New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: Crime

Is the summer of 2015 a rerun of the Santa Ana gang war that heated up in 1989?

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana 3 Comments

A war between two small Santa Ana gangs – the 5th Street and 17th Street Gangs, left a 4-year-old child dead way back in 1989. The slaying came after “a moderate amount of gang activity, moderate to heavy” during the summer, according to the L.A. Times.

Sounds a lot like this summer doesn’t it? Once again we have a number of Santa Ana gangs at each other’s throats. Their graffiti is everywhere and it is taking a long time, sometimes over three weeks, for the City of Santa Ana’s anti-graffiti contractor to paint over the gang tagging. Continue reading→

Santa Ana named to the Top 10 National Burglary Safezones list

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 2 Comments

The City of Santa Ana has been named #10 on the “Top 10 National Burglary Safezones” list by a national home security company, Protect America. Santa Ana made their Top 10 List for small cities.

Protect America’s research team divided all US cities into categories based on size (small, medium, large) Santa Ana fell into the “small cities edition”, which covers cities with populations between 100,000 and 500,000 people. Protect America then analyzed burglary statistics provided by the FBI to determine what cities have the lowest burglary rates. Santa Ana reported a population of 332,848 last year and 803 burglaries. Continue reading→

The O.C. Sheriff will be conducting a Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operation on 8/17

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Motorcycles, Orange County, Public Safety Leave a comment

NEWS, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Improving Motorcycle Safety Aim of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Operation

SANTA ANA, Calif. (August 13, 2015) – Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting a specialized Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operation on Monday, August 17, 2015.

Extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcyclists and where motorcycle crashes occur looking for violations made by drivers and riders alike. They will be cracking down on both those operating regular vehicles and motorcycles who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, making illegal turns, or any other dangerous violation. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is also reminding all motorists to always be alert and watch out for motorcycles, especially when turning and changing lanes. Continue reading→

Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Fountain Valley suspects arrested in fraud and identity theft ring

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Little Saigon, Orange County, Santa Ana, Vietnamese Leave a comment

Keeta Thilauan, Santa Ana

NEWS, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Suspects Arrested in Fraud and Identity Theft Ring

SANTA ANA, Calif. – (August 14, 2015) – On Thursday, August 13, 2015, Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigators arrested Nhan Hoang Pham, 29, Fountain Valley; Lam Thanh Bui, 30, Garden Grove; Chieu Bach Nguyen, 29, Santa Ana; Duynam MinhHoang Dao, 23, Fountain Valley; and Keeta Thilauan, 25, Santa Ana; in connection with several burglaries and thefts that have occurred over the last several months.

On the morning of August 13, 2015, with the assistance of the Sheriff’s Department SWAT Team and Orange County Probation Officers, Sheriff’s investigators executed a search warrant at a location in Santa Ana, as well as three probation/parole searches in the cities of Santa Ana and Westminster. The search warrant service and probation/parole searches were the result of an ongoing investigation into several thefts and burglaries that occurred throughout Sheriff’s Department jurisdiction in North Orange County. Continue reading→

Why is the Santa Ana City Council ignoring the growing gang threat?

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Graffiti, Politics, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Have you noticed that the City of Santa Ana is no longer responding quickly to graffiti? The situation has worsened in the past few weeks – it is now common to see crossed out graffiti as gangs try to take the upper hand. The graffiti is also becoming more intricate.

It is completely dismaying to see how much crime happens in our city. Don’t look to the SAPD for that info. Unlike many other cities in Orange County that provide crime statistics on a regular basis, such as Anaheim, Irvine, Tustin and Fountain Valley, the City of Santa Ana sits on the data. If it wasn’t for Crimemapping.com we would never know how much crime has increased in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Woman charged with shooting and killing her boyfriend outside a Garden Grove mobile home

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Garden Grove, OCDA Leave a comment

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 15WF1727

Date: August 7, 2015

WOMAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR SHOOTING AND KILLING BOYFRIEND OUTSIDE MOBILE HOME IN GARDEN GROVE

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A woman is scheduled to be arraigned today for shooting and killing her boyfriend outside their mobile home in Garden Grove. Arlene Kathyrn Bautista, 20, Garden Grove, is charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter by lawful act in an unlawful manner with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in state prison. The People will request she be held on $80,000 bail at her arraignment this afternoon in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.

At approximately 3:35 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2015, Bautista is accused of shooting her boyfriend, 25-year-old Luis Vidal, while they were outside their mobile home in Garden Grove. The victim died as a result of the gunshot wound. Continue reading→

Carjacking suspect arrested by the SAPD at 1600 North Susan in Santa Ana

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD Officers Arrest Carjacking Suspect – Detectives Believe There May Be Additional Unreported Victims

Arrested: Matthew Jacob Granados (20) Santa Ana Location: 1600 North Susan

Charges: CPC 215 Carjacking, CPC 245 Assault with a Deadly Weapon, CPC 211 Robbery

Summary: Fri, 8/7/15 7:05 am Officers responded to a reported armed carjacking in the 1600 block of North Susan. The victim was asleep in his 1997 black Honda CRV, when he was confronted by a suspect wearing a black hoodie and a black mask. The suspect was on a blue beach cruiser bicycle. The suspect was holding a black handgun and ordered the victim out of his vehicle. The suspect demanded the victim’s cellular phone and vehicle keys. The victim complied and the suspect fled the scene.

