Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: murder

The SAPD released a video of the suspect who shot and killed a man on Tuesday

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

On 01/28/2020 at approximately 12:15 AM, the victim was shot and killed in the parking lot of a local business in the 1500 block of South Standard Avenue. The described suspect fled the scene on a bicycle.

Suspect Description: Male, Hispanic, 18-22 yrs. old, 5’03” – 5’06”, wearing a black hat, blue hooded jacket, gray t-shirt and black shorts.

This case is eligible for the Santa Ana Police Department Homicide Reward Program.

Anyone with information on the identity of this suspect is asked to please contact Detective F. Gomez at (714) 245-8582 / FGomez@santa-ana.org or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCC.

The SAPD is investigating a homicide that occurred early this morning

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

On Tuesday, January 28, 2020, at 12:48 AM, SAPD Officers responded to reports of a man down in a parking lot located at 1535 South Standard Avenue. Officers located an adult male down in the parking lot suffering possible gunshot wounds. No known witnesses have come forward to provide details of the shooting.

Orange County Fire Authority paramedics responded and attempted life-saving measures but were unsuccessful. Paramedics declared the man deceased at 1:00 AM. The Orange County Coroner’s Office is working to identify the man and determine the manner and cause of death.

Detectives encourage anyone with information about this shooting to contact the SAPD Homicide Section at (714) 245-8390 or Orange County Crime Stoppers https://occrimestoppers.org/

Garden Grove man arrested for killing his mother

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Garden Grove 2 Comments

HOMICIDE ARREST: Garden Grove Police Department officers were dispatched on August 8, 2019, at 1:45 p.m., to the intersection of Ninth St. and College St. regarding a witness who saw Jonathan M. Warner walking in the area. The witness had seen news reports identifying Warner as a person of interest.

As officers arrived on scene and attempted to speak with him, Warner assaulted one of the officers and fled on foot. After a brief foot pursuit, he was taken into custody.

Warner was brought to the police department, where he was interviewed by detectives and determined to be the person responsible for the murder. He was later booked into Orange County Jail.

Jonathan Warner’s DMV Photo

ORIGINAL: Yesterday, August 6th at 9:43 pm, #GardenGrovePD officers responded to the 14000 block of Flower St. for call of a person found deceased. A 62-year-old Korean female victim, Vivian Wolff, was found at the scene with multiple stab wounds.

At this time, the crime does not appear to be the result of a home invasion or robbery.

The investigation is on-going and #Homicide detectives will release more information at a later time. Anyone with information is asked to call us at 714-741-5704.

Police seeking person of interest after an elderly woman was stabbed to death in Garden Grove

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Garden Grove Leave a comment

Garden Grove Police Officers responded to a call of a person found Vivian Wolff, a female Korean, age 62, deceased at the 14000 block of Flower St. in Garden Grove. Officers arrived on scene and located a deceased female Asian adult in a bedroom of a residence with stab wounds, according to the Garden Grove Police.

Detectives investigated the homicide through the night and learned additional details. The victim was renting a room at the residence and her 28-year-old adult son shared a room with her. He is identified as Jonathan Michael Warner. Warner is a malevAsian, 6’0”, 165 lbs., short, with possibly shaven brown hair, brown eyes and a medium build.

Warner has not been seen since Friday, 8-2-2019 and he is considered a person of interest as his safety has not been determined. Detectives would like to question him to ensure his safety and that of other family members. The last time the victim was seen alive was on Saturday, 8-3-2019 at 9:00 PM.

Warner has not been seen since Friday, 8-2-2019 and he is considered a person of interest as his safety has not been determined. Detectives would like to question him to ensure his safety and that of other family members. The last time the victim was seen alive was on Saturday, 8-3-2019 at 9:00 PM.

If anyone has information on Warner’s whereabouts or information about this homicide, they are encouraged to contact Detective DesBiens of the Garden Grove Police Department at 714.741.5810

Garden Grove Police Detectives responded and are handling the investigation as a homicide. Details are unknown at this time as to the identity of the victim, her relation to the residence, as well as any suspect information. Further information will be forth coming as the investigation is on-going.

Carl Whitney, Lieutenant
Professional Standards Division / PIO
O: 714.741.5786 W/C: 714.741.5871 24 Hour: 714.741.5704

A man was arrested after stabbing and killing multiple victims in a robbery spree in Garden Grove and Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

Four people were killed and two others injured in a series of robberies and stabbings that started in Garden Grove and ended in Santa Ana on Wednesday evening, Aug. 7, according to the O.C. Register.

