Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: murder

A Santa Ana man was arrested for attempted murder and felony elder abuse

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Press Release: Attempt Murder and Felony Elder Abuse

Agency: Moreno Valley Police

On May 30, 2018, about 6:28 PM, several residents called to report a possible injured male that was lying in the street. Officers from the Moreno Police Department responded to investigate. Upon their arrival, they located an 86 year-old Hispanic male adult lying in the street with severe injuries.

The investigation revealed the victim was assaulted by a family member, who was detained at the scene. The suspect was identified as 40 year-old Alvaro Gutierrez of Santa Ana. Gutierrez was arrested at the scene and booked for suspicion of attempted murder and elder abuse. Continue reading→

A Long Beach man was convicted of stabbing a man to death at a Santa Ana gas station

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Logan James Cunningham

Logan James Cunningham, 29, a Long Beach man who got into a fistfight with another man who angered him by stepping over his laptop, then pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim, 40-year-old Jason Paul Torres of Costa Mesa, was convicted Wednesday of second-degree murder, according to the O.C. Register.

Cunningham and Torres were partying with other friends at a Santa Ana motel when Cunningham told everyone not to step over his computer laptop. At that point Torres did exactly that, according to the prosecutor. Continue reading→

Fugitive extradited from El Salvador facing life in prison after allegedly murdering a man in Tustin

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Juan Palacios arrested

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Case # 04CF1972

FUGITIVE EXTRADITED FROM EL SALVADOR TO FACE MURDER CHARGE AFTER SHOOTING MAN THROUGH THE HEART IN TUSTIN 15 YEARS AGO

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A fugitive was extradited from El Salvador and is scheduled to be arraigned today for murdering a man by shooting him through the heart in Tustin 15 years ago.

Defendant: Juan Palacios, 59

Charged on June 30, 2004, with the following: Continue reading→

Tustin murder suspect extradited from El Salvador

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On January 5, 2003 Tustin Police Officers responded to a call of shots fired on Alliance Ave. Once on scene the officers discovered a victim with a gunshot wound. The victim was transported to a local area hospital but succumbed to his injuries. The victim was identified as 32-year-old Mario Santamaria.

Tustin Police Detectives began investigating the case and identified Juan Palacios as the suspect responsible for the shooting of Mr. Santamaria. Detectives discovered suspect Palacios, with the help of family members, fled the United States to El Salvador. Continue reading→

Murderous Santa Ana gangbanger who fled to Mexico gets life in prison without parole

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Gangs, mexico, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Jesus Canales

Jesus Canales, 24, of Santa Ana, aAn ex-fugitive who spent years on the county’s most-wanted list after he gunned down a 16-year-old gang rival and fled to Mexico, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday, according to the O.C. Register.

Co-defendant Juan Manuel “Stitch” Galvan, 25, Santa Ana, was charged on July 25, 2011, with one felony count of murder and one felony count of street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity and vicarious discharge of a firearm causing death. Galvan eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for his testimony against Canales and he was ultimately sentenced to six years in jail. Continue reading→

A 22-year-old Santa Ana man was killed in a shooting on Mother’s Day

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Noe Cabanas, from Facebook

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD Detectives Investigating Homicide – 300 South Halladay Street

Victim: Noe Cabanas (22) Santa Ana

On Sunday, May 13, 2018, at approximately 10:26 PM, Santa Ana Police Department responded to a report of a shooting at 300 S. Halladay Street in the City of Santa Ana.

Upon arrival, officers located three adult victims suffering from gunshot wounds to their upper bodies. Orange County Fire Authority Paramedics responded. The victims were transported to local trauma centers. Continue reading→

Hitman convicted of murdering a Westminster woman whose husband wanted her dead

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Anthony Edward Bridget

Case # 13CF1025

Date: April 12, 2018

HITMAN CONVICTED OF 2004 SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES MURDER OF WOMAN WHOSE KILLING WAS SOLICITED BY ESTRANGED HUSBAND

*Husband of victim sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2014

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A hitman was convicted today of the 2004 special circumstances murder of a woman whose killing was solicited by her estranged husband.

Defendant: Anthony Edward Bridget, 44

Found guilty by a jury on April 12, 2018, of the following felony counts: Continue reading→

A snitch helped to convict a Santa Ana gangbanger of killing a teenager

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Jesus Canales, a 24-year-old man who gunned down a teenage rival gang member in Santa Ana and then fled to Mexico, where he was on the lam for five years, was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder, according to the O.C. Register.

