ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Remarks by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas:
State of Public Safety in Orange County
January 20, 2015
Thank you, Supervisors Bartlett, Nelson, and Steel for allowing us to have this event at the Hall of Administration. We appreciate your hospitality.
Thank you, judges and elected officials who are here with us today. Continue reading
Gang shootings are on the rise again in Santa Ana! The latest shooting occurred today when a gunman approached a group of up to five men outside a business on the 1700 block of South Main Street at around 1 am before opening fire, Santa Ana Police Department said, according to NBC News.
Officials said a light-colored compact car drove up to the group and a man got out of the passenger side to ask the men about their gang affiliation. He then pulled out a shotgun and fired a single round, which injured three of the men and damaged the business behind them, police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said, according to the O.C. Register. Continue reading
Judge John D. Conley on Friday dismissed several sex-related felony charges against Carlos Bustamante, a former Santa Ana City Councilman and Orange County Public Works administrator, who still faces felony counts of false imprisonment, stalking, attempted sexual battery and grand theft, plus four misdemeanors, according to the O.C. Register.
Conley’s ruling mirrors a previous ruling from Judge Kazuharu Makino, who oversaw Bustamante’s preliminary hearing in May 2014. Makino tossed out multiple felony charges for lack of evidence. Continue reading
Ean Keith Brown, Picture Courtesy of the Huntington Beach Police Department
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Case # 12CF0072
Date: January 16, 2015
THIRD-STRIKER PAROLEE TO FACE TRIAL FOR STRANGLING-MURDER OF WOMAN IN RV
SANTA ANA – A third-striker parolee will face trial Tuesday for murdering a 21-year-old woman by strangling her to death in his recreational vehicle (RV). Ean Keith Brown, 41, is charged with one felony count of murder and sentencing enhancements for two prior strike convictions and serious felony priors for second degree robbery in 1995 and burglary in 2008. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 85 years to life in state prison. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, at 9:15 a.m., in Department C-41, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Brown was released from state prison in 2010 and was on parole for burglary. After his release from prison and at the time of the murder, the defendant is accused of living in an RV in the driveway of his parent’s Huntington Beach home. Continue reading
Hai Truong Vo, 39, of Garden Grove, was released by the Santa Ana Police Department without bail last night, due to “insufficient evidence,” according to an email we received this afternoon from “Xuanxanh Laurie.”
The O.C Register confirmed this in an article posted today. They reported that “Prosecutors apparently have sent the criminal case against Hai Truong Vo, 39, of Garden Grove back to detectives for further investigation, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.” Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Date: January 16, 2015
JUDGE ENJOINS 13TH ORANGE COUNTY VIOLENT STREET GANG FROM TERRORIZING NEIGHBORHOOD IN SANTA ANA
*This is the second gang injunction in the City of Santa Ana
SANTA ANA – A violent Santa Ana criminal street gang has been permanently enjoined from terrorizing the community and acting as a public nuisance, marking the 13th injunction to be brought against Orange County gangs and the second in the City of Santa Ana. This injunction is in response to decades of violent crimes committed by this gang and numerous residents pleading with law enforcement to eliminate the gang presence so that they no longer have to live in fear.
During the litigation on this case, a minor who was an active participant in the gang was murdered, a witness suffered a brutal assault, a woman was shot while waiting for a bus, a loaded sawed-off shotgun was discovered concealed in bushes in the gang’s claimed territory, and the gang’s graffiti vandalism has continued to plague the area. Ten individuals still contesting the injunction will be given a court hearing to contest their gang involvement. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Case # 14WF4259
January 15, 2015
*Items included Apple iPhones, iPads, smartphones, and cameras. Third co-defendant in this case is a fugitive.
WESTMINSTER – Two men are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow on money laundering and conspiracy charges for selling 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 (HSI) and the Fountain Valley Police Department (FVPD).
Rateb Said Najjar, 60, and his son, Eyad Rateb Najjar, 36, both of Westminster, are each charged with 134 felony counts of money laundering, six felony counts of manufacturing and sale of a counterfeit mark, two felony counts of conspiracy to commit a crime with sentencing enhancements for property damage over $1.3 million, and money laundering in excess of $2.5 million. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 104 years in jail. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: UPDATED Test Results in Cholula’s Bakery Investigation
The Santa Ana Police Department has been contacted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Crime Lab with results of the Cholula Bakery beards sent in for analysis.
Results returned positive for JWH122 classified as a “synthetic cannabinoid,” but is better described as a synthetic cannabimimetic because it mimics some of the symptoms of cannabis consumption. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
January 14, 2015
Case # 12HF2453
FULLERTON – A man was convicted today of sexually assaulting a teenage relative and soliciting her kidnapping to prevent her from testifying against him at trial. Jesus Acosta-Inchaorrondo, 61, Laguna Hills, pleaded guilty to a court offer of one felony count each of forcible rape, sodomy by force, solicitation to commit kidnap, dissuading a witness by force or threat, and one misdemeanor count of violating a protective order, with a sentencing enhancement for crime-bail-crime. The People objected to the offer which stipulates that the defendant could only receive a sentence of up to 18 years in state prison. The court determined that if the defendant deserved a higher sentence at his sentencing, Acosta-Inchaorrondo would be able to withdraw his guilty plea and elect to have a jury trial. Acosta-Inchaorrondo faces a maximum sentence of 32 years and eight months in state prison at his sentencing March 20, 2015, at 8:00 a.m. in Department N-13, North Justice Center, Fullerton.
