ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 16NF2636
Date: September 18, 2017
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced to six months in jail for posing as a fire marshal and charging small businesses across Orange County for fraudulent inspections.
Defendant: Brian Lee Carsten, 37, Newport Beach
Pleaded guilty on Sept. 15, 2017, to the following counts: Continue reading
TONY RACKAUCKAS, District Attorney
Date: September 15, 2017
*Same sentence a defendant convicted of first degree murder receives
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for having sexual intercourse and committing lewd acts on his 4-year-old female relative.
Defendant: Ricardo Interiano-Rivas, 50, Costa Mesa
Found guilty by a jury on June 29, 2017, of the following felony counts: Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 8, 2017
Case # 16CF1494
*Victim in this case is the youngest filed victim since the HEAT Unit’s establishment in 2013
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced today to 23 years to life in state prison today for human trafficking, pimping, and pandering a 13-year-old girl in Orange County.
Defendant: John Wayne Calhoun, 31, San Bernardino
Found guilty by a jury on Aug. 14, 2017, of the following felony counts: Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case #17CF1017
Date: September 1, 2017
*Defendant also convicted of engaging in a sexual relationship with a minor student
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A varsity football coach was sentenced yesterday to nine months in county jail for initiating a 10-hour standoff with police and engaging in a sexual relationship with a minor student at El Modena High School (EMHS).
Defendant: Michael James Snitzler, 27, Santa Ana
Pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2017, to: Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 16CF3123
Date: August 29, 2017
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A drunken driver was convicted today of crashing into an Orange Police Department officer who was standing behind his patrol vehicle on a residential street.
Defendant: Ashley Victoria Bertolino, 27, Tustin
Pleaded guilty today to the following felony counts: Continue reading
Alvar Gonzalez class of 1988, Santa Ana High School
Alvar Albert Gonzalez, a 47-year old former Santa Ana High School science teacher and resident of Santa Ana, was sentenced Friday to a year in county jail for having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student, according to the O.C. Register.
Gonzalez had sexual intercourse with the female student at least nine times during school lunch breaks in 2013, according to the SAPD. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Date: August 16, 2017
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) congratulates Supervising Investigator Damon Tucker on competing in the 2017 World Police & Fire Games (World Games), which concludes today. Tucker won eight medals in nine swimming events in his age category, including second place in the men’s 200 meter freestyle, 200 meter medley relay, 200 meter mixed medley relay, and the men’s 200 meter freestyle relay, plus third place in the men’s individual 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle, 100 meter backstroke and 200 meter mixed freestyle relay events. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: August 14, 2017
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Investigator Kevin Ruiz of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) was honored with the “Golden Rule Award” for his extensive work as a non-profit leader with Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership (OC GRIP). The award was presented at Kiwanis’ 19th Annual Strike Gold for Kids Gala on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Tustin.
Each year, The Kiwanis Club of Santa Ana, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth through service projects, holds a gala to raise proceeds towards helping children in the community. OCDA Investigator Ruiz was recognized for leading the way in enhancing the education and safety of children, young adults, and families through his work with OC GRIP. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 16CF1494
MAN CONVICTED OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING, PIMPING, AND PANDERING 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN ORANGE COUNTY
*Victim in this case is the youngest filed victim since the HEAT Unit’s establishment in 2013
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was convicted today of human trafficking, pimping, and pandering a 13-year-old girl in Orange County.
Defendant: John Wayne Calhoun, 31, San Bernardino
Charges: Continue reading
Dallas Frank Reichstein, a Santa Ana resident who fled the scene of a crash that left a pedestrian dead was sentenced Friday to 22 years in state prison, according to the O.C. Register.
Pearleen Hopkins, a beloved 59-year old Santa Ana resident, died on Jan. 28, 2015, when Reichstein, who was speeding in a 2002 Nissan Xterra, at about 10:10 p.m., struck her as she was crossing MacArthur Blvd.
Hopkins died at the scene. Reichstein took the coward’s way out as he opted to flee from the scene. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
August 10, 2017
Case # 16WF1947
FRESNO FELON CONVICTED OF PIMPING YOUNG WOMAN AND ILLEGALLY POSSESSING LOADED FIREARM
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A felon from Fresno was convicted today of pimping a young woman and illegally possessing a loaded firearm.
Defendant: Adam Rocky Trinidad, 25, Fresno
Pleaded guilty today to: Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: SAPD and OCDA Investigating In Custody Death
On Wednesday, August 4, 2017 at approximately 9:49 pm, Santa Ana Jail Correctional Officers discovered a U.S. Marshal’s Service detainee unresponsive in his cell.
Correctional Officers initiated life-saving measures while awaiting the arrival of OCFA medics. Medics transported the inmate to a local hospital where he was stabilized and ultimately admitted due to his medical condition. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 17HF1025
Date: August 9, 2017
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) is seeking the public’s help identifying potential additional victims of a man who is accused of forcibly raping and sexually assaulting two teenagers in Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano.
Defendant: Alejandro Hernandez Garcia, 41, San Juan Capistrano
Felony Charges: Continue reading
Young Ah Kim, a 48-year-old Cypress woman, pleaded guilty Monday, Aug. 7, to embezzling at least $500,000 from California Systems, a Santa Ana company, where she worked as an office manager, according to the O.C. Register.
Kim accepted 21 felony charges that were accompanied by multiple sentencing enhancement allegations for white-collar crime.
Kim was fired in 2012 by California Systems. She had been hired in 2006.
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: August 7, 2017
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Pacific Educational Services (PES) released an evaluation indicating a 500% reduction in the rate of criminal recidivism for last year’s participants in the Orange County Offender Treatment Program (OC-OTP) in Santa Ana. The evaluation detailed the positive impact OC-OTP had on participants who completed the program without termination, primarily offenders dealing with drug usage and/or possession. Continue reading