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Archive for the ‘CALIFORNIA’ Category
Lawsuit Settled After Fromer San Diego Charger Steve Foley Was Shot By Nutcase Coronado California Police Officer Aaron Mansker In Road Rage Incident
July 3rd, 2008
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - A former San Diego Charger who was shot by an off-duty police officer has settled his civil suit with the officer and the city of Coronado, NBC 7/39 reports.
Former Chargers linebacker Steve Foley agreed on Tuesday to a settlement of his lawsuit against the city of Coronado and Coronado police Officer Aaron Mansker, who shot Foley on Sept. 3, 2006.
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Neither side would disclose terms of the settlement, which was reached in the chambers of Superior Court Judge Richard Strauss on Wednesday morning.
As attorneys hammered out the agreement before the jury was brought into court, an emotional Foley was led into the judge’s chambers by his mother, Betty, after several minutes of pacing and glaring across the courtroom at Mansker. At one point, Foley moved in the officer’s direction before Foley’s mother stood in her son’s way and linked one of her arms with his.
Read MoreThree Los Angeles California Police Officers “Reassigned” After Video Surfaces Pointing To Bogus Drug Charges And Purjury
July 3rd, 2008
LOS ANGLES, CALIFORNIA - Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton said Tuesday he has placed three officers on home assignment as the department moved swiftly to investigate allegations that officers lied under oath during a recently dismissed drug possession trial.
Bratton said he ordered the reassignment after one of the officers notified a Los Angeles Police Department watch commander that a judge had thrown out the charges, ruling that a videotape of the arrest contradicted testimony by two of the officers.
“We will not tolerate breaking the law to enforce the law,” Bratton told police commissioners during their weekly meeting.
In the meantime, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he was disappointed by the allegations but praised the department for taking them seriously.
“There will always be some people who don’t follow the norm, who engage in activity that is either illegal or inappropriate,” the mayor told reporters during a visit to Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles. “And in those cases, people will be made responsible for their actions.”
Read MoreSacramento California Couple Face $746 Fine After Allowing Their Lawn To Die In Order To Save Water During Statewide Drought
July 3rd, 2008
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - If Sacramento wanted a poster couple for its “green city” aspirations, it would be hard to do better than Anne Hartridge and Matt George.
The husband and wife bought a home in east Sacramento for easy biking to work and shopping. They installed solar panels and efficient appliances. Their laundry dries on a clothesline.
They didn’t own a car until four years ago, when their eldest son, then 18 months old, was being treated frequently for food allergies. They bought a Prius.
So when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought June 4, Hartridge decided it was only right to let her front lawn die to save water.
“The whole water conservation ethic is very important to me,” said Hartridge, a state employee who bikes or rides the bus to work.
But that ethic didn’t agree with her neighbors, or with the city.
Read MoreWoman’s Lawsuit Charges “Pathologically Aggressive Lesbian” Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Paula Sue Wood With Repeated Jail Rapes
July 3rd, 2008
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA - A 39-year-old woman who claims that while an inmate at the Sacramento County main jail she was repeatedly raped by a female sheriff’s deputy, has sued the county and five individuals, alleging violations of her civil rights under federal and state laws.
The divorced mother of two spent nearly 3 1/2 years in the jail, charged with submitting a fraudulent insurance claim, attempted grand theft and failure to appear. She was sentenced June 11 to four years and eight months and paroled the next day, never serving a day in prison.
Her lawsuit was filed Monday by attorney Stewart Katz in U.S. District Court. The Bee is not naming the plaintiff because she claims to be a victim of sexual assault.
Paula Sue Wood, 42, is described in the complaint as “a pathologically aggressive lesbian … who, at her request, was assigned to work at a female housing unit in the mail jail. She had successfully resisted several suggestions that she change assignments.”
Read MoreSecret Audio Tapes Catch Disgraced Former Orange County California Sheriff Michael Carona Using Racial Slurs, Obscenities, And Sexual Comments
July 3rd, 2008
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA - Former Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona uses racial slurs and obscenities and makes sexual comments in parts of a conversation secretly recorded by federal investigators building a public corruption case against him.
A transcript of parts of the 10 hours of recordings was filed Monday as an attachment to a defense motion seeking to exclude those comments from the evidence at trial.
