December 2009 Archives

A 51-year-old defrocked priest from Riverside County is in a heap of trouble with the law, due to his alleged sale of drugs.

Anthony Martinez Garduno, the self-proclaimed Catholic priest at Home Gardens church was charged today with one felony and misdemeanor count each of possession of a controlled substance for sale, two felony counts of possession of controlled substances and one felony count of possession of stolen property. Garduno pleaded not guilty to all the charges. A preliminary hearing for Garduno was tentatively set for Jan. 14.

The work of a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer can be difficult at times, but it's rare for lawyers to be victims of violence in the courtroom. So it certainly came as a surprise to criminal defense lawyer Richard Everett, when he was attacked by his client in the Torrance courthouse yesterday.

Authorities report that Daniel Nunez, of Gardena repeatedly punched his Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer in the face and back, after the jury convicted him of murder and the verdict was read. Deputies immediately got a hold of Nunez and tried to restrain the convicted murderer. Two deputies forced Nunez to the floor, while a third deputy stunned the defendant with a Taser gun, in order to subdue him. Now, that's quite a lot of drama for the courtroom.

Some people believe members of the El Monte Police Department are getting off easy for beating a car chase suspect, where prosecutors have decided not to charge the two police officers involved in the beatings. Because the two men are not being charged, it looks as though they won't be needing Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys, but they may have to deal with angry members of the public for a long time.

Everyone in California should be aware that prostitution, solicitation, pandering and loitering are all against the law. Licensed prostitution houses are legal in certain regions of Nevada, but here in the golden state, the law has no tolerance for such behavior. In large cities like Los Angeles, people are often wrongfully arrested on prostitution charges for simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Luckily, there are many criminal lawyers in Los Angeles that specialize in prostitution and solicitation cases.

As the first decade of this century comes to a close, Los Angeles residents can't help but be excited about the upcoming new year. This New Years Eve should be a blast, but the Los Angeles police are advising residents not to blast bullets in celebration of the new year.

A 19 year old Anaheim woman was arrested on Christmas Eve for murder, after police found her baby in a Stanton trash bin.

One might say that CSI: Miami star Jonathan Togo is pulling a Chris Brown. Like Brown, Togo will be facing a heap of legal trouble and will need to call a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer to his rescue.

Have you recently been the victim of an auto scam through Craigslist.com? If so you're not alone. Los Angeles police are now asking residents for any information they can get about a particular person that's believed to be a Craigslist scammer.

Don Atkerson, 44, is probably hoping a skilled criminal attorney in Los Angeles will come to his rescue with a good defense, now that he's been arrested. Atkerson allegedly put multiple ads up on Craigslist last October, claiming to be an Automobile Service Excellence (ASE) certified mechanic in the Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley areas with more than 23 years experience. On October 27, he allegedly showed up at a victim's home in Windsor Square, where authorities say that he requested an advance cash payment from the victim that he said would go toward buying car parts, according to LAPD.

Last week celebrity dancer Shane Sparks was arrested on multiple felony counts of child molestation (see earlier blog post “Shane Sparks Arrested in North Hollywood”), but the dancer’s Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer says Sparks plans to plead not guilty to all the charges. He is scheduled for arraignment on January 13.

Redondo Beach police are now after a fish thief that allegedly stole two large halibut and nearly two dozen lobsters from Redondo Beach SEA Lab last weekend.

After a six-month old girl in Compton received second degree burns from a floor heater, police arrested the two parents on suspicion of child endangerment Monday night.

There were 9,691 reported victims of hate crimes across the U.S in 2008, a two percent increase from that of 2007. The FBI released the new hate crime data and statistics of 2008 last month in hopes of creating an ongoing national dialogue about how to stop bias-fueled crimes across the country. With so many hate crimes in this country, it puts into question whether or not our progressive society is really becoming more tolerant.

The former security guard accused of fatally shooting Michelle O'Keefe almost 10 years ago was finally convicted earlier today, bringing his lengthy legal battle to an end. 

A robber armed with a handgun on Tuesday demanded cash from a store clerk in the 1000 block of Los Angeles Street. The Los Angeles Times reports that once the young woman handed over the money, the robber shocked the clerk "just to be mean" and fled with the cash.

Police have labeled the robber as the "Stun Gun Bandit" and are now asking for the public's help in identifying the man who fled the Fashion District store after shocking the woman. His photograph can be seen on multiple news websites.