Undercover Garden Grove police officers located the suspect’s vehicle, a silver Mercedes registered in his name, in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven on Harbor Boulevard and 1st Street, and called for backup, according to ABC News.

The crime spree began at an apartment complex at the 12000 block of Jentges Avenue, in Garden Grove. Police officers responded to a burglary report at 4:09 p.m. As they were going about their investigation they received another call regarding a robbery at a house at 1304 Chapman Ave.

Witnesses saw a silver Mercedes at that residence. Police investigators now believe that the car was driven by the man who had broken into the apartment earlier.

The suspect

The police ended up back at the apartment complex after they got more calls at 5:04 p.m. regarding two men who were stabbed. The police found a dead man at the balcony of the apartment. A second victim was found inside and taken to UCI Medical Center, but he also ended up dying.

The police then got another call regarding a robbery at a check-cashing business at 12845 Harbor Blvd. The suspect then struck again down Harbor Boulevard as he robbed an insurance business. A female employee at the insurance business was seriously injured.

The suspect was not done yet. He then robbed a Chevron gas station near Harbor Boulevard and Banner Drive. During that robbery he almost severed a man’s nose from his face in a vicious attack.

Remarkably the police still had not caught the suspect. However at 6:15 p.m. the police spotted the Mercedes at a 7-Eleven near Harbor and 1st. The suspect stabbed a security guard there and stole his gun. That security guard also died.

At that point the SAPD got involved as their police officers made contact with the suspect and finally arrested him. He was not identified but the police did announce that he is 33 years old.

The police also told the media that another stabbing had taken place previously at a Subway restaurant across the street. In that attack both a security guard and a restaurant employee died.

According to officers all four people killed in tonight’s stabbing spree in Garden Grove and Santa Ana were male Hispanics, according to Fox News.

With all the focus on guns of late we all overlooked how dangerous knives can be.

Santa Ana man suspected of killing his wife arrested after a police pursuit

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

Detectives Make An Arrest In Homicide -1000 Block South Standard

Suspect/Arrested: Fernando Jaramillo Llamas (25)

Decedent:Maria Teresa Murillo Rojas (Jaramillo) (26)

Friday, May 24, 2019 At 7:10 AM, the SAPD officers responded to a call of a deceased female at the Cornerstone Village Apartments located at 1021 South Standard Avenue. Orange County Fire Authority paramedics responded and pronounced the victim deceased at 7:22 AM.

The preliminary field investigation revealed the decedent was a 26-year old Hispanic female who resided in the apartment with her 25-year old husband, their 1-year old daughter, and the decedent’s extended family.

Officers learned the husband left the location prior to the discovery of the decedent’s demise. Officers also learned the husband was currently out on bail for an on-going criminal proceeding. Evidence at the scene indicated foul play.

SAPD Homicide detectives responded and assumed the investigation. Detectives identified the decedent’s husband, Fernando Jaramillo Llamas, as a named suspect pending further investigation.

At approximately 9:05 AM, SAPD Officers responded to reports of an attempted suicide at Aluminum Precision Metals at 523 East Alton Avenue, Jaramillo Llamas’ last known place of employment. Upon arrival, police officers observed Jaramillo Llamas flee the location in a black Volkswagen Passat but were unable to track him.

At 11:14 AM, patrol officers observed the vehicle driving in the area of Grand Avenue and the 5 Freeway. A vehicular pursuit ensued. The pursuit terminated in the area of Grand Avenue and Dyer Road due to a traffic collision. The driver fled on foot. Officers arrested Jaramillo Llamas at the termination of the foot pursuit. Orange County Fire Authority paramedics transported Jaramillo Llamas to a local trauma center for medical treatment.

Homicide Detectives interviewed Fernando Jaramillo Llamas. With concurrence from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, SAPD Homicide Detectives booked Jaramillo Llamas for CPC 187 – Murder, CPC 273.6(b) – Violation of a Domestic Violence Court Order, and CPC 273a(a) – Child Endangerment.

The SAPD has arrested a suspect after a young woman was found dead in her apartment this morning

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

The SAPD is investigating the death of an unidentified woman in her 20’s who was found dead in her Santa Ana apartment this morning, according to the O.C. Register.

SAPD Homicide Detectives on scene waiting for a search warrant

Family members of the victim found her body at her apartment, at the 1000 block of South Standard, at around 7 a.m., according to KTLA.