Carona’s attorney, Jeffrey M. Rawitz, wrote that the remarks “are irrelevant … and are likely to offend and anger the jury, resulting in unfair prejudice to Carona.”
Carona, 53, left the department in January after he was indicted on federal charges of public corruption, witness tampering and fraud. Prosecutors allege he pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts in exchange for political favors.
Read MoreThree Los Angeles California Police Officers Suspended, Under Investigation After Lying In Court About Arrest - Charges Against Man Dropped - Caught On Video
July 2nd, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - Three police officers have been placed on leave while internal affairs investigators look into their conduct in a cocaine arrest case.
Police Chief William Bratton told the city Police Commission on Tuesday the men were sent home with pay after a judge stopped a trial and exonerated a man of cocaine charges when a video of the defendant’s arrest contradicted the testimony of at least one officer.
“I assure you that there will be a full, comprehensive investigation,” Bratton said. “We take these matters very seriously. We will not tolerate officers breaking the law to enforce the law.”
The officers were assigned to home, meaning they were placed on a departmental leave for an indefinite period of time, police spokesman Richard French said.
Police officials did not release the names of the officers.
Read MoreCrooked Los Angeles California Police Officer Evan Samuel, Hired By Chino Police Department, Suspended Amid Investigation Into Bogus Drug Charges Against Man - Caught On Video
July 2nd, 2008
CHINO, CALIFORNIA - The Chino Police Department has placed one of its officers on administrative leave pending investigation of possible misconduct while he was a Los Angeles police officer.
Evan Samuel, who joined the Chino department two months ago, was one of two officers involved in a recent drug possession trial that ended Monday in Los Angeles.
A judge stopped the trial, exonerating a man of cocaine charges, after a video of the defendant’s arrest contradicted the testimony of Samuel and Officer Richard Amio.
Both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Chino Police Department have started internal investigations, said Michelle Van Der Linden, Chino spokeswoman. Samuel, who was undergoing supervised field training since being hired in Chino, had not been involved in any investigations before being placed on leave.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is expected to take up the matter.
Read More“Terrorist” With A “Bomb” Shuts Down Part Of Los Angeles International Airport - Of Course It Was Nothing
July 2nd, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - Traffic has been blocked and gridlocked at LAX at the upper and lower levels of the airport after a man, reportedly between the ages of 20 and 25, went up to police in front of the Tom
Bradley International Terminal and claimed he was a terrorist with a bomb in his bag, according to ABC7. He was immediately arrested and a bomb squad was dispatched to the airport.
“A search of the area found an unattended bag located near a ticket counter,” a statement by the Transportation Security Administration said. A staging area was set up in front of Terminal 3 and nearby people in cars have been evacuated with their vehicles left at the scene, the news station said live on air.
Read MoreLos Angeles California Police Officers Richard Amio And Evan Samuel Caught Lying In Court - Judge Abruptly Ends Trial And Exonerates Defendant - Caught On Video
July 1st, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - A Los Angeles judge abruptly ended a trial and exonerated a man of possessing cocaine Monday after a courtroom confrontation in which a defense attorney produced a surprise video of his client’s arrest that sharply contradicted the testimony of two police officers.
Superior Court Judge Monica Bachner dismissed charges against Guillermo Alarcon Jr., a grocery store worker, after prosecutors reviewed the tape and acknowledged that it was inconsistent with the officers’ sworn testimony.
Los Angeles Police Department officials said they had launched an internal affairs investigation of the officers. Additionally, prosecutors said they would refer the matter to a division within the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office that investigates police misconduct cases.
During the trial, which began Friday, the officers told jurors that they had chased Alarcon, 29, into his Hollywood apartment building last year and seen him throw away a black object. They testified that one of the officers picked up the object a few feet from where Alarcon was standing and discovered powder and crack cocaine inside.
Read MoreSerial Child Molester Sentenced To Only 1,330 Years In California State Prison :)
July 1st, 2008
HEMET, CALIFORNIA - A 44-year-old convicted sex offender has been sentenced to more than a millenium in prison.
Horace Mann Williams was convicted in February of 11 felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14 and one count of digital penetration of a child under 14, along with a sentence enhancing allegation of multiple victims.
He molested three girls between 1999 and 2005.
On Monday, a judge sentenced Williams to a record-breaking, 1,330-year prison term after the defendant verbally attacked the creditability of his former attorney, the prosecutor and the judge.