There are some LAPD detectives who just can't be trusted. Stephanie Lazarus, who has recently become a suspect for a murder that occurred in 1986, might be one of them.

Lazarus, a 26 year veteran of the LAPD, is accused of killing Sherri Rasmussen nearly 24 years ago. Rasmussen married Lazarus' ex-boyfriend just a few months prior to her death. Acquaintances of Lazarus say that she was very jealous of their marriage and was very much still in love with her ex-boyfriend John Ruetten.

Shane Sparks may have all the right moves on the dance floor, but the 40-year-old celebrity will now have to make the right moves in the court room. Let’s just hope he can get a good Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer to represent him.

Sparks was arrested around 8 a.m this morning in North Hollywood on a felony warrant charging him with molestation. KTLA News reports that he has been charged with 8 counts of molestation, including a lewd act upon a child, which is a felony. The alleged crimes occurred between 1994 and 1997, where all charges are focused around one victim’s case. The victim was one of Sparks’ hip-hop dance students at Millennium Studios in North Hollywood.

ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews confronted her stalker for the first time in Los Angeles federal court last Tuesday, and hopes the Illinois insurance executive will be given the maximum sentence for his crime.

Michael Barrett, 48, pleaded guilty to one felony count of stalking, and was convicted of the crime on Tuesday. Barrett admitted in court that in 2008, he followed Andrews to hotels in three different cities, installed cameras in her hotel room through peepholes, and posted nude videos of her online.

Gilberto Sanchez might need to hire the best criminal attorney in Los Angeles if he wants to stay out of federal prison and avoid millions of dollars in fines. The man has been charged by a Los Angeles grand jury with "illegally uploading a Hollywood movie to the internet before its theatrical release," according to the Los Angeles Times.

The murder case of Dae'von Bailey, a six year old who was beaten to death last summer, was finally wrapped up in Compton Superior Court this week.

A judge who called two teenage girls "child monsters" handed over the stiffest prison sentences ever given for a Riverside County homicide when the killers were juveniles.

Last week, Dayana Cordova and Anna Salinas were convicted of murdering Angelina Arias, a twenty year old Lake Elsinore mother. Arias had befriended the two girls at a restaurant where she had worked as a waitress. But when Arias offered Cordova and Salinas a ride home, the two decided to kill Arias so they could take her car and go to the Knott's Berry Farm theme park. They drove away with Arias's 9-month-old daughter, who was in the car at the time of the murder, and later abandoned the baby on the porch of a house in Perris, CA.

Julie Newmar, a Hollywood actress best known for her role as Catwoman in the original "Batman" television series, noticed she had several of her personal belongings missing from her home in West Los Angeles last October. She didn't even realize that she was a victim of grand theft until she saw three of her missing items for sale on eBay.

Robert Ouriel, 48, who is an acquaintance of Newmar, stands as the main suspect involved in the theft case. He was arrested on November 19 for allegedly stealing $25,000 worth of jewelry, and then released on $50,000 bail. When Los Angeles prosecutors charged Ouriel with a felony count of grand theft on December 9, he pleaded not guilty to the charge the following day in Los Angeles criminal court.

It's something that you would think only happens in a movie. Any television watcher has probably watched a scene where the criminals tie a person to the wall with duct tape, and then do damage to the property of some sort while the victim is observing.

Many teenagers may not see any harm with consuming alcohol, as long as they're not driving while intoxicated. But California law has strict consequences for those who choose to drink under the age of 21. If caught by authorities, underage drinkers should contact a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer right away, so that they can learn about what legal rights they have. 

If a law enforcement officer sees a minor holding an object that contains alcohol or catches a minor in the act of drinking, the officer can cite that individual for being a "minor in possession."

While some people may feel generous during the holiday season, it's important to be aware that this time of year has the highest rate of crime. When people are doing their holiday shopping in Los Angeles, they're particularly prone to be victims of theft or assault. This is why it's important to be alert and guard your belongings when in a mall or shopping center. Officials from the Los Angeles Police Department say that when people are shopping, they often become careless, hence vulnerable to theft and holiday crime.

Just North of Los Angeles in the city of Castaic, police found a stoner's goldmine last Thursday -- 492 marijuana plants growing inside a residential home. Authorities say that the recovered marijuana had a street value of $1 million or more.

Los Angeles County sheriff deputies discovered the marijuana nursery in the 28200 block of Royal Road after a month long investigation. The drug investigation started when an anonymous citizen gave a tip to authorities that the neighborhood smelled of marijuana. After retrieving a search warrant for the Castaic home, narcotics detectives were able to search the house.