The SAPD investigators believe the victim was murdered. They don’t however know yet when she was killed. The O.C. Coroner should shed some light on that once the autopsy is done.

The SAPD is also interviewing family members and they arrested a person of interest.

The person of interest was being questioned when he fled in a vehicle. The chase ended in a crash and the suspect was arrested after a foot chase.  He was taken into custody but has not yet been identified.

Two men charged with murder in dragging death of woman while trying to steal her purse

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Garden Grove, OCDA 3 Comments

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Two men have been charged with murder in the dragging death of a 32-year-old Santa Ana woman while attempting to steal her purse. A third suspect has been charged with robbery, according to the OCDA.

Gregory Anthony Walker, 19, of Los Angeles, and Giovanni Solomon Guy, 20, of Los Angeles, have been charged with one count each of murder with a special circumstance of murder in the commission of a robbery. Brad Maurice Brown, Jr., 19, of Hawthorne, has been charged with one felony count of robbery.

Walker and Guy face a minimum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. They are eligible for the death penalty. Brown faces a minimum sentence of two years if convicted of robbery.

At the time of the murder, Walker was out on bail on two felony counts of robbery, one felony count of receiving stolen property, and one felony count of burglary. Guy was out on bail on one felony count of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed firearm.

On May 8, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives were conducting surveillance on vehicle used in a robbery. While under surveillance, Walker, Guy, and Brown drove in a SUV to the Garden Grove Plaza near the intersection of Brookhurst Street and Westminster Boulevard in Garden Grove.

At approximately 9:45 a.m., Guy and Walker exited their vehicle and confronted Nga Ngoc Nguyen, 32, of Santa Ana and attempted to steal her purse. Walker is accused of grabbing Nguyen from behind and throwing her to the ground and grabbing her wristlet. The purse was wrapped around Nguyen’s wrist while Walker continued to drag Nguyen as he ran back to the SUV. Guy returned to the driver’s seat and ran over Nguyen, resulting in traumatic injuries.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives asked for assistance from the Garden Grove Police Department. Nguyen was transported to a local trauma center, where she was pronounced dead.

The suspects were arrested near the area of the 110 freeway and Century Boulevard in Los Angeles County after they abandoned their vehicle.

The investigation is on-going and anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact the Garden Grove Police Department Crimes Against Persons unit at 714-741-5839.

“The Orange County District Attorney is taken aback by the brutal and callous acts of the defendants which resulted in the death of Nga Nguyen,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The Orange County District Attorney’s Office would like to extend its sincerest condolences to the loved ones of Nga Nguyen.”

A man was convicted of stabbing his ex in Santa Ana and killing her new boyfriend

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Los Angeles County, OCDA, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

Teodoro Bernal Nunez, 39, a Los Angeles man who stabbed and kidnapped his ex-girlfriend from her Santa Ana home after killing the man she was dating, was sentenced Friday to 28 years and eight months in state prison, according to the O.C. Register.

Nunez was found guilty of second degree murder, kidnapping, domestic battery and violating a domestic order, by a jury.

The charges stem from an attack that occurred on June 18, 2016 when Nunez, who was twice convicted of domestic violence, drove to his ex-girlfriend’s home to give her his pickup truck, believing he was going to be deported.

Nunez had once lived with his girlfriend in that home but on June 17, 2016, he got into a heated argument with her when he went to her home to pick up stereo cables. The police later said that he bit her on the neck and tried to pull her into his truck. He admitted to giving her an “uninvited hickey.”

The police later contacted Nunez, after the biting encounter, and told him to turn himself in. That is when he opted to go back to his ex-girlfriend to give her his vehicle, according to his defense attorney.

Things got ugly however when Nunez arrived at his ex-girlfriend’s home on June 18, 2016. Unbeknownst to him, his ex had taken up with a new boyfriend, Omar Castillo, 27-years-old.

Nunez got into an argument with Castillo and he then pulled out a 12-inch knife and stabbed Castillo to death. He then stabbed his ex in her abdomen. Nunez’ defense attorney later argued that Nunez had stabbed her “accidentally.” He then forced the wounded woman into his SUV and sped off.

Nunez did not get far. He was pulled over 20 minutes later in the City of Brea by a police officer who noted a broken tail-light on the SUV. Once they were pulled over the Brea police officer saw spotted blood on the ex-girlfriend. Nunez was then arrested.