Williams, whose emotional displays ranged from pounding on the table to crying, spent more than 15 minutes criticizing the way his trial was handled.
He has filed a motion for a new trial, alleging juror misconduct.
This isn’t the first child sex conviction for Williams.
Read MoreFormer Stanislaus County California Deputy Sheriff Michael Galvan Pleads No Contest After Raping Woman, Embezzlement. - Gets A Tiny Slap On The Wrist For “Assault” Instead Of Rape - Victim Seeks $600,000
June 30th, 2008
STANISLAUS COUNTY, CALIFORNIA - Former sheriff’s deputy Michael Galvan walked into Stanislaus County Superior Court on Tuesday holding hands with his wife and daughter and left a half-hour later with an order to surrender to the downtown jail Thursday morning.
Galvan, 31, of Turlock pleaded no contest to assault under the color of authority and embezzlement three months ago, when attorneys negotiated a 16-month prison sentence.
In the process, the man who wore a badge and gun for five years escaped the much more serious charge of rape with the threat of use of authority. But his victim insisted that the sex act amounted to rape, not assault, noting that Galvan was in uniform when he showed up at her home Dec. 15, 2005.
Read MoreState Of California’s Death Penalty System “Dysfunctional” And In Danger Of Collapse - $100 Million Tax Dollars A Year Tossed Into A Black Hole
June 30th, 2008
CALIFORNIA - The California death penalty system, plagued by backlogs in appeals that routinely delay executions by more than two decades, is “dysfunctional” and in danger of collapse, a state commission concluded Monday.
The report by the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice offered a blistering indictment of the system, saying the state has fostered a “disrespect for the rule of law and weakened any possible deterrent benefits of capital punishment.”
In the state that maintains the largest death row — currently 669 condemned inmates — the report determined that California could save up to $100 million a year by abolishing the death penalty. Yet the 22-member panel stopped short of recommending its elimination.
“Although outright abolition would be the cleanest, most definitive approach to death penalty reform … we recognize that, ultimately, a political judgment must be made about whether the time is right to seek a fresh electoral choice on whether California ought to have a death penalty,” the report said.
Read MoreFeds Investigate San Francisco California - Sanctuary For Criminal Immigrants
June 29th, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - San Francisco juvenile probation officials - citing the city’s immigrant sanctuary status - are protecting Honduran youths caught dealing crack cocaine from possible federal deportation and have given some offenders a city-paid flight home with carte blanche to return.
The city’s practices recently prompted a federal criminal investigation into whether San Francisco has been systematically circumventing U.S. immigration law, according to officials with knowledge of the matter.
City officials say they are trying to balance their obligations under federal and state law with local court orders and San Francisco’s policies aimed at protecting the rights of the young immigrants, who they say are often victims of exploitation.
Federal authorities counter that drug kingpins are indeed exploiting the immigrants, but that the city’s stance allows them to get away with “gaming the system.”
Read MoreRiverside County Deputy Sheriff Raymond Vidales Pleads Not Guilty To Child Molestation
June 28th, 2008
RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA - A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl.
Raymond Vidales, 44, was arrested Friday and entered pleas in Superior Court to five counts of sexual battery, child molestation and rape with a foreign object.
Vidales was freed on $100,000 bail.
Prosecutors contend Vidales, a 22-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, assaulted the girl in November 2005 in Perris while he was off duty.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Dean Spivacke says Vidales was having a relationship with the teen’s mother at the time.
Authorities said the teen reported the incident last month.
Vidales has been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the case. Appeared Here
Veteran Denied Burial In Riverside California National Cemetery After Police Theorize He Killed His Wife
June 28th, 2008
RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA - The family of a veteran awaiting burial at Riverside National Cemetery had to find a new grave site because police believe he killed his wife before he died in a car crash.
The bodies of Marine Corps veteran James Alan Summers of Corona and his wife Veronica were found May 31 after their sport utility vehicle plunged down a 200-foot embankment.
A Corona police Sgt. says detectives first thought both died in the crash, but after a coroner’s report they came to believe Summers bludgeoned his wife to death before he drove off the road.
Vietnam veteran and retired CHP officer Steve Mackey alerted officials to the suspicions about the dead man.