A Yorba Linda man now faces a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in prison if convicted of the three counts of rape that he's been charged with.

Jason Ara Erpinar, 20, has been specifically charged with "two counts of using drugs to commit rape and one count of forcible rape with a sentencing enhancement for sex crimes against multiple victims," according to the Orange County district attorney's statement that was reported in The Los Angeles Times.

Animal rights activists have won a battle when it comes to outlawing cruel practices on animals. The city of Los Angeles recently banned the declawing of cats, where Ordinance No. 180986 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code went into effect on November 20.

The new law states that no person shall perform an onychectomy (declawing) or flexor tendonectomy procedure on any animal within the City. Violating this law will result in a misdemeanor, that can lead to a punishment of 6 months in jail and a $500 fine, according to the Los Angeles Times.

While driving through traffic in Los Angeles, it's possible that you can be very frustrated and want to hurt somebody. But luckily you probably have the willpower to rise above the rage.

An emergency room doctor at Beverly Hospital in Montebello started his sentence on December 3, where he will face the next 10 years in prison, and it's all because he couldn't manage his own anger on the road.

Every year the Los Angeles Police Department has dozens of unsolved crime cases, either because they can't identify the suspects involved in the incident or because there's not enough information at the scene of the crime.

Former Democratic Assemblyman Walter Karabian allegedly ran over a female parking attendant with his car on Saturday afternoon, just before a USC football game at the university's Coliseum.

Karabian, 71, now faces a heap of legal trouble. Just after the incident, police booked the former Assemblyman on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. He later posted $30,000 bail and was released. The Los Angeles Times reports that Karabian's case has since been referred to the Los Angeles city attorney's office for review, where he could be charged with a felony. The county prosecuters have so far declined to take action against Karabian.

A Van Nuys couple in a black Nissan Maxima led the Los Angeles Police Department on a high speed chase throughout the Valley, after they allegedly robbed a restaurant.

Several red headed students at A.E Wright Middle School in Calabasas were bullied, shoved, and kicked on November 20, after a "Kick a Ginger Day" event was promoted by other middle school students on Facebook.com.

Former Orange County Department Deputy Phillip Glen Romero and Deputy William Robb might be facing the consequences of illegal lobster poaching at Dana Point.

Romero was arrested in November 2008 for allegedly obstructing a police officer after he lied to protect his friend Robb from being cited by the California Department of Fish and Game. Robb was later cited for catching too many lobsters that were below the illegal size to catch.

Forget about your fear of leaving laptop computers or ipods in the car. What an auto thief really wants is your airbags.

Gay rights activists around the country are applauding President Obama's efforts of bringing Federal protection to the homosexual, bisexual, and transgender community. On October 28, the president signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was brought along as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010. The new law expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

Who knew that one could receive a felony just for collecting firewood? Apparently you can if you're vandalizing public property while doing so.

Jacob Brill, 18, was arrested last night in Hacienda Heights on suspicion of felony vandalism after he allegedly tried to cut down a 30-foot tall tree in Thomas Burton County Park.

Don't let your children out of the house after 10:00 pm. Not only can it be unsafe, but it's also against the law.

That's right, it's unlawful for any minor under the age of eighteen to be present in public after 10:00 pm, any day of the week in Los Angeles, unless they're accompanied by a parent or legal guardian according to The Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) 45.03. So unless you have the money to hire a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer, keep your kids where you can see them.

A man dressed as Spider-Man couldn't save the city of Los Angeles from crime, but he may get a misdemeanor on his record for jumping over the the city's Metro subway turn-styles multiple times without paying.

Christopher Loomis, 39, was arrested last month on Hollywood Boulevard while greeting L.A tourists when he was dressed as Spider-Man. Loomis allegedly hit a man on the street, which prompted the police to come and investigate the scene. While the victim said he didn't want to press charges against Loomis, the police found that the Spider-Man impersonator had a warrant for arrest for taking free rides on the Metro.

A Palm Springs man now faces charges from federal prosecutors for wearing unauthorized military medals after he was seen and photographed wearing a military uniform with decorations.

Steve Burton, 39, has never served in the military, but he allegedly wore a uniform to a high school reunion that displayed several medals, including the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and others, according to an affidavit filed in United States District Court. A Navy commander, who attended the reunion, contacted the FBI after she developed suspicion that Burton had not really served in the military.