Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: police

Santa Ana man charged with kidnapping a little boy in order to molest him

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 16CF1970

Date: July 29, 2016

MAN CHARGED WITH KIDNAPPING 4-YEAR-OLD BOY FOLLOWING ARREST AFTER GOOD SAMARITANS HELP SAPD LOCATE MISSING BOY

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was charged today with kidnapping a 4-year-old boy who was reported missing and found after Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) located the victim thanks to the assistance of Good Samaritans. Armando Torreblanca Nunez, 28, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of kidnapping to commit a sexual offense. If convicted, Nunez faces a maximum sentence of seven years to life in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration. The defendant is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned sometime today, July 29, 2016, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

The SAPD is investigating a fatal DUI accident that occurred this morning on Bristol St.

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: TRAFFIC INVESTIGATORS ARREST DRIVER IN FATAL COLLISION FOR VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER AND DUI-GREAT BODILY INJURY/DEATH

Arrested: Ryan Anthony Morris (26), Santa Ana

Booking Charges: Vehicular Manslaughter and DUI Causing Great Bodily Injury and or Death.

Deceased/Victim: Shane Spear (23), Santa Ana

On 07/29/2016 at approximately 8:37 AM, officers responded to a report of a solo vehicle collision at Bristol St. and MacArthur Blvd. Several calling parties indicated the vehicle collided with a pole, overturned and there were passengers trapped inside the vehicle. Continue reading→

Could a dead body be buried in the backyard of a Santa Ana home on S. Center St.?

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A possible cold case murder has come back to haunt a Santa Ana home’s owner after the SAPD received a tip on Thursday afternoon that a body might be buried in the backyard of that home, according to the O.C. Register.

The tip received by the SAPD alleged that a body has been buried for some 30 to 32 years behind a home located at the 600 block of South Center St., according to the SAPD. Continue reading→

Suspect arrested after he took a 4-year-old boy from Jerome Park in order to molest him

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Law Enforcement Works with Concerned Citizens to Stop a Sexual Predator and Save a Child Victim

On July 27, 2016, the 4-year-old victim and several family members were celebrating a birthday at Jerome Park in Santa Ana. At about 8:15 PM, the 4-year-old playing on the playground with other children. A few minutes later, the child’s mother lost sight of her son and began searching for him. After failing to locate her son, the child’s mother called the Santa Ana Police Department, who immediately responded to the area to continue the search.

Santa Ana Police Officers utilized the OCSD Air Support Unit helicopter to broadcast the description of the lost 4-year-old child to the nearby community. Two concerned citizens saw a child matching the description of the lost child in a nearby market. The child was being accompanied by Armando Torreblanca Núñez, 28, of Santa Ana. The citizens confronted Nunez, who released the child and tried to flee the scene. The citizens detained Nunez and called police officers who responded to the scene immediately. The child was unharmed and returned to the mother. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana Police will host the 2016 National Night Out on 8/2

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Santa Ana Police Department National Night Out – Tuesday, August 2, 2016.

***SAVE THE DATE*** ‪Santa Ana Police Department ‪National Night Out is coming soon! Join us for our 10th Annual National Night Out on Tuesday, August 2nd at Garfield Elementary School (850 E. Brown Street) from 4PM – 7PM. Continue reading→

Santa Ana woman gets four years in prison for DUI accident that killed a man

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

Rebecca Munoz, a 23-year-old Santa Ana woman, pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to four years in prison for gross vehicular manslaughter in a drunken driving crash that killed a man in Orange last year, according to the O.C. Register.

Munoz was driving her 2014 BMW 320i south on the Orange (57) Freeway at about 80 mph early in the morning on March 14, 2015,  when she made an unsafe lane change and hit the left rear of a 2002 Jeep Liberty, according to the OCDA. Continue reading→

Shootings have increased 556% in Santa Ana since Cavazos and Rojas took power

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Rojas, Crime, David Cavazos, Santa Ana 12 Comments

Violent crime continues to increase in Santa Ana at an unbelievable rate, yet police staffing remains far below minimum staffing levels. What is inexperienced SAPD Police Chief Carlos Rojas doing to address this? Nothing. What is our overpaid City Manager David Cavazos doing to address this? Nothing. Why do they refuse to staff “Patrol Officers” to their recommended levels and the levels they have been budgeted for? And why doesn’t our City Council take action? I mean besides giving bonuses to Cavazos and his fellow city executives.

There are serious safety concerns to families, children and the business community of Santa Ana. Since Rojas took over in 2012, shootings are up 556%, according to a new report that I looked at today (which is about how much Cavazos is overpaid!) In 2012 in a six-month period (from January to June) there were 32 shootings as compared to the year-to-date in 2016, when there have been over 200 shootings in our city! Continue reading→

The SAPD will conduct a DUI and drivers license checkpoint on 7/22

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD conducting a DUI / Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, July 22nd, 2016, 9:30pm -2:30am, 500 W. Warner Avenue

SANTA ANA POLICE STEPING UP DUI ENFORCEMENT

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI / Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, July 22nd, 2016. It will begin at 9:30 pm and is scheduled to conclude at 2:30 am. It will be conducted in the area of 500 W. Warner Avenue, in the City of Santa Ana.