The burial that had been planned for June 12 was postponed and Summers’ family had him buried elsewhere. Appeared Here
Former Desert Hot Springs California Police Officer Dennis Paul Decker Sentenced To Just 134 Years To Life After Using A Child As His Personal Sex Toy For A Decade
June 28th, 2008
DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA - A former Desert Hot Springs police officer [Dennis Paul Decker] convicted of molesting an underage female relative over a 10-year period was sentenced to 134 years to life in prison today, but he continued to adamantly deny his guilt.
“I feel I have been convicted of a crime on lies and fabrication,” the 37-year-old former officer said during his sentencing hearing, which was held in an Indio courtroom packed with law enforcement and friends and relatives of the victim.
The Desert Sun is not naming the man [Dennis Paul Decker] to protect the identity of the relative.
The former officer was convicted April 22 on 14 of 16 counts, including aggravated
sexual assault and rape, stemming from the molestation, which began when the
victim was 7 years old.
Challenges To Illegal Bans On Guns Begin After Supreme Court Affirms Citizens Right To Own And Bear Arms
June 28th, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - Using the new judicial muscle provided by the Supreme Court’s affirmation of the right to bear arms, the National Rifle Association and another pro-gun group sued San Francisco and its housing authority on Friday to invalidate a ban on handguns in public housing.
The lawsuit said the ban violated the Second Amendment and “renders responsible, law-abiding adult public housing residents especially vulnerable.”
But officials here and in other cities where gun restrictions are now being challenged took a defiant stance. As the lawsuit was being filed, San Francisco officials held a news conference in the city’s hardscrabble Western Addition neighborhood to announce a series of antigun measures. Mayor Gavin Newsom said the timing was coincidental, but apt.
Mr. Newsom, who said he suspected that the rifle association might also sue to overturn a local ordinance requiring trigger-locks, challenged N.R.A. officials to come to his city and spend time in public housing developments, which he said were often overrun with weapons.
Read MoreCalifornia U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement Attorney And Wife Arrested, Charged With Accepting Bribes From Immigrants In Exchange For Benefits
June 27th, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - An attorney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his wife were arrested on suspicion of accepting thousands of dollars from both legal and illegal immigrants in exchange for immigration benefits, authorities said.
ICE Assistant Chief Counsel Constantine Peter Kallas, 38, and wife Maria Kallas, 39, both of Alta Loma, were arrested Thursday at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, where authorities believed they were accepting such a bribe, U.S. Attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek said in a statement.
A search warrant affidavit said the couple, using a pair of companies they had set up, filed false employment petitions with federal authorities for 45 illegal immigrants and two legal permanent residents.
“The egregious acts of corruption alleged in this case are extremely disturbing to those of us who have sworn to serve the United States,” U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien said in a written statement. “As a law enforcement official, Mr. Kallas abused his position in the Department of Homeland Security simply to line his own pockets.”
Read MoreOrange County California Judge, Former Prosecutor Kelly MacEachern Removed From Bench For Misconduct After Bogus Expense Claims, Lying
June 27th, 2008
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA - An Orange County judge was ordered removed from office Thursday by state officials who said the former county prosecutor filed false and misleading expense claims for a legal conference in San Diego and then lied when questioned about them.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Kelly MacEachern is the first judge in the county and the 24th in California ordered removed from office since 1960.
The jurist’s attorney said MacEachern intended to appeal the split decision by the state Commission on Judicial Performance.
In a 7-3 ruling made public Thursday, the commission concluded that MacEachern “engaged in willful misconduct” in misrepresenting her attendance at the Continuing Judicial Studies Program in summer 2006. The decision was based on findings by three masters appointed by the state Supreme Court to investigate the allegations.
Read MoreLos Angeles California Deputy Sheriff Shoots And Kills Man - Details Hidden From Taxpayers
June 27th, 2008
COMPTON, CALIFORNIA - Police report a deputy shot and killed a suspect Thursday evening in Compton.
The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
It is not known if the man was carrying a weapon or what led to the circumstances of the shooting.
His name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
The shooting occurred about 6 p.m. in the 1000 block of East 150th Street, said Deputy Luis Castro of the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau.
Deputies were trying to “make contact” with the man — the reason was unclear — - in a residential area when he reportedly fled.
“The deputies followed, and as the suspect was jumping over a chain-link fence — holding his waistband — in front of one of the deputies, he was ordered to show his hands,” Castro said.
