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Tag Archives: Crime

The FBI recovers 168 juveniles involved in Child Sex Trafficking

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FBI Operation Cross Country VIII

FBI
Washington, D.C.
June 23, 2014
FBI National Press Office, (202) 324-3691

168 Juveniles Recovered in Nationwide Operation Targeting Commercial Child Sex Trafficking

During the past week, the FBI; its local, state, and federal law enforcement partners; and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) conducted Operation Cross Country VIII, a week-long enforcement action to address commercial child sex trafficking throughout the United States. This operation included enforcement actions in 106 cities across 54 FBI field divisions nationwide and resulted in 168 recoveries of children who were being victimized through prostitution. Additionally, 281 pimps were arrested on state and federal charges.

“Targeting and harming America’s children through commercial sex trafficking is a heinous crime, with serious consequences,” said FBI Director James B. Comey. “Every child deserves to be safe and sound. Through targeted measures like Operation Cross Country, we can end the cycle of victimization.” Continue reading→

Surprising drive by shooting, on Fairhaven, in front of Lake Park Mobile Homes

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Drive by shooting by Fairhaven

XXXXX XXXX, from the Young Square Neighborhood, took her dog out for a run on Saturday night, June 21, 2014, when she noticed that there was a male and female Hispanic couple in front of her.  Little did XXXX know that the couple was soon going to come under fire in what turned out to be a horrifying drive-by shooting in normally tranquil north Santa Ana.

The man was walking his bicycle while his female companion walked next to him.  XXXX was behind them, in front of the Lake Park Mobile Homes, closer to Linwood. They were about 50 feet ahead of her, heading toward Cambridge. All of a sudden a medium-sized dark car with several people in it approached from the other direction (westbound on Fairhaven). When the people in the car saw the couple they slowed down and made a U-Turn to pull up next to them and slowed way down. The guy with the bike raised his hand like he knew them and in response they immediately opened fire with what XXXX thought was a 9mm handgun. They shot off 5 rounds before their car pulled away. Continue reading→

Teen shot in broad daylight at 17th and King Street

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Witnesses told police that four males, who appeared to be in their teens, robbed and shot a 17-year old boy near 17th and King streets at about 11 a.m., said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department, according to the O.C. Register.

This is outrageous!  That is a busy thoroughfare in north Santa Ana, right by the local U.S. Post Office and a convenience store.  Alona Park, which includes a Pony Baseball League field, is just a few blocks north of this area.  Continue reading→

Man arrested after shooting marbles at cops with a slingshot

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 3 Comments
Hector Luis Perez

Hector Luis Perez

Santa Ana officers assaulted by man with Slingshot/marbles ODSD Airship “DUKE” locates suspect with in-flight video

Arrested: Hector Luis Perez (37) Santa Ana

On 6-19-04, at approximately 1045 PM, while patrol officers were conducting a felony car stop in the area of 1702 W. First Street, the suspect, who was not involved with the car stop, began slinging glass marbles at the officers with a slingshot. Continue reading→

DNA leads to conviction of Santa Ana man in cold case rape and murder

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Richard Stanley Sandoval

Richard Stanley Sandoval

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

For Immediate Release, Case # 11ZF0125: June 20, 2014

MAN LINKED THROUGH DNA CONVICTED OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES MURDER OF 84-YEAR-OLD WOMAN IN 1984 COLD CASE

SANTA ANA – A man was convicted yesterday of special circumstances murder of an 84-year-old apartment complex owner in a 1984 cold case. Richard Stanley Sandoval, 60, Santa Ana, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of special circumstances murder in the commission of rape or attempted rape and faces a sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole at his sentencing Aug. 8, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-36, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

In 1984, 84-year-old Margaret Lenney owned and lived in an Anaheim apartment complex on Winston Road. Sandoval, then 30 years old, was hired by the victim to paint the complex but did a poor job and was fired. He returned to the complex on several occasions to ask to borrow money from tenants. Continue reading→

The SAPD cracks down on an illegal fireworks Craigslist vendor

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More illegal fireworks found in Santa Ana

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Santa Ana Police Crack Down on Illegal Fireworks – Undercover Operation on Craigslist

On June 19th, Santa Ana Police Department officers while working an undercover operation purchase illegal fireworks by responding to craigslist advertisement.