Canales was charged on July 25, 2011, with one felony count of special circumstances first degree murder committed for a criminal street gang purpose and one felony count of street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity and discharge of a firearm causing death.  Continue reading→

OC Jail snitch fiasco resulted in a lighter sentence for a murderous Santa Ana gangbanger

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Eric Vasquez Ortiz, 28, a Santa Ana gangbanger, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Friday after three trials for the same murder, according to the O.C. Register.

Ortiz shot and killed Emeterio Adame, 54, outside his Santa Ana home back in 2006. He was convicted of first-degree murder and faced life in prison without parole for that shooting death. However he was granted a new trial in 2015 by a Judge who found that he had been a victim of the Orange County jail-snitch fiasco. Continue reading→

Overweight vaper wanted for a brutal murder in Westminster

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Westminster police are looking for an overweight vaper who was caught on surveillance video at the scene where Treeanna Nichols, 22-year-old woman from Pasadena, was murdered on Feb. 5.

The suspect is seen in the video walking up the stairs of the Quality Inn on Westminster Boulevard at about 3 p.m. Feb. 5, while wearing a hooded sweatshirt and vaping. He leaves a short time later. Nichols was killed, according to police investigators, during that time period. Continue reading→

A man was assaulted and murdered at the Santa Ana Civic Center last night

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Detectives Investigating a Homicide in the Civic Center Area

Victim: Pending Notification of Next of Kin

On Sunday, March 11, 2018, at 11:34 PM, Santa Ana Police officers responded to reports of an assault with a victim down in the Plaza of the Flags within the City of Santa Ana Civic Center. Orange County Fire Authority paramedics treated the victim at scene and declared him deceased at 11:52 PM. Continue reading→

Homeless man arrested after police find a woman’s body at Talbert Regional Park

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Costa Mesa Police Department

Advisory: Man arrested after police find woman’s body in Talbert Regional Park

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 28, 2018

COSTA MESA, Calif. – The Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) arrested a man today after the body of a woman was found in Talbert Regional Park.

At approximately 7:10 a.m., on Feb. 28, 2018, CMPD Dispatch received a call from a man advising he had found a female’s body in the Talbert Regional Park area. Police officers and detectives responded to the Talbert Nature Preserve, at 1299 Victoria Street, and located the male caller, identified as Daniel Correa, as well as the female’s body in the brush area nearby. Continue reading→

A Santa Ana man who allegedly killed a woman with his van has died in custody

Posted on by Posted in buena park, Crime, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Nelson Ward Jr., a 62-year-old Santa Ana resident, won’t be charged with murder after allegedly runninv over a woman in a hotel parking lot in Buena Park, back in 2015, because he died in mid-November while in custody, of natural causes, according to the O.C. Register.

Ward Jr. was charged with murder as well as assault with a deadly weapon or instrument likely to produce great bodily injury, after he allegedly killed 32-year-old Jessica Carvajal at about 1:20 a.m., on Sep. 12, 2015, in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn at 7000 Beach Blvd., in Buena Park. Continue reading→

Remarks by OCDA Rackauckas regarding the murder of an OC School of the Arts grad

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

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 18HF0073

Date: January 17, 2018

REMARKS BY DISTRICT ATTORNEY TONY RACKAUCKAS

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Good morning and thank you for joining us today. We have been working with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department around the clock since Blaze Bernstein was reported missing on January 3.

As the search continued, Blaze’s family, friends, fellow Orange County residents, and tens of thousands of people around the world were all hoping there was an innocent explanation as to why Blaze had not returned home. We were all hopeful he would show up and reunite with his friends and family and life for all involved would resume. As we all became sadly aware last week, that is not the case. Continue reading→

OC School of the Arts grad charged with murdering a former classmate

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 18HF0073

Date: January 17, 2018

FORMER CLASSMATE CHARGED WITH MURDERING 19-YEAR-OLD BLAZE BERNSTEIN AND BURYING HIS BODY IN SHALLOW GRAVE IN BORREGO PARK

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A former classmate of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein was charged today with murdering the victim and burying his body in a shallow grave in Borrego Park in Lake Forest.

Defendant: Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20, Newport Beach

Charged today with: Continue reading→