Read MoreFormer Gardena City California Councilman Oscar Medrano Sentenced To Just 8 Years In Prison For Child Molestation
June 27th, 2008
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA - After he plead no contest to two felony sex charges involving a young female relative, former Gardena City Councilman Oscar Medrano was sentenced to eight years in jail Friday.
Torrance Superior Court Judge William Hollingsworth sentenced the 47-year-old former councilman after he plead no contest to continuous sexual abuse of a minor and committing a lewd act on a child, according to Deputy District Attorney Beatriz Dieringer.
“Obviously the victim has been traumatized by this experience,” the prosecutor said. “It (the plea) appeared to be a fair disposition balancing her interest with Mr. Medrano’s.”
Medrano had been awaiting a hearing to determine if there was enough evidence to require him to stand trial on a dozen sex-related counts involving the girl.
The other 10 charges were dismissed as a result of the plea.
Read MoreFormer Maywood California Police Officer Ryan Allen West Pleads Not Guilty To Sexually Assaulting Three Women While On Duty
June 26th, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - Ryan Allen West, 28, a former Maywood Police officer accused of sexually assaulting three women while he was on duty, pleaded not guilty Thursday.
West formally entered his plea before Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Henry Hall.
West, who is accused of committing the sexual assaults in 2006 and 2007, remains free on $640,000 bond.
Hall set Aug. 4 as a hearing date to determine whether there is enough evidence to bring West to trial.
West was the Maywood Police Department’s canine handler officer. He is charged with a dozen felony counts, including rape by threat to arrest or deport, sexual penetration by foreign object, oral copulation under color of authority, assault by a public officer, burglary and sexual battery by restraint.
Prosecutors allege that West committed the crimes between September 2006 and May 2007.
Read More$25 Million Lawsuit Charges Trigger-Happy Inglewood California Police Officers With Opening Fire On Three Innocent Unarmed Men, Killing One
June 24th, 2008
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - A $25 million claim has been filed against the city of Inglewood on behalf of the victims of a fatal police shooting last month in which officers fired into a car, striking three unarmed men.
Michael Byoune, 19, was killed by police May 11 in a parking lot outside a Rally’s restaurant. Driver Larry White, 19, and passenger Chris Larkin, 21, were wounded .
Two officers had responded to the sound of gunfire coming from the parking lot. As they approached, they saw a man running, then get into the back of a slowly moving car. Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said last month that the officers believed the gunfire was coming from the car and they fired at it as it drove toward them.
No guns were found in the car and police said there was no evidence linking the three men to the initial shots fired. Appeared Here
Mafia Hit Man’s $5,000 Los Angeles County California Jail Inmate Account Under Investigation
June 24th, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - A county grand jury wants to know why a Los Angeles jail inmate and alleged Mafia hit man has a $5,000 bank account maintained by the jail.
The money in jail bank accounts starts with the cash a person has at the time of booking and can be used to buy necessities at the jail store.
The grand jury report says inmates are also allowed to engage in large cash transactions with non-inmates with no questions asked.
The report notes this could permit them to commit crimes such as bribery, money laundering or violence for hire from inside prison walls.
The grand jury inquiry led the Sheriff’s Department to impose strict restrictions on accounts, with caps on the total balance maintained and the amount transferred to a third party. Appeared Here
Nye County Nevada District Attorney Robert Beckett Charged After Two Drunken Wrecks On Same Road In 6 Hours, One In A County Owned Vehicle
June 23rd, 2008
NYE COUNTY, NEVADA - Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett is facing a drunken driving charge in California — and what figure to be some uncomfortable questions from his constituents — after crashing two vehicles on the same desert highway six hours apart.
Beckett, 49, totaled his county-issued sport utility vehicle in the first rollover accident, which occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sunday on California Route 127 just south of Shoshone, Calif.
Then, after catching a ride back to his home in Pahrump in a tow truck, Beckett headed back out on the same highway in the family van, only to crash again at 7:35 p.m. about 35 miles south of the first accident scene.
The California Highway Patrol officer called to the scene of the second wreck reported smelling alcohol on Beckett’s breath.
Sgt. Mike Black, spokesman for the Highway Patrol’s Barstow, Calif., area office, said Beckett failed a blood-breath alcohol test and was arrested for drunken driving.
