again at 9:15 p.m. when more residents complained, according to the O.C. Register.

Someone at the party shot a video, which shows complete chaos as the police officers appear to go out of their way to damage furniture at the party.  You can see the video above.

I have been told that the Santa Ana Police Department has their own video.  They have yet to fully explain what happened.  They did so however that residents were wrong about the number of SAPD vehicles onsite.  Residents claimed there were 46 vehicles, which seems a bit much.

As one might imagine, there are a lot of damaging reports from the residents who got rousted, including a pregnant lady that apparently got pushed around by the officers.

I think we need to give the SAPD some time to explain themselves.  Clearly the residents failed to obey the police officers the first time they were warned.  It is sad that a birthday party for an 18 year old went south, but you cannot blame the police for that, although I am sure some local blogs will do so.

The real question is why did folks call the cops at 8:30 pm?  That seems a bit early to be calling the police about a party.

Readers at the Register have of course put up a bunch of racist comments.  But one of the parents at the party noted that his sons go to UCI and UCLA.  This was not a gang event.  These folks were just having a good time and things got out of hand when someone in the neighborhood called in the cops.

I am glad no one was seriously hurt.

Santa Ana graffiti targeting Gov. Brown underscores hate problem in the O.C.

Posted on by Posted in Blogs, Civic Affairs, Civil Rights, Crime, Governor Jerry Brown, LGBT, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Politics, Public Safety, Republican Party, Santa Ana 7 Comments

George Collins, a videographer who lives in south Santa Ana, and who ran for Mayor last year, was on the scene yesterday when graffiti was discovered on two walls in his area – but this was not normal tagging.  The words that were painted onto those walls constituted a threat to the life of our new Governor, Jerry Brown.

Why target Brown?  Who knows?  He has been fairly moderate so far and has mostly made headlines for announcing that he is slashing public library funds and going after redevelopment and free enterprise zone funding.

Brown appeared here locally, at the Santa Ana Zoo, at last year’s O.C. Labor Day event.  He is a close friend of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and Brown has actually stayed over at Pulido’s house while in town.  Pulido told me last year that he met with Brown several times to assist with Brown’s campaign.

The first one happened around Greenville Street just north of Alton Street, according to the OC Weekly, which also reported that the other graffiti threat appeared near Thornton Park.

Collins appears in the video above, which I am providing courtesy of ABC News.  They interviewed Collins and were able to video the graffiti before City of Santa Ana public works crews quickly painted it over.

Collins noted on his Facebook page that the graffiti was covered up by 9:30 am.  He credited the City of Santa Ana for acting quickly to get rid of these hateful messages.

Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, of the SAPD, talked to ABC News and he brought up what happened recently in Tucson – and he noted that there have been other hateful graffiti messages in town recently – those messages have targeted gays, Catholics, Mexicans, African Americans and Asians.  He also referenced that other cities in Orange County have been dealing with the same problem.

ABC News cited at least eight such incidents, in four cities here in Orange County.  Many of these messages have included spelling errors.  I have noted over the years that right-wing anonymous commenters on local blogs often misspell words.

The targeted cities have included Brea, Anaheim, and Irvine. Police in those cities are working together to identify if the taggers are the same person or are otherwise in cahoots with each other.

One teenager I know who lives near the area targeted yesterday told me in a text message that there is a known skinhead who lives in that area.  Young people in Santa Ana expressed fear yesterday, on Facebook.

These are indeed scary times.  Hate is commonplace on local blogs in particular.  This is one of the reasons I suggested yesterday that we need to scan those who attend our local City Council meetings for weapons.  There are just too many unhinged people here in town and we need to take steps to ensure public safety.

And the local Republican Party is part of the problem.  Minuteman Lupe Moreno got appointed this Monday to the OC GOP Central Committee, as I related in a post yesterday.  So did failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Charles Hart.  Moreno is well known for her hateful views targeting Mexicans and gays.  Hart however is not much better.  He pined during his campaign for the “good old days,” presumably when it was okay for city leaders to burn down Santa Ana’s Chinatown and segregate schools to keep Mexicans and African Americans away from white children.

Another major problem has been the behavior of failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua, who has been railing against the Santa Ana City Council and who has recruited a Who’s Who of bitter, angry folks to his coalition of people who mostly don’t live in Santa Ana.  Their attacks on our City Council and our Mayor have been little more than innuendo and slander – contrast that behavior with that of the aforementioned George Collins, who recently met with Mayor Miguel Pulido to discuss concerns about the Harbor transit corridor and who continues to do good work in our community.  Collins is a shining example of how politicians should act when they lose an election.