The victim followed the suspect, who returned to the victim’s vehicle, placed his bicycle on the vehicle hood and drove away eastbound on 17th Street. At approximately 0830 hours, SAPD officers located the victim’s vehicle unoccupied at 4317 W. 1st Street. Officers conducted a surveillance of the vehicle. Continue reading→

Two adults and two kids hurt in a hit and run car accident at Lyon and McFadden

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Accidents, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

Two adults and two children in a Toyota Corolla were injured in a two-vehicle collision Thursday night, at 8:25 p.m. at Lyon Street and McFadden Avenue, in Santa Ana, according to the O.C. Register.

The Corolla was headed east on McFadden Avenue when the driver tried to turn to go north on Lyon Street, at a yellow light. A man in a Toyota pickup truck broadsided the Corolla as he was going west on McFadden Avenue. Continue reading→

Woman in stolen vehicle arrested after pursuit

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Woman In Stolen Vehicle Arrested After Pursuit

Arrested: Jessica Suarez Sanchez – (23) Anaheim

Charges: CVC 10851 Auto Theft, CPC 496 Possession of Stolen Property, CPC 245 ADW, CVC 2800.2 Evading and CVC 23103 (a) Reckless Driving

Summary: Wed, 8/5/15 at 10 pm officers were dispatched to 2909 S. Bristol Street regarding a female down in the middle of the street. Callers reported that the female was sitting in a traffic lane and appeared to be dazed. Continue reading→

Man charged with stabbing his stepbrother to death, in Garden Grove

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Garden Grove, OCDA Leave a comment

Andres Adolfo Serrat

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 15WF1708

Date: August 5, 2015

MAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR STABBING-MURDER OF STEPBROTHER IN GARDEN GROVE HOME

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon for the stabbing murder of his stepbrother in their Garden Grove home. Andres Adolfo Serrat, 25, is charged with one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife. If convicted, Serrat faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison. The defendant is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned today, Aug. 5, 2015, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.

At the time of the crime, the defendant lived with his stepbrother, 20-year-old Donte Barcelona and other family members. Continue reading→

The SAPD has arrested a transient woman accused of stealing a package from a doorstep

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Belinda Faith Contreras

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Update Officers Arrest Female Depicted in Theft On Video

On Saturday August 1st, 2015 Patrol officers located the female suspect depicted in the previously distributed video and pictures. Officers identified the woman as Belinda Faith Contreras (28) Transient. Suspect Contreras was a wanted Parolee at Large.

Contreras was arrested and transported to SAPD where she was booked on the Parole Charges. On August 5th, 2015 Property Crime Detectives interviewed suspect Contreras about the July 30th, 2015 theft. Based on information obtained during that interview and evidence of the crime, additional charges of CPC 496 – Possession of Stolen Property and CPC 484 Theft were added to Contreras charges.

ORIGINAL: Continue reading→

Transient robs the B of A in Downtown Santa Ana but a tracking device leads to his arrest

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Banking, Crime, FBI, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Dia Chanh Diep, a 43 year-old transient who robbed a Bank of America branch located at 102 W. Fourth Street in Downtown Santa Ana, on Tuesday at 5 p.m., was arrested minutes later because the bundle of money he stole contained a dye pack and a tracking device inside, according to the SAPD.

Diep presented the teller with a note, which stated he had a gun and demanded money. Out of fear for her safety, the teller provided the suspect with an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency. The suspect fled the location on foot. Continue reading→

Man stabbed with a box cutter by another man on drugs on S. Townsend Street

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Drugs, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A man in his 50s was on drugs when he stabbed a man in his mid-30s with a folding box cutter tool in the arm and hip on Monday at around 1:30 a.m. in the 500 block of South Townsend Street, according to the O.C. Register.

The attacker was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and for some outstanding arrest warrants but has not been identified by the SAPD. Continue reading→

Townsend Street gang member on probation facing multiple felonies after evading police

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, OCDA, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Armando Antunez

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 15CF1723

Date: August 4, 2015

GANG MEMBER ON PROBATION CHARGED WITH POSSESSION OF FIREARM AFTER EVADING POLICE IN ENJOINED GANG NEIGHBORHOOD

*OCDA will issue a full factual legal report on the OIS when the investigation is completed

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A gang member on probation was charged today by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) with possession of a firearm after evading police in an enjoined gang neighborhood on Townsend Street in Santa Ana. He was alsoinvolved in an officer-involved shooting (OIS) in relation to this case. Armando Antunez, 24, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon, one felony count of possession of a firearm by a probationer, one felony count of possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, one felony count of street terrorism, and a sentencing enhancement for criminal street gang activity. Armando Antunez has a prior strike conviction for Case #14CF0791. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 19 years in state prison. The People will request he be held on $200,000 bail in this case and is subject to a no-bail probation violation hold. Armando Antunez is expected to be arraignedat a later date and the time is to be determined.

Deputy District Attorney Mena Guirguis of the TARGET Unit is prosecuting this case. Continue reading→

Shirtless man on meth arrested after trying to break into the monkey pens at the Santa Ana Zoo

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Drugs, homeless, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

John William Rodenborn

If you need yet another reason to stay away from meth consider the fate of 37-year-old John William Rodenborn, a man who was arrested today at around 10:30 a.m., at the Santa Ana Zoo while he was shirtless and covered with mud, claiming to be Tarzan and was swinging from the trees and trying to break into a monkey pen, according to the O.C. Register.

Rodenborn, a local transient, was found to be under the influence of meth and in possession of meth as well. He apparently jumped over a safety fence that is supposed to keep the public out of the monkey exhibits. He tried to escape when the cops showed up but they were able to detain him. Continue reading→