Read MoreSanta Clara California Deputy Sheriff James Council To Face Tiny Misdemeanor Vehicular Manslaughter Charges After Running Over And Killing Bicyclists
June 22nd, 2008
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA ― The Santa Clara County district attorney’s office said Thursday that criminal charges would be filed against a sheriff’s deputy who killed two elite bicyclists after crashing his patrol car into a group of them.
Prosecutors are following a recommendation made by the California Highway Patrol after a month-long investigation into the incident.
Sheriff’s Deputy James Council, 27, will face two misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charges. If convicted, he could serve up to two years in jail.
The deputy was on patrol March 9 when his patrol car crossed double-yellow traffic lines and smashed into a group of training cyclists on Stevens Canyon Road in Cupertino.
Matt Peterson, 29, and Kristy Gough, 30, died. A third cyclist, Christopher Knapp, suffered serious injuries but has since recovered.
Some witnesses reported that they heard the deputy say he may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Read MoreSan Francisco California Voters Can Name Raw Sewage Plant After G.W. Bush
June 22nd, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA ― San Francisco voters may get the chance this November to make their city the first in the nation to name something after President Bush.
However, it’s not necessarily an honor the president would appreciate.
“San Francisco voters, help rename a sewage treatment plant after George W. Bush,” announced Michael Jacinto, co-chair of the San Francisco Presidential Memorial Commission, and gathering thousands of petition signatures. “To rename the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility the George W. Bush Sewage Plant,” he explained.
Jacinto’s group already has more than then 7,200 signatures needed by July 7th to qualify for this November’s ballot.
Jacinto insists it’s more than a simple pipe dream. “Just because it’s funny doesn’t mean it’s not real,” he offered. “And I feel like, you know, the political process could use a little bit of humor now and then.”
Read MoreManhattan Beach California Lifeguard Runs Over Beachgoer With Truck
June 22nd, 2008
MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA - A woman treated for leg injuries has been released from a South Bay hospital, and the lifeguard who drove over her on the sand at El Porto Saturday is on desk duty.
Manhattan Beach police said their traffic investigators will handle the mishap, where the beachgoer was hit by a yellow county truck on a crowded beach. The 26-year-old woman’s name was not released, nor was the name of the lifeguard.
The woman was partially-buried in the sand at the time of the accident, on the beach in El Porto near the western end of Rosecrans Avenue, Los Angeles County firefighter-lifeguards said.
One of the woman’s legs was run over by one tire, they said.
“There is an ongoing investigation,” a county lifeguard statement said. “One of our lifeguards was pulled to administrative duty yesterday.”
Read MoreLos Angeles County California Deputy Sheriff Richard Alvin Schindler Jumps Out Of An Airplane, Dies
June 22nd, 2008
LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA - An investigation continued Sunday into the death of a 39-year-old parachuting instructor and off-duty deputy sheriff who died when his parachute failed to open Saturday morning near Lake Elsinore.
Richard Alvin Schindler, a deputy sheriff with the South-West Detention Center and a part-time instructor at Skydive Lake Elsinore, was discovered around noon at 20701 Cereal St., according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
Sheriff’s officials say deputies responded to a report of an accident at Sky Dive of Lake Elsinore Inc. late Saturday morning.
Schindler was executing his fourth jump of the day when his primary parachute failed to deploy properly and was subsequently released from his body harness.
Schindler’s back-up parachute also apparently failed to open.
The victim died at the scene.
Having Gotten All The Illegal Drugs Off The Streets, Riverside County California Sheriff’s Department Targets Cheese
June 22nd, 2008
CORONA, CALIFORNIA - Three people were arrested and 31 pounds of illegally processed cheese and 13 head of undocumented cattle were seized on Sunday in the Eastvale area north of Corona, a sheriff’s sergeant said.
Sheriff’s deputies raided a property in the 14800 block of Chandler Street from 7 a.m. to noon, said sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Brown.
The investigation led to another address in Home Gardens, between Corona and Riverside, where deputies seized an additional 124 pounds of cheese, Brown said.
Efigenia Desalez, 44, of Home Gardens; Antonio Desalez Guzman, 59, of Home Gardens; and Reyes Hernandez Herrera, 39, of Eastvale, were arrested on suspicion of illegally manufacturing dairy products, unlicensed sales of dairy products, unsanitary and impure dairy products, and conspiracy.