Poll: What are the top ten issues in Santa Ana going into 2012?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Crime, Economy, Education, Elections, Energy, Fiscal Sustainability, homeless, Housing, Janet Nguyen, Jobs, Labor, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Paul Walters, Politics, Public Safety, Real Estate, Redevelopment, Santa Ana, Water 1 Comment

As the year 2011 draws to a close it is time to ponder the top ten issues facing the people of the City of Santa Ana, going into the New Year.

You can vote on your top ten issues here (my top ten follow the poll) – and remember that you can vote for up to three issues: Continue reading→

Was the shooting of Elmer Perez, by the SAPD, justified?

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Working Families 17 Comments

Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officers shot and killed a man Thursday who was high on drugs but posed no threat to officers or his family, the victim’s sister-in-law said, according to the L.A. Times/OC Now.

The gun held by Elmer Alexander Perez, 27, turned out to be a replica, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. “There were no safety markings on the gun to indicate it was anything but a real gun,” Bertagna said, as reported by the O.C. Register.

I had a long conversation today with a friend who visited Perez’ family.  He saw the bullet holes in the walls.  He spoke to Perez’ pregnant wife, whose son saw his daddy die.

Was the shooting justified?

My friend said that the family told the SAPD that Perez was high and was not a threat to anyone but himself.  They hoped he would get into rehab.  That is not going to happen now.

The problem with such incidents is multifaceted.  The police are not trained to wound.  They are not equipped to bring a suspect down non-violently.  They don’t like to use tasers as it puts them too close to the suspects.  And the police know that domestic calls quite often turn into violent episodes that often claim the lives of police officers.

One has to wonder if the nation’s police departments are looking at better ways to arrest people, non-violently.

Cops in Great Britain and in Japan do not carry guns, for the most part.  Is that something we should consider here, where so many criminals are armed to the teeth?  Is there some other solution?

Back to the Perez case.  According to my friend, one of the SAPD cops started asking Perez’ family, after the shooting, if they were here legally.  If that is true, I find it most disturbing.  I would have to believe that this was an attempt to intimidate this family.  The family also reported that a senior officer showed up after the shooting and he yelled at the shooters, asking them why they did not call for back-up.  This too was not reported in the Register or in the Times.

Clearly we need to investigate this incident thoroughly.  The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident, which is standard procedure for any officer-involved shooting, according to ABC News.  Can we trust them to be objective?  I hope so.

Don’t get me wrong, I think we have a lot of good police officers in town.  But if we have some bad apples we need to know.  And we need to stop them.

Don’t believe the naysayers, violent crime has gone down in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Crime, Education, Public Safety, Santa Ana 7 Comments

An irresponsible O.C. blogger, who regrettably has joined the Amezcua cult, has been advancing the notion that violent crime has not gone down in Santa Ana.

In 2009, according to the FBI, there were 1,726 violent crimes in Santa Ana.  The same amount of violent crimes happened in 2008, again according to the FBI.

A few differences should be noted.  There were 30 murders in Santa Ana in 2008 – and only 25 murders in 2009. Statistically that is quite a drop.

And there were 788 aggravated assaults in Santa Ana, in 2008, but only 755 such assaults in 2009. Again, that is a substantial drop in number.  And it dropped even more when you consider that in 2007, there were 1,080 such assaults in Santa Ana, according to the FBI.  That is a thirty percent drop compared to 2009!

In 2006, there were 1,998 acts of violent crime in Santa Ana, according to the FBI.  That same year there were 126 acts of violent crime in Irvine.  Guess what?  In 2009 there were 153 violent crimes in Irvine.  That’s right.  Violent crime is going UP in Irvine while Santa Ana has seen a drop in violent crime in the same timespan!

Our local newspapers focus primarily on reporting crime.  They fail utterly to report all the good things happening in Santa Ana.  We try, very hard, to make up for that.  The truth is that we are improving as a city, not going backwards.

Racists often attack our residents and blame them for things they have not done.  This is due in part to the newspapers and to the actions of a few irresponsible bloggers who rather focus on what is bad while ignoring the ongoing improvements in Santa Ana.

The same blogger I have referenced here also attacked our Mayor, Miguel Pulido, because of the problems with education in our city.  That is just beyond ridiculous.  Pulido is not in charge of our schools.  And the fact is that we have a lot of great non-profits in town, such as the Santa Ana Police Officers Athletic League and Think Together, who are making a real difference with regard to education.

We are all working together to try to fix this mess, and in the meantime local Democratic leaders keep backing the SAUSD Trustees who have created this mess.  Both Jose Solorio and Lou Correa endorsed SAUSD Trustee Audrey Yamagata Noji this year.  Blame them when she inevitably makes things worse in the next four years.

I intend to continue to focus on the good things happening in town.  If other bloggers want to twist statistics and focus on being negative, good for them – but that won’t happen here on this blog.

SAPD Chief Walters warns voters about Amezcua, who then comes unglued

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Crime, Elections, Politics, Public Safety, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Apparently Santa Ana Police Department Chief Paul Walters called voters, using a robo-call service, this week to warn them about mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua.