The primary purpose of a DUI Checkpoint is to deter impaired driving, not to increase arrests. All too often, members of our community are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by impaired drivers. This DUI / Drivers License checkpoint is an effort to reduce those tragedies, as well as ensuring drivers have a valid driver’s license. The DMV reports that unlicensed drivers are 4.9 times more likely to cause a fatal crash than a licensed driver. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man faces molestation charges dating back to 2011 after leading police on a chase

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Jose Luis Mejia Salas, 27, a molestation suspect who eluded authorities for several years was caught following a police chase made his first appearance in court Tuesday on the sexual assault charge dating back to 2007, according to the O.C. Register.

Salas fled from police on July 10, when officers tried to pull him over for a routine traffic stop, according to the SAPD. Eventually Salas stopped his car and tried to escape on foot, but he was eventually caught while trying to hide in a relative’s home. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man arrested for a B of A bank robbery in Fountain Valley

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BANK ROBBERY ARREST

By: The Fountain Valley Police Department

On Monday, July 18, 2016 at approximately 3:47 PM, the Fountain Valley Police Department responded to 16192 Harbor Boulevard, Bank of America, regarding a bank robbery that had just occurred.

The suspect entered the bank and approached a teller. The suspect grabbed a hold of the teller’s hand and demanded money. The teller complied and handed the suspect cash at which time he exited the bank. As the suspect fled on foot he said he had a bomb in his backpack, which was left inside the bank. The bank was evacuated and the Orange County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad was requested to render the backpack safe. No explosives were located in the backpack. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man arrested and charged with a fatal hit and run DUI collision

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD Traffic Investigators Make an Arrest in Fatal Hit and Run Collision

Arrested: Israel Gutierres Zamora (45) Santa Ana

Booking Charges: Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated, Felony Hit and Run

Victim: Mitchell Paul Viturino (61), Fullerton

On Monday, February 8th, 2016 at 2:01am, officers responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Bristol Street and 1st Street in Santa Ana. The collision involved a silver 2006 Mercedes Benz E350 sedan and a red 1999 Ford Mustang coupe. It was also reported that occupants of the Mercedes were seen fleeing the scene of the collision. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man who fled to Mexico charged with stalking, stabbing and murdering a man from Irvine

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 13CF1954

Date: July 20, 2016

MAN TO FACE TRIAL FOR STABBING-MURDER OF ACQUAINTENCE AFTER CHASING AND STALKING HIM AND FLEEING TO MEXICO

FULLERTON, Calif. – A man is scheduled to face trial tomorrow for the stabbing-murder of his acquaintance after chasing and stalking him and fleeing to Mexico. Mario Alberto Rodriguez, 26, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife. If convicted, Rodriguez faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison. Opening statements are scheduled to begin tomorrow, July 21, 2016, at 9:30 a.m. in Department N-11, North Justice Center, Fullerton.

On March 9, 2013, Rodriguez is accused of seeing 26-year-old acquaintance Paul Anthony Garcia, from Irvine, in front of the defendant’s family’s home in Santa Ana, and chasing him on foot. Rodriguez and two associates followed Garcia for a few blocks until he entered the El Chile Picante Restaurant on South Main Street. Continue reading→

Gunshots fired in Santa Ana road rage incident on South Main Street

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Rojas, Crime, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santa Ana briefly turned into a scene from the Mad Max movie on Sunday, at 7:45 p.m., as two vehicles that were traveling north on South Main Street became involved in a road rage incident, according to the SAPD.

The suspect vehicle cut off the victim’s vehicle then proceeded to honk at the victim. The suspect, a male Latino, then pulled up next to the victim’s car and pointed a handgun at him. Continue reading→

A young man was shot on Friday night near Mater Dei High School

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A juvenile male was shot on Friday night in Santa Ana, just before midnight at the 1400 block of South Spruce St., according to the O.C. Register.

The victim was walking with several others when a vehicle pulled up alongside them and an unknown suspect fired one shot from a gun. The police do not yet know who the suspect was targeting. Continue reading→

The SAPD is looking for a man who robbed a McFadden-Dale hardware store

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Detectives request public’s assistance in identifying suspect in hardware store robbery.

Location: 1540 E. Warner/McFadden – McFadden-Dale Hardware Store

On 06/10/2016 at approximately 9 a.m. the photographed suspect took several items from the business without paying for them. He was then confronted by store employees and the suspect used force to flee the scene.

Suspect is described as: Male, White, 25-30 years old, 5’6”-5’8” tall, dark hair, wearing horn-rimmed glasses, grey jacket, black pants and a blue Quick Silver hat. Continue reading→