Arturo Cisneros, 35, of Eastvale, was arrested on suspicion of methamphetamine possession and being under the influence of narcotics, Brown said.
Read MoreSan Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Pwned By Hacker
June 22nd, 2008
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA - Someone hacked in to warn the world of the government’s big “schnoz.”
Well, at least to warn motorists who may be driving through a DUI checkpoint in Highland that officials wanted to “stick our big government schnoz into your private business, check your papers, and be sure you are toeing the line.”
Either way, it was not what one expected to find on the San Bernardino County sheriff’s news release site.
Someone hacked into the server and changed at least two news releases, forcing the department to shut down its site last week.
“I don’t think that it’s a joke to them, but they certainly want to send a message to the readers that they don’t always agree with laws being changed,” said sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Beavers.
The hacker first changed a news release June 6, inserting paragraphs on an informational sheet about the upcoming changes to cell phone laws.
Read MoreCalifornia Correctional Peace Officers Union Hires Convicted Carjacker As An Intern
June 21st, 2008
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — State corrections officials are investigating the California prison guards union for giving a paid internship to a paroled carjacker.
California Correctional Peace Officers Association President Mike Jimenez says the union was trying to do the right thing when it gave the internship to Raul Gomez. The 21-year-old was paroled in August after serving more than four years at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.
The internship is being investigated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and its independent inspector general.
The union has been paying to fly Gomez to and from his home in San Bernardino County to his job in the union’s legislative affairs office in Sacramento. Jimenez says the internship is an effort to rehabilitate the ex-convict. Appeared Here
Oakland California Administrator Deborah Edgerly Denies Protecting Her Gang Member Nephew
June 20th, 2008
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA ― Embattled Oakland Administrator Deborah Edgerly issued a statement Friday denying news reports that Mayor Ron Dellums has asked her to quit for allegedly trying to protect a nephew who’s a reputed member of the city’s worst gang.
Instead, Edgerly said, “I have had many gracious and warm conversations with Mayor Dellums over the past three days, as recently as this afternoon.”
On the news reports, Edgerly said, “The rumors and press stories this week are shocking,” saying they “are untrue and unfounded.”
Edgerly said she is shocked “because I am being tried in the court of public opinion by rumor, innuendo and presumption of guilt.”
She said, “There is obviously much more to this story than can be revealed at this time or in this setting, given that an investigation is now underway.”
Read MoreTwo California Highway Patrol Police Officers Crash Druing High Speed Pursuit While Chasing And Losing A Honda
June 19th, 2008
HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA ― Two California Highway Patrol vehicles were involved in separate crashes in Hayward and unincorporated Contra Costa County early Wednesday morning, stemming from a high-speed chase, a CHP officer said.
The CHP was informed by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office around 12:15 a.m. about a pursuit of a white Honda Accord, most likely because it was stolen, CHP Officer Marc Johnston said.
Officers suspended the chase around 1 a.m., after the two incidents, and are still looking for the Honda, Johnston said.
He said the first incident occurred in Hayward on southbound Interstate Highway 880 near Jackson St.
The second was reportedly in unincorporated Contra Costa County on eastbound Interstate Highway 80’s San Pablo Avenue off-ramp.
No injuries were reported, Johnston said.
Oakland California Settles With Car Wash Customers Hit By Police Officers Stray Bullets During Botched Drug Operation For $975,000
June 18th, 2008
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - The city of Oakland will pay $975,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a man and a woman who were hit by stray bullets when police officers fired on a suspect at a car wash.
William Caldwell and Leona Savoy were wounded in 2006 when three officers fired 26 rounds at a suspect during an undercover drug operation at a self-service car wash.
Authorities say the officers had fired their weapons as police tried to arrest Patrick Nickerson after he had opened fire at a car.
Several shots hit Nickerson, but others shattered the femurs of both Caldwell, then 67 years old, and Savoy, then 31, as they were cleaning their cars.
Oakland officials say they agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the possibility of having to pay much more if they were to lose the lawsuit.
The two had originally sued for $10 million.
Read MoreOrange County California Prosecutors Charge Teen With Changing Grades On School Computer - Faces 38 Years In Prison - Our Tax Dollars At Work
June 18th, 2008
ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA - It could be a long time before Omar Khan goes to college: as long as 38 years, according to Orange County prosecutors, who have arrested and charged the 18-year-old student with breaking into his prestigious high school and hacking into computers to change his test grades from Fs to As.
