A suspect conducted an armed robbery on Wednesday, May 24, at approximately 11:30 a.m., at the Joghurt Frozen Yogurt Haus located at 17395 17th St.
During the robbery, the suspect demanded cash and was last seen walking away from the business. The suspect was caught on surveillance video. Continue reading
The family and friends of Edwin Fuentes, the U.S. Army Veteran whose life was cut short on May 16, 2017, in Tustin when the police opened fire on him, are trying to raise money to pay for his funeral. Even though he served our country for six years the V.A. is not covering his funeral costs. Fuentes left behind his wife and a 1-year old son. Click here to donate to the effort. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: Homicide Detectives Investigating Shooting Death 200 block South Cedar Street
On Sunday, May 21, 2017 at approximately 6:00 a.m. the Tustin Police Department responded to a report of a man down on the front of a residence in the 600 block of W. Main Street in Tustin. Orange County Fire Authority Paramedics pronounced the male deceased.
Tustin PD initiated a homicide investigation. After lengthy investigation, it was determined the victim was shot during a gang-related shooting which occurred in the area of 200 South Cedar Street, Santa Ana. Continue reading
On May 16, 2017, at approximately 7:12 p.m., Tustin Police Department Officers responded to a call of a suicidal subject.
Officers contacted the subject, 24-year-old Edwin Fuentes, who served in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and later struggled with PTSD, inside of a vehicle in the alley of an apartment complex located in the 16200 Block of Main St. in the City of Tustin, just south of the Santa Ana Zoo, according to the O.C. Register. Continue reading
Juan Carlos Cruz-Olmos, a 38-year-old man, was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison for molesting four boys during sleepovers in Tustin last year, according to the O.C. Register.
Cruz-Olmos accepted a plea deal from the OCDA which included four counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 17CF0915
Date: May 11, 2017
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man and a woman are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow for conspiring to file a fraudulent insurance claim and falsely alleging police misconduct when the accident report was not consistent with their untrue statements.
Defendants:
SEXUAL ABUSE SUSPECT ARRESTED
SUSPECT: Jon Francis Farris M/W Age 57
On Wednesday April 26 2017, members of the Tustin Police Department arrested Jon Farris as a result of an investigation regarding the sexual abuse of individuals with special needs. Farris, a contract bus driver responsible for the transportation of special needs individuals, was arrested after allegations were brought to the attention of the Tustin Police Department. These allegations involved the sexual abuse of special needs individuals while Farris was working as a bus driver. It should be noted that Farris was not affiliated with the Tustin Unified School District in any way. Continue reading
Tustin Robbery Suspect
Tustin police have asked for the public’s help tracking down an unidentified man who robbed a Metro PCS store at 14460 Newport Ave. last Sunday at about 6 p.m., according to the O.C. Register.
The robbery suspect did not show the store employee a weapon but he threatened to shoot a clerk as he demanded cash, according to the Tustin Police. Continue reading
Robert Jesus Wilson, 53, a man convicted of stabbing 39-year-old Robert Carranza to death at Tustin’s Frontier Park, was sentenced Friday to 56-years-to-life in prison, according to the O.C. Register.
Wilson claimed that he acted in self-defense when he stabbed Carranza in the neck during a fight at Frontier Park at 3:15 in the afternoon. Wilson was on parole at the time of the attack. Continue reading
Do you live in Santa Ana? If you have kids then you need to know that you don’t have to put them in our local schools. That said there are some fine schools in Santa Ana. But are they the best ones for your kids?
Parents are allowed to indicate a preference for the school which their child will attend, irrespective of the child’s place of residence within the district. And surrounding school districts have to honor this parental preference if their schools have sufficient capacity without displacing other currently enrolled students, according to California Education Code Section 35160.5(b).
So what school districts are the best ones in our area? Continue reading
Jocelyn Cano of Santa Ana, a 23-year-old woman with a lengthy criminal history pleaded guilty on Monday and was immediately sentenced to nine years in prison for carjackings in Irvine, Costa Mesa and Tustin, according to the O.C. Register.
Cano flipped out on March 9, 2015, when she smashed the driver-side window of a 27-year old Huntington Beach resident’s 2011 Toyota Prius as he was stuck in traffic on the 73 Freeway going north. She ordered the victim out of his car and then took off in his vehicle. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 16CF0858
Date: December 16, 2016
SANTA ANA, Calif. – An 81-year-old former missionary was convicted and sentenced to 18 years in state prison yesterday for sexually assaulting three girls under the age of 10. Douglas Dale Whinery, 81, Tustin, pleaded guilty to seven felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14 with a sentencing enhancement allegation for committing lewd acts upon multiple victims.
At the time of the crime, Whinery was a former pastor and missionary and was actively involved at Olive Crest Church in Santa Ana, Foothill Family Church in Foothill Ranch, and Grace Church in Yorba Linda. The defendant was in a position of trust with access to children. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 16CF3123
Date: December 13, 2016
DRUNKEN DRIVER CHARGED WITH CRASHING INTO POLICE OFFICER WHO WAS STANDING BEHIND PATROL VEHICLE
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A drunken driver was charged today with crashing into a police officer who was standing behind his patrol vehicle on a residential street. Ashley Victoria Bertolino, 27, Tustin, is charged with one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs causing bodily injury, one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, and one felony count of driving with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more causing bodily injury, with sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. The defendant is scheduled for a continued arraignment on Jan. 6, 2017, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. Continue reading
Yet another police chase ended in Santa Ana on Sunday when a 35-year-old woman from Orange was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and evading police officers after leading police on a 50-minute chase along two Orange County freeways, according to the O.C. Register.
The woman refused to pull over when a Tustin police officer asked her to, at about 10:39 p.m., at Red Hill Ave. and El Camino Real, according to the Tustin Police. Continue reading
A police pursuit of a car reported stolen started this afternoon in Santa Ana and finally ended in Laguna Hills, according to the O.C. Register.
The incident began before 4 p.m. in Santa Ana when the driver of the suspected stolen SUV fled from the SAPD. The chase continued through the cities of Irvine and Tustin, and involved at times both the 5 and the 405 Freeways. Continue reading