A Santa Ana mom was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, in Tijuana

Posted on by Posted in Crime, mexico, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

Monica Tapia Alvarado, a 29-year-old Santa Ana resident, turned up dead in Tijuana, Mexico, after disappearing on Christmas Eve. Her boyfriend, Alexis Jesus Alanis, also 29, was arrested in Tijuana as a homicide suspect, according to KTLA.

About two weeks before Christmas, Alvarado and her 2-year-old daughter traveled to Mexico to visit Alanis, who lives in Tijuana, according to the SAPD.

Monica Tapia Alvarado and

Alvarado left her daughter with Alanis , and came back to the U.S. She then returned to Mexico on Dec. 21 to pick up her daughter so that she could bring her back to celebrate Christmas in Southern California with her family. That was the last time they saw her alive.

Alvarado’s family, including her other daughter, who is 13-years-old, reported her missing, to the SAPD, on Dec. 24. They had not heard from her in a while and had become concerned.

SAPD police detectives worked closely with their Mexican counterparts. Alvarado was a U.S. citizen but the Mexican police took the lead on the case as the crime occurred in Tijuana.

The Mexican police suspected Alanis but could not find him until, on Dec. 29, they found him at a house, where he was renting a room. When the police went to that home they found Alvarado’s body and determined she had been murdered.

Alexis Jesus Alanis

The Mexican police have not offered details about how Alvarado died or the condition of her body when it was found.

A witness reported seeing Alanis flee with the child, from the scene of the crime.

When the Mexican police finally arrested Alanis, on Dec. 31, the little girl was still with him. She was initially placed at a childcare facility in Mexico but was at last reunited with her family in Santa Ana on Thursday night.

The SAPD is working with the Mexican police to return Alvarado’s body to the U.S. However the autopsy will be conducted in Mexico, where the investigation will continue.

A Santa Ana mother who drowned her baby was found to have been insane at the time

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Mental Health, OCDA, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Lucero Diaz Carrera

Lucero Carrera, now 33, a Santa Ana woman twice convicted of drowning her 2-month-old baby, Kimberly, was insane at the time of the murder, a jury decided Wednesday, according to the O.C. Register.

Carrera was living with her mother, in Santa Ana, at the time of her daughter’s death. Continue reading→

A man got three years in jail for stabbing a homeless man to death in Santa Ana back in 1984

Posted on by Posted in Crime, homeless, OCDA, Santa Ana Leave a comment

John William Zelinski

John William Zelinski, a 63-year-old man, was sentenced Wednesday to only three years behind bars for fatally stabbing a homeless man in Santa Ana in 1984, according to the O.C. Register.

Zelinski had to be extradited from Arizona. He was charged with the May 18, 1984, cold case murder of Roy Thomas Emming, a homeless man in Santa Ana, at the 2000 block of Walnut Street. Continue reading→

The SAPD has arrested a suspect in yesterday’s fatal stabbing attack in north Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: DETECTIVES MAKE ARREST 11/13/18 HOMICIDE – 1700 BLOCK OF N. WRIGHT

Victim: Esteban Daniel Andres (19) Santa Ana

On Tuesday, November 13, 2018, at 3:01 PM, SAPD officers responded to reports of a stabbing with a victim down in the area of 1700 North Wright Street. Officer located two victims with stab wounds, an adult male (19) and juvenile male (17). Orange County Fire Authority Paramedics treated both victims and transported them to a local trauma center. Attending physicians declared the adult victim deceased at 4:07 PM. The juvenile victim sustained non-life threatening wounds. Continue reading→

An adult was fatally stabbed and a minor was injured yesterday evening in north Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD 4 Comments

Crime scene at 1441 E. 17th St.

We reported yesterday that the SAPD has responded to a crime scene at 1441 E. 17th St., in Santa Ana., in Santa Ana, at about 5 p.m.

Today the SAPD revealed that an adult was fatally stabbed and a minor was also stabbed in this incident, according to ABC News. Continue reading→

A woman was shot and killed early this morning at W. 1st St. and Pacific Ave.

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

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SANTA ANA PD DETECTIVES INVESTIGATING HOMICIDE- W. 1ST STREET AND N. PACIFIC AVENUE

On Monday, November 12, 2018, at 1:40 AM, an unidentified male caller reported to 911 dispatchers that his friend was shot in the area of West 1st Street and N. Pacific Avenue. Shortly thereafter, an unidentified male dropped off an unidentified female at a local hospital. The male fled prior to officers arrival. The adult female had a gunshot wound to her upper body. The attending physician declared the female deceased at 2:00 AM. Continue reading→