On Aug. 23, 2012, Acosta-Inchaorrondo took his teenage relative, Jane Doe, to a hotel in Costa Mesa where he booked a room for the evening. While in the hotel room, the defendant physically assaulted the victim. ripped off her clothes, and forcibly raped her. He verbally threatened the victim and then forcibly sodomized her. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
On 1/13/15, detectives from the Santa Ana Police Family Crimes Unit arrested Hai Truong Vo, also known as “Joseph,” age 39, of Garden Grove, for Child Molest. Vo is suspected of molesting a seven-year-old female in Westminster in 2011, and a six-year-old female in Santa Ana in 2013. Both victims are of Vietnamese decent.
Vo is a heating/air conditioner repairman and plumber. In both the 2011 and 2013 incidents, Vo entered the victim’s home after he was hired to perform repairs. Once inside the home, Vo was able to find an opportunity to be alone with the victims. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: Woman arrested for felony vandalism of place of worship
Arrested: Trang Thu Pham (45) Santa Ana
On 1-13-2015, Santa Ana Police Department Detectives were contacted by the Costa Mesa Police Department and advised them they had a woman detained in their city who was possibly the wanted suspect involved in the vandalism of the Hoc Tich Buddhist Temple.
A security officer working at a CVS Drug store on Harbor Blvd in the city of Costa Mesa recognized the woman from a story he saw on television news reports. The security officer located the news story on his cell phone and confirmed that it was a Santa Ana PD story. Costa Mesa PD officers responded to the store and detained the female. Continue reading
NEWS, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lt. Jeff Hallock, 714.904.7042, JHallock@ocsd.org
Suspected DUI Driver Crashes During Pursuit by Deputies
LAKE FOREST, Calif. – (January 10, 2015) – On Friday, January 9, 2015 at approximately 10:30 p.m., Orange County Sheriff’s deputies initiated a pursuit of a 2002 Ford Explorer in the area of Toledo Way and Serrano Road. The driver of the vehicle was suspected by deputies of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Deputies pursued the vehicle for approximately (5) minutes through the cities of Lake Forest, Irvine and Mission Viejo. The pursuit terminated on southbound Trabuco Road near Carlota Road, Mission Viejo, when the vehicle was unable to negotiate a curve in the road and collided with an embankment.
As a result of the collision, the 18 year-old female driver was ejected from the vehicle and suffered life-threatening injuries. She was transported to a nearby hospital where she remains in grave condition. A 20-year old male passenger in the vehicle sustained moderate injuries and remains hospitalized; an 18 year-old female passenger in the vehicle sustained minor injuries and was treated and released from an area hospital. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Date: January 8, 2015
SANTA ANA – Law enforcement is seeking additional information on a murder of a juvenile documented gang member inside a gang injunction safety zone on Christmas Eve. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) had filed a preliminary gang injunction in August 2014 against a Santa Ana criminal street gang, which named and sought to enjoin 17-year-old Angel Arellano, who was murdered inside the safety zone named in the injunction. At the time of the murder, Arellano was contesting the injunction and was not subject to its terms. There is a pre-trial scheduled on the injunction on Jan. 13, 2015, at 9:00 a.m., in Department C-14, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
On the night of Dec. 23, 2014, Arellano and some fellow gang members were armed and looking for rival gang members in the safety zone named in the injunction. Before midnight, Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officers responded to a call of four to five shots fired on South Sullivan Street. While at the scene, SAPD officers were informed that Arellano had been taken and abandoned at Coastal Communities Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. Arellano was immediately transported to Western Medical Center Santa Ana in critical condition, where he later died as a result of his gunshot wounds. Continue reading
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
Press Release: 01/06/15
File Number: ES150050003
Incident Location: 1100 Block of Arapaho Street, Santa Ana
Deputies assigned to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Special Enforcement Bureau’s, Fugitive Warrant Enforcement Team (FWET), which is part of the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Taskforce, initiated an investigation to locate and apprehend Eddrans Ortega-Hernandez.
Hernandez was wanted on a $3,000,000 warrant reference four counts of lewd acts with a child under 14. The alleged crimes occurred in Moreno Valley over a four year period from 2004 to 2008 and involved two separate victims. He also had a no-bail warrant out of Orange County for drug possession. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
The Santa Ana Police Department was contacted by the Hong Tich Buddhist Temple after they located surveillance video of an unknown woman throwing glass bottles at statues of Buddha located at the front of their temple. Since 12/16/14 the temple has experienced a total of eight incidents of glass bottles being smashed at the front of the temple causing damage to the statues.
The female depicted in the photos was observed throwing bottles at the statues on three separate occasions during various hours of the day. It is believed she may be involved in the additional incidents.