Officers located the illegal fireworks in a garage at a residence in the 1100 block of West Stanford. The resident was arrested and site released for possession of illegal fireworks. Continue reading→

Pomona man gets 10 years in prison for pimping in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Crime, OCDA, Santa Ana 1 Comment

OCDA Seal

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

For Immediate Release, Case # 13CF2824: June 16, 2014

MAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR PIMPING AND PANDERING WOMAN

SANTA ANA – A man was sentenced today to 10 years in state prison for pimping and pandering a woman in Santa Ana. Damion Henri Soul, 40, Pomona, was convicted by a jury on Dec. 4, 2013, of one felony count of pimping and one felony count of pandering. The sentencing enhancements for two prior strike convictions from 1993 in Los Angeles County for armed robbery, assault with a firearm, and prior prison felony convictions in 1998 for forgery, and possession of a controlled substance in 2003 and 2006 were found true.

In the early morning hours on Sept. 4, 2013, Soul engaged in the distribution of commercial sex. Soul pimped 20-year-old Jane Doe by unlawfully deriving support and maintenance in whole and in part from the earnings and proceeds of the prostitution of the victim. Soul oversaw her as she solicited commercial sex from men in an area known for prostitution in Santa Ana. An undercover Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officer witnessed Jane Doe getting inside Soul’s car and shortly thereafter, arrested the defendant. Continue reading→

Teen charged as an adult for stabbing a man at a Stater Bros. parking lot

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Fountain Valley, OCDA Leave a comment

OCDA Seal

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

For Immediate Release, Case # 14WF2338: June 16, 2014

17-YEAR-OLD CHARGED AS ADULT FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR STABBING MAN IN GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT

WESTMINSTER – A 17-year-old was charged as an adult today for attempted murder for stabbing a man as he was loading groceries in a parking lot. Steven Matthew Lowry, Fountain Valley, is charged with one felony count of attempted murder and one felony count of attempted carjacking with sentencing enhancements for personal use of a deadly weapon and great bodily injury. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 11 years to life in state prison. The People will be requesting he be held on $1 million bail at his arraignment tomorrow, Tuesday, June 17, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. in Department W-2, West Justice Center, Westminster.

At approximately 9:00 p.m. on June 14, 2014, Lowry is accused of approaching 50-year-old Manuel S. as the victim was loading groceries into his vehicle in a Stater Bros. parking lot in Fountain Valley. The defendant is accused of attempting to carjack the victim. When the victim refused to give up the keys to his vehicle, Lowry is accused of stabbing the victim two times in the abdomen, once in the back, and once in the chest. The defendant is accused of fleeing the scene on foot. Continue reading→

Solorio calls on Supervisor Nguyen to return tainted campaign contributions

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Crime, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Politics 2 Comments
Janet Nguyen has already taken to wearing prison stripes

Janet Nguyen has already taken to wearing prison garb

For Immediate Release: June 16, 2014

For More Information Contact: Maria Unzueta – mobile: (657) 464-4742

Jose Solorio Calls on Supervisor Janet Nguyen to Return Tainted Campaign Contributions

The Last Thing the State Senate Needs is Another Politician with Ties to Corruption

Santa Ana, CA – After reading OC Weekly’s recent article, “Little Saigon Politicians Linked To Alleged Police-Tied Loan Sharking Operation,” State Senate candidate Jose Solorio is calling on opponent Supervisor Janet Nguyen to return campaign contributions with possible connection to corrupt activities.

