Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: OCDA

Garden Grove woman charged with facilitating communication between a rapist and a child victim

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 17WM01500

Date: February 10, 2017

WOMAN CHARGED WITH VIOLATING PROTECTIVE ORDER BY FACILITATING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CHILD RAPE VICTIM AND THE PERPETRATOR

WESTMINSTER, Calif. – A woman was charged this week with violating a protective order by facilitating communication between a child rape victim and the perpetrator. Jessica Lee Pearles, 37, Garden Grove, was charged on Feb. 7, 2017, with one misdemeanor count of violation of a protective order. If convicted, Pearles faces a maximum sentence of one year in county jail. The defendant’s arraignment date is to be determined. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man convicted of shooting and murdering his sister’s boyfriend

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 15CF0763

Date: February 9, 2017

MAN CONVICTED OF MURDERING HIS SISTER’S BOYFRIEND BY SHOOTING HIM BEFORE FLEEING TO MEXICO

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was convicted today of murdering his sister’s boyfriend by shooting him before fleeing to Mexico. Adan Rodriguez Leon, 34, Santa Ana, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of first degree murder, and a sentencing enhancement for personal discharge of a firearm causing death was found to be true. Leon faces a maximum sentence of 52 years to life in state prison at his sentencing on April 14, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-44, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Santa Ana gangbanger nicknamed Termite convicted again of murdering a father of three

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 11CF0862

Date: February 7, 2017

GANG MEMBER CONVICTED OF MURDERING INNOCENT 51-YEAR-OLD FATHER OF THREE

*Defendant was previously convicted but granted a new trial

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A jury found a criminal street gang member guilty today of murdering an innocent 51-year-old father of three. Eric Vasquez Ortiz, 27, Santa Ana, was found guilty of one felony count of second degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for participation in a criminal street gang. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison at his sentencing on June 2, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-43, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

Co-defendant Sergio Avila Cabezas, 29, pleaded guilty on July 31, 2012, to one felony count each of voluntary manslaughter and participation in criminal street gang activity, with a sentencing enhancement for criminal street gang activity. Cabezas was sentenced to six years in state prison on Jan. 24, 2014.
Continue reading→

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman gets probation after driving the wrong way on the 5 Freeway in Santa Ana

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Washed up former NBA star Dennis Rodman will serve three years of probation after admitting that he drove an SUV unto the exit ramp for the carpool lane for the 5 Freeway, which is located on Main St., just south of the Discovery Cube, according to the O.C. Register.

At approximately 12:30 a.m. on July 20, 2016, Rodman drove a sport utility vehicle traveling north in the southbound carpool lane on Interstate 5 near Main Street in Santa Ana. The lane bears concrete dividing walls on either side. Rodman drove head-on toward a sedan, causing the driver of the sedan to swerve and crash into a dividing wall to avoid contact with the defendant’s vehicle. The victim called 911 and California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers responded to the scene. Rodman failed to exchange information with the other driver and fled the scene prior to CHP’s arrival, according to the OCDA.
Continue reading→

The O.C. Grand Jury indicts three women on charges of welfare fraud and perjury

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 16ZF0005-16ZF0009

Date: February 3, 2017

GRAND JURY UNSEALS INDICTMENTS ON WELFARE FRAUD AND PERJURY CHARGES FOR THREE WOMEN

*Two additional indictments were unsealed in January

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County Grand Jury unsealed three additional indictments today on welfare fraud and perjury charges for three women.

Shayla Frazier, 40, Aliso Viejo, was indicted Aug. 24, 2016, by the Orange County Grand Jury on one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and four felony counts of perjury by false application for aid (Case # 16ZF0005). Frazier was arraigned on the indictment today, and is set for pretrial on April 12, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C–49, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Man sentenced after a Guns and Roses song inspired him to kill his former girlfriend

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 12ZF0154

Date: February 3, 2017

MAN SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS TO LIFE IN STATE PRISON FOR MURDER OF FORMER GIRLFRIEND DURING CONFRONTATION AFTER LISTENING TO GUNS N’ ROSES SONG

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→

Santa Ana man who sodomized a 3-year old girl re-sentenced to 25 years to life in prison

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 14CF1874

Date: January 31, 2017

COURT OF APPEAL REVERSES TRIAL JUDGE’S ILLEGAL SENTENCE OF MAN WHO SODOMIZED TODDLER

*Defendant was originally sentenced to 10 years in state prison; court remands case for defendant to be sentenced to 25 years to life

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One reversed a trial judge’s illegal 10 year sentence for a man who sodomized a toddler and ordered the judge to impose the mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. Kevin Jonas Rojano-Nieto, 21, was found guilty by a jury on Dec. 3, 2014 of one felony count of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years or younger and one felony count of lewd acts upon a child under 14. His resentencing date is to be determined.