If convicted on all 69 counts, including altering and stealing public records, computer fraud, burglary, identity theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy, Mr Khan could spend almost four decades in prison.
He is currently being held on $50,000 (£25,500) bail and is scheduled to appear in court today.
Mr Khan’s defence lawyer, Carol Lavacol, described her client as “a really nice kid” and said: “There’s a lot more going on than meets the eye.”
Read MoreYuba County California Judge Delays Charging Former Deputy Sheriff Earnest Rex Archer With 7 Counts Of Child Molestation
June 18th, 2008
YUBA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA - Yuba County Judge James L. Curry will watch recorded interviews with two alleged victims before ruling Wednesday whether Earnest Rex Archer will be held to answer on seven child molestation charges.
Archer, a former Yuba County Sheriff’s Department reserve deputy and Board of Supervisors candidate, appeared Friday morning for a preliminary hearing in Curry’s court.
Both victims were female foster children under 10 who are not related to Archer, said Deputy District Attorney Brad Enos.
Charges include alleged oral copulation with one of the children between January and July 2004.
Archer also participated in an act of penetration with a foreign object with the same child “or did cause another person under 14 years of age … to penetrate the defendant’s or another person’s genital or anal openings for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification or abuse,” according to a complaint by the District Attorney’s Office.
Read MoreJudge Removed From Case Where Former San Diego County California Deputy Sheriff Lowell “Sam” Bruce Admits Shooting And Killing His Wife In Front Of Their 4 Year Old Son - Special Plea Deal Already In Place, 10 Year Manslaughter Sentence For Cold Blooded Murder
June 16th, 2008
EL CAJON, CALIFORNIA - The appearance of bias led to the removal of an El Cajon Superior Court judge from the case of a former sheriff’s deputy who killed his wife, according to a ruling by an Orange County judge.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Allan J. Preckel had received e-mails and letters from the public and a former acquaintance about the sentencing without sharing them with attorneys in the case, Assistant Presiding Orange County Superior Court Judge Kim G. Dunning wrote in her ruling removing Preckel from the case.
Preckel had later rejected the terms of Lowell Bruce’s plea agreement.
“If the average person on the street might doubt a judge’s ability to be fair to both sides, disqualification is required,” Dunning wrote in her ruling issued Friday. “That standard has been met here.”
Neither Preckel nor District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis could be reached for comment yesterday. District Attorney’s Office spokesman Paul Levikow said he could not talk about the case until speaking with Dumanis.
Read More9th Circuit Court Of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski’s Wife Defends Pornography That Surfaced On Husband’s Web Site Amid Obscenity Trial
June 16th, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - A federal appeals court judge under scrutiny for sexually explicit videos and photos posted on a personal Web site is the victim of distortions and “outright lies” published by the Los Angeles Times, his wife charged Monday.
Marcy Jane Tiffany, wife of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, described some of the material stored on the home computer as raunchy and juvenile. Only about a half-dozen files among hundreds had a “sexual aspect,” but they were not pornography, she said.
“Alex is not into porn - he is into funny - and sometimes funny has a sexual character,” Tiffany wrote in a nearly 2,000-word defense of her husband, posted on a Web site called patterico.com.
In a brief telephone interview, Tiffany confirmed that she wrote the statement and declined further comment, except to quote the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”
Read MoreTSA Screener Sprays Himself And 8 Or 9 Other Screeners With Pepper Spray At San Jose California International Airport (Witness Says About 30 Were Effected) - Our Tax Dollars At Work
June 16th, 2008
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - Poetic justice is rare in this world, which makes what happened recently at Mineta San Jose International Airport all the more satisfying. A passenger suffering one of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) unconstitutional searches suddenly remembered the canister of pepper spray in his bag and warned his assailant about it. “The TSA agent took it out and was going to put it into the hazardous waste disposal…” said Rich Dressler, the airport’s spokesman. But that would have been too easy, and anyway there’s the TSA’s tradition of incompetence to uphold. So the screener “accidentally discharged” the thing instead. He took out nine of those happy, helpful Americans the TSA pays to paw us (presumably including himself, though reports weren’t clear).
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