Supervisor Janet Nguyen, 1st District, has received campaign contributions from Kevin Khanh Tuan Do, owner of Do Construction and Design, Inc., who was arrested in August 2013 for loan-sharking and bribing a Westminster police officer, Anthony Duong Donner. Do reportedly made a loan to a small business owner and used Donner to enforce the payments. Donner, while in uniform and on duty, frequented the victim’s place of business to intimidate her and enforce payments, in exchange for free rent at Do’s residence.[1]  Continue reading→

Six men convicted of agreeing to engage in prostitution in Santa Ana

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OCDA Seal

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

For Immediate Release:  June 12, 2014

SIX MEN CONVICTED OF AGREEING TO ENGAGE IN PROSTITUTION

SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) convicted six men in May 2014 of agreeing to engage in prostitution. The defendants in these cases approached a woman, whom they believed to be a prostitute, in areas known for prostitution and human trafficking in Orange County. They agreed to engage in commercial sex with a woman or an undercover officer and were subsequently arrested by law enforcement.

The Santa Ana Police Department investigated these cases. Deputy District Attorney Eric Eastman of the HEAT Unit prosecuted these cases. Continue reading→

Will Bustamante’s new lawyers expose the corruption at the County of Orange?

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Crime, OCDA, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana, Todd Spitzer 1 Comment
Carlos Bustamante dragged off in handcuffs

Carlos Bustamante dragged off in handcuffs

When Costa Mesa attorney Steve Young last ran for office, in 2012, he said that “Democrats can’t simply run against the culture of corruption in Washington.”

Perhaps he was serious.  Young is now one of Carlos Bustamante’s lawyers.  You remember Bustamante?  A former Santa Ana Councilman who was brought into the halls of the County of Orange and turned into a darling of the OC GOP?  Only to find himself arrested and charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors stemming from sexual harassment charges?

Here’s the deal.  Bustamante now admits that he had sex with all sorts of women at the County of Orange but he says it was consensual.  He has paid bitterly for his misbehavior – losing his job and his wife.  But his lawyers, Young and another lawyer named Gina L. Kershaw, say that he was set up.  So was he? Continue reading→

SAPD arrests ten in operation targeting gangs

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Santa Ana Gangs

Officers targeted more than a dozen people who police say are affiliated with gangs in a Friday morning sweep, the latest operation in an ongoing effort to combat a recent increase in gang shootings and homicides, according to the OC Register.

The sweep resulted in ten arrests and the cops found 11 grams of methamphetamine and a little less than a gram of heroin.

Crime has shot up since the Santa Ana City Council got rid of the SAPD’s STrike Force, with 42 gang-related shootings reported through late May, compared with 25 the previous year. The city has already had seven homicides that police say were gang-related homicides in 2014, two more than in all of last year. Continue reading→

Transgendered Santa Ana woman found dead behind Anaheim Dairy Queen

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Crime, Entertainment, immigration, Latinos, LGBT, Santa Ana Leave a comment
Zoraida Reyes

Zoraida “Ale” Reyes, from Facebook

Detectives are investigating a body found behind a fast food restaurant on Thursday morning as a suspicious death, authorities said, according to the Orange County Register.

The body was discovered shortly before 11 a.m. by officers responding to reports of a person down behind the Dairy Queen that is located at 201 North State College, in Anaheim.

Police say the person, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was transgender. She was identified as Zoraida “Ale” Reyes of Santa Ana by her friends.  It wasn’t immediately clear if there were signs of injury, but police said there was not an obvious cause of death. Continue reading→

Robbers beat up a Santa Ana pastor and steal his laptop computer

Posted on by Posted in Churches and Religion, Crime, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Santa Ana Robbers

Santa Ana Police Department
Friday June 13th, 2014 :: 11:45 a.m. PDT

AdvisorySanta Ana Police Robbery Detectives Request Public’s Assistance in Identifying Robbery Suspects

Location: 1622 S. Bristol St. / Universal Church

Synopsis: On 06/12/2014, at approximately 12:59 PM, Suspect #1 entered the Universal Church, removed a laptop computer, and exited. Suspect #1 punched the victim as he tried to recover his computer. Suspect #2, a lookout, helped suspect #1 escape as the victim (church pastor) was trying to hold onto him. The victim was able to photograph both suspects before they fled south on Bristol.

Suspect #1: Male, Hispanic, 18-20 years old, 5’06”-5’09” tall, 150-160 lbs., medium build, dark blue baseball cap, white t-shirt, black pants, white Nike’s. Suspect #1 rode a white and red Schwinn mountain bike with straight handlebars. Continue reading→