“The Orange County District Attorney’s Office applauds the decision by the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, which recognizes that the Legislature’s mandated punishment of 25 years to life for committing sodomy on a toddler is a constitutionally valid sentence designed to protect the most vulnerable victims in our community,” Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas stated. “This was a good day for child victims of brutal sex assaults and the People of Orange County.” Continue reading→

Santa Ana man acted in self defense when he killed his sister’s boyfriend, according to his attorney

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Adan Rodriguez Leon, a 34-year old Santa Ana man who is on trial for shooting his sister’s boyfriend to death during an argument is finally getting to tell his side of the story, as his defense attorney is arguing that he acted in self-defense, according to the O.C. Register.

Leon is facing a felony murder charge for killing 39-year old Paul Guzman, 39, in 2015. Continue reading→

Two men from Colorado sentenced for pimping a 17-year old girl in Orange County

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

January 27, 2017

Case # 16NF0951

TWO COLORADO MEN SENTENCED TO FIVE AND EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON FOR TRAFFICKING, PIMPING, AND PANDERING 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Two Colorado men were sentenced to five and eight years in state prison today for human trafficking, pimping, and pandering a 17-year-old girl. Jahsee Elan Brewster, 33, Denver, Colorado, and Clifton Haralson, 34, Colorado, were found guilty by a jury on Nov. 16, 2016, of one felony count of human trafficking of a minor, one felony count of pimping a minor, one felony count of pandering by procuring, and one felony count of carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in public. Brewster was sentenced to five years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration, and Haralson was sentenced today to eight years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration.

Co-defendant Jovon Andrew Williams, 21, Denver, Colorado, pleaded guilty on Oct. 13, 2016, to one felony count of pandering and was sentenced on Nov. 18, 2016, to three years in state prison. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man on trial after killing his sister’s boyfriend and fleeing to Mexico

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 15CF0763

Date: January 27, 2017

MAN TO FACE TRIAL FOR SHOOTING-MURDER OF SISTER’S BOYFRIEND BEFORE FLEEING TO MEXICO

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man is scheduled to face trial on Monday for the shooting-murder of his sister’s boyfriend before fleeing to Mexico. Adan Rodriguez Leon, 34, Santa Ana, was charged on April 13, 2015, with one felony count of murder and a sentencing enhancement for personal discharge of a firearm causing death. If convicted, Leon faces a maximum sentence of 52 years to life in state prison. The defendant is being held on $5 million bail, and opening statements are scheduled to begin Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-44, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on April 8, 2015, Leon is accused of going to the home of his sister’s boyfriend, 39-year-old Paul Guzman, in Santa Ana. The defendant is accused of contacting Guzman and walking down the sidewalk with him. Leon is accused of pulling out a loaded firearm, shooting the victim multiple times, and fleeing the scene. Continue reading→

Paroled gangbanger to be charged with attempted murder after shooting in a Santa Ana gang safety zone

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

January 26, 2017

THIRD-STRIKER GANG MEMBER ON PAROLE TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER OF FATHER AND SON BY SHOOTING AT THEIR CAR IN SANTA ANA GANG SAFETY ZONE

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A third-striker gang member on parole is scheduled to be arraigned today for attempting to murder a father and his son by shooting at them in a Santa Ana gang safety zone for the benefit of his gang.

John Salgado, 31, Santa Ana, is charged with two felony counts of attempted premeditated murder, two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, two felony counts of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, two felony counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, one felony count of felon carrying a loaded firearm in public, and one felony count of possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, with sentencing enhancements for personal discharge of a firearm and criminal street gang activity. Continue reading→

Santa Ana woman pleads guilty to charges of carjackings in Irvine, Costa Mesa and Tustin

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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→

Santa Ana man charged with beating and raping his estranged wife and stealing her car

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Luis Javier Cervantes, a 26-year-old man, raped his estranged wife in a hallway outside a room where their two young sons slept in Santa Ana, punched her in the head, cut her with a blade, and then fled in her car, according to an OCDA prosecutor as reported by the O.C. Register.

Cervantes’ defense attorney, Christian De Olivas, admits that his client is guilty of hitting his wife and taking her car, but he is alleging that his client did not rape the victim. Continue reading→

14 men including four from Santa Ana convicted of trying to hook up with prostitutes

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 12, 2017

14 MEN CONVICTED OF LOITERING WITH INTENT TO COMMIT PROSTITUTION OR AGREEING TO ENGAGE IN PROSTITUTION

*Conviction details of sex purchasers are featured on the OCDA website

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) convicted 14 men in November and December 2016 of loitering with the intent to commit prostitution or agreeing to engage in prostitution. The defendants in these cases approached a woman whom they believed to be a prostitute, or loitered in areas known for prostitution and human trafficking in Orange County. Each of the defendants below agreed to engage, or loitered with the intent to engage, in commercial sex with a woman and were subsequently arrested by law enforcement.

Defendant/Conviction/Sentence: Continue reading→

Man charged with sexually assaulting three underage girls in Santa Ana

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Jose Manuel Escobar, a 32-year-old man, was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting three underage girls in Santa Ana, according to the O.C. Register.

Escobar is facing six counts of committing lewd acts on a minor younger than 14 and two counts of lewd acts on a minor, along with sentence-enhancing allegations of having more than one victim and molesting multiple children.  Continue reading→