Articles Posted in criminal-law

Richard A. Econ of Lake Forest, Orange County, California was arrested on charges of burglary (California Penal Code Section 459-460)when he walked into Wal-Mart and tried to buy $100 worth of gift cards with counterfeit bills. The Wal-Mart clerk became suspicious after seeing the money, then called the store manager. The clerk then asked to…

The search continues for a missing family of four whose car was found miles from the U.S.-Mexican border in a San Ysidro parking lot. No one has heard or seen from Summer McStay mother of four year old Gianni Giuseppe and three year old Joseph Mateo since February 4th. Her kids and husband Joseph McStay…

A second Orange County Kohl’s store was robbed in a period of just two days. The first Kohl’s robbery occurred in Cypress where the suspects are still at large. The first robbery involved two women who stole $520.00 worth of cologne and silver jewelry. The second robbery involved a man who used a weapon to…

According to The Orange County Register, the Los Angeles City Attorney is trying to legally force three dispensaries to stop selling marijuana for medical purposes. Specifically, the city prosecutor’s office is trying to get injunctions to force Organica and two Holistic Caregivers stores to stop all their over-the-counter sales. The City Attorney states that the…

A death penalty hearing is set for Tanya Jaime Nelson in Orange County Superior Court; she was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for stabbing Ha “Jade” Smith and her daughter Anita Vo. The motive for the murders was that Ha Smith a fortune teller, told Nelson she would do better by moving her…

The California prison system will start an inmate early release program. This is in response to a Federal Court announcement that the California prisons reduce its inmate population by about 40,000 within a certain period of time. The court’s main reason for the reduction was in response to overcrowding and the effect it had on…

On January 6, 2010 in Orange County, Christopher Ontiveros, a history teacher at Oxford Academy, pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual acts with a 17-year-old student in his class. Several explicit text messages have been discovered, implicating Mr. Ontiveros. The history teacher started out by tutoring the young female student after school and then…

Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange County police agencies believe that there is a group of criminals targeting shoppers of Apple stores. Once the customers go to their cars to drop off the items and continue shopping then the alleged thieves come in and break into the vehicles ( a violation of Penal Code section 459-460).…

The stories of Anthony Sowell (multiple bodies found in his home) and Phillip Garrido (kidnap victim living in his home since 1990s) have touched on the issue of monitoring registered sex offenders. Regular visits by parole to their homes did not lead to any discoveries that things were wrong. Garrido’s officers would conduct searches of…

On September 30, 2009–the eve of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, President Obama remarked how this violent epidemic “touches the lives of Americans of all ages, leaving a devastating impact on women, men, and children of every background and circumstance.” This month is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Two different California code sections explain domestic violence. Under…