Amezcua and his Usual Suspect acolytes promptly came unglued.  Here is what Amezcua posted on his Facebook account:

The Santa Ana mayor has forced the police chief to make vicious, false allegations about me in a robo call. The mayor is again abusing public resources and trust to promote his interests – not ours. In a city with the worst crime rate in Orange County, our police chief should be working on improving public safety instead of being forced into a smear campaign by a desperate career politician fearful of losing his job.

Amezcua’s publicist forwarded this note to Usual Suspect Debbie McEwen, who is known for having been sued by the ACLU after she erected illegal traffic barriers in her French Park Neighborhood, to keep Mexicans out.  McEwen then posted it on the fading Santa Ana Citizens Yahoogroup.

Walters has good reason to warn voters about Amezcua.  Walters is dedicated to fighting crime in Santa Ana.  Amezcua represents the very worst criminals in our city, as a criminal defense lawyer.  He has actively pursued the worst cases, representing drug dealers, members of the Mexican Mafia, gang members, killers and rapists.  Amezcua also has allegedly received 19 traffic tickets, and as his own attorney he played games with the court records, changing his name from one ticket to the next, presumably to avoid messing up his driving record.

That Amezcua would react by maligning Chief Walters says a lot about him.  I guess he doesn’t know that Walters and his department received the U.S. Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award in 2009, according to a post by Sean Mill in the Orange Juice blog.  You can see Walters being congratulated by President Obama in the picture above this post.

Chief Walters graduated from Santiago High School in Garden Grove, CA. He attended Orange Coast College before his four-year (1966-1970) tour of duty with the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. He was nominated for Airman of the Year in 1967.

While raising a family and working full time as a police officer, he attended night school and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice from California State University Fullerton (CSUF), a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Southern California (USC) and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from American College of Law. He is also a graduate of the California Command College Class II and the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) Class IV, Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), Washington D.C.

As a national innovator and leader in policing, he has trained and assisted numerous police executives and elected officials throughout the country on how to implement revolutionary policing strategies in their respective communities.  He has been recognized many times by the California Attorney General, the Governor of California and both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for his accomplishments.

He is currently on the Board of Directors for the California Police Chiefs’ Association and serves on the finance and political action committees.  He has been President and Secretary/Treasurer of the Orange County Chiefs and Sheriff’s Association.  The Santa Ana Police Department has been recognized since 1997 as a DOJ National Demonstration Site and Training Center for Community Policing and Problem Solving.

Click here to read more about Walter’s accomplishments, which are many.

Alfredo Amezcua was allied with Miguel Pulido for twenty years

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Crime, Drugs, Education, Elections, Gangs, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Public Safety, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

We often forget our history – and you know what that means – we are doomed to repeat it.  That cycle is happening right now, here in Santa Ana.

It is amazing to me that so many people have been completely snowed by mayoral challenger Alfredo Amezcua.  Good people that I have worked with for years actually believe his spin, that he is some kind of revolutionary.  The record simply doesn’t reflect that.  Amezcua has been the ultimate city hall insider for over twenty years.

Check out the picture on top of this post.  There you will find Amezcua, celebrating the recall of SAUSD Trustee Nativo Lopez; alongside Mayor Miguel Pulido; then-Councilman Jose Solorio; then-Councilwoman Lisa Bist; SAUSD Trustee Audrey Yamagata-Noji; who is running yet again this year; and Rob Richardson, who replaced Lopez on the SAUSD Board and is still there now.

The irony, that has been lost lo these many years, is that the recall campaign didn’t want to stop with Lopez.  I met today with Beatriz Salas, who is also pictured above.  She was the parent who started the recall campaign against Lopez (and she has the documents to prove that).  Salas had some very interesting things to say today about Amezcua and the rest of the recall gang.

It turns out that they wanted to recall SAUSD Trustees John Palacio and Sal Tinajero too.  Salas showed me the paperwork.  She personally stopped this from happening because she liked Tinajero.  She later befriended Palacio as well.  But had the recall junta succeeded, it is likely that they would have gone after Palacio and Tinajero too.

Palacio today is a big supporter of Amezcua, showing that even he has forgotten what almost came to pass, even though Salas told him all about it at the time.

Amezcua was the ultimate hatchet man for Pulido, in the Lopez recall.  In fact he actually terrorized an SAUSD teacher who supported Lopez.  That teacher later quit the profession, effectively hounded out of the district by Amezcua and his gang.

This is your revolutionary folks.  He was Pulido’s right hand for twenty years.  The question we ought to be asking is why did he split with Pulido?

The answer may lie in Amezcua’s failed bank, the Santa Ana Business Bank.  When Amezcua started that bank he went to all of his fellow Pulido cronies – and put them on his board of directors.  They included Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce President Mike Metzler; Councilman Carlos Bustamante and his twin brother; Planning Commissioner Vicky Betancourt – who was and still is Pulido’s appointment to the Planning Commission; etc.  And Amezcua hit up Pulido too.  And that perhaps is where their friendship came to an end.

Pulido said no.  He rejected Amezcua’s overtures.  Pulido knew something about banks, as a longtime Board member of a very successful bank in Fullerton.  Pulido thought Amezcua’s timing was awful, and he said so.  He steadfastly refused to invest in Amezcua’s bank.  And, as well all know, Amezcua went on to lose almost fifty percent of the money his investors entrusted to him.  He sold the bank, at a huge loss, to a group of investors from Los Angeles.

And Amezcua turned on Pulido.  He first recruited Councilwoman Michele Martinez to run against Pulido in 2008.  Amezcua told Supervisor Janet Nguyen that Martinez was his “trial balloon.”  He wasn’t kidding.  He used her.  When, on election night, it became clear that Martinez had lost, Amezcua was driven to Pulido’s election night party, in a limo.  Just like that he tossed Martinez away.

Amezcua decided thereafter that he would run this year.

I have taken a lot of crap for siding with Pulido.  The fact is, I fought Pulido for a very long time.  Anyone in town can attest to that.  But after he beat Martinez, they ended up allying in a progressive Council majority that includes my friend Tinajero, and Councilman Vincent Sarmiento, as well as Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez.

Martinez may have lost the mayoral race, in 2008, but she ultimately won.  She moved Pulido to the left.  Together they tossed the Usual Suspects out of City Hall, except for the few that are left as Councilman David Benavides’ appointments to various City Commissions.

Tinajero led the Council majority in supporting Harvey Milk Day.  Martinez joined with Pulido in rejecting Arizona’s racist SB 1070.  And the entire majority has been supportive of affordable housing.  They also refused to honor Minuteman Lupe Moreno, when Benavides unwisely decided to do so.

Together they have repaved our streets and lowered crime, overall.  They are good people, that I can and do reach out to often.  When I asked them to change the free Zoo day from Tuesday to Sunday, they did it.  Now our working people can enjoy our Santa Ana Zoo for free, on a Sunday, when our residents are available to go to the Zoo.

Those of us who have been fighting and fighting against the Usual Suspects finally got what we wanted.  A City Council with a progressive majority of Latino Council Members.  And that is when Amezcua decided to declare war on Pulido.

Where was Amezcua all those years that I was fighting Pulido and the Usual Suspects?  He was on the other side.  He was no revolutionary.  It was only in 2008, that he finally came around, by supporting Martinez.  But ask her and she will tell you that in the final analysis he left her hanging.  He barely donated to her campaign.  He left his daughter Valerie hanging too, and sure enough she barely lost when she ran for the SAUSD School Board that same year.

Amezcua you see isn’t for the people at all.  He is for himself.  Believe what you want to.  I know better.

I gave him a shot, last September, but not too long afterwards I attended one of Amezcua’s SACReD meetings, and sure enough, there were a gaggle of Usual Suspects there, including Glen and Julie Stroud, Phil Bacerra, and Thomas Gordon.  Drive by Debbie McEwen’s house, in French Park, and you will see a huge Amezcua sign in her yard.

Isn’t that funny?  The Usual Suspects have turned on Pulido, and are now all in with Amezcua, even though they prefer Charles Hart.  The latter has no money and is barely running much of a campaign, so Amezcua is their only hope.

Vote for Amezcua if you want to.  But know that he has been a Pulido guy for twenty years.  He is no Che Guevara.  He is really more of a Benedict Arnold.

Let me close this post with an excerpt from an L.A. Times article, published on Feb. 8, 1993.  Check out the names in the excerpt below.  You will find Amezcua, Pulido and Metzler.  And you will note that they were fighting the same gang problems then that we still have now:

Gang violence is also a worry to Santa Ana businesses, said Michael Metzler, president of the city’s Chamber of Commerce.

“Some people might say gang problems in a neighborhood don’t impact businesses. It does because it impacts the city’s financial needs,” Metzler said. “As the cost of policing goes up, business will have to help pay, and that will make doing business more expensive.”

Santa Ana City Councilman Miguel A. Pulido Jr. said he thinks the truce has decreased the level of violence, even though “it’s difficult to quantify.”

“I’m not saying all the problems have gone away, but there has been a general reduction in violence,” said Pulido, who helped prepare a broad anti-gang program approved by the City Council in June.

With the help of Amezcua, Pulido’s program came in response to a public outcry for a renewed fight against gang crime after the fatal shooting of Mauro V. Meza, a Santa Ana father of three, which shocked and angered many in the city.

Since the program’s passage, the city has doubled funding for the city’s after-school recreation program and increased membership on the city’s Human Relations Commission to deal with youth concerns.