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December 23, 2010Lindsay Lohan called 911 first during incident, her lawyer says
Lindsay Lohan attorney Shawn Chapman Holley says her client was the first to call 911 for assistance at her Betty Ford Center sober house in the wee hours Dec. 12.
While not commenting further on Lohan's involvement in a battery case that is being investigated, CNN reports, Holley stated Wednesday that "it should be noted" the actress called police first after her post-curfew return.more..
December 22, 2010
Welfare Fraud Ringleader Sentenced to Prison
LOS ANGELES – The ringleader of a childcare scheme that collected more than $1.3 million in fraudulent government payments has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison and ordered to make full restitution to the agencies, the District Attorney’s office announced today.
Sakina Myles, aka Sakina Johnson, was sentenced Monday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Pounders after she pleaded no contest in June to 12 counts of grand theft and 27 counts of perjury by declaration in two separate cases, said Deputy District Attorney Tamia Hope with the Public Assistance Fraud Division. more..
December 21, 2010
Federal Jury Rules In Favor of Defendants In Bad Check Trial; Plaintiffs Across California Had Sought $30 Million in Damages
A federal jury ruled this week against plaintiffs who sought $30 million in damages and claimed they were regularly charged illegal fees by a private company hired by district attorneys across the state to collect on bad checks.
A federal jury ruled this week against plaintiffs who sought $30 million in damages and claimed they were regularly charged illegal fees by a private company hired by district attorneys across the state to collect on bad checks. more..
December 20, 2010
The time may be right for Kamala Harris
She hopes the tough economy, shifting public opinion and her savvy transition team will bolster her prison reform goals.
Kamala Harris, the state's next attorney general, last week announced a transition leadership team that was a marvel in its political heft: two former secretaries of State — of the country, not of California — and a host of other luminaries.More
December 17, 2010
Hubbard's arraignment scheduled for Tuesday
The Newport-Mesa superintendent is innocent until proven guilty, school board member asserts at meeting.
Editor's note: The arraignment has been moved to Tuesday.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard is to be arraigned Tuesday on two felony counts for his alleged involvement in the criminal misappropriation of public funds during his previous job as superintendent of Beverly Hills schools, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.More
December 16, 2010
L.A. County scrutinizes government contractors
D.A.'s office likens their positions to those of elected officials and says the same standards should apply.
Criminal charges filed last week against two former top officials of the Beverly Hills Unified School District, accusing them of misappropriating more than $5 million in public funds, underscore a push by Los Angeles County prosecutors to target suspected wrongdoing by local government contractors.More
December 15, 2010
L.A. County judge rejects attorney general's effort to delay suit against Bell
Judge Ralph W. Dau says he was unimpressed with the argument from Jerry Brown's office that the criminal corruption case against current and former leaders could be damaged if the postponement wasn't granted.
In another blow to the state's case against current and former Bell officials, a Superior Court judge on Monday rejected a motion that would have let the attorney general put a lawsuit on hold while the district attorney pursues a public corruption case against eight current and former leaders in the embattled city.MoreDecember 14, 2010
Two years prison for woman who hit Leonardo DiCaprio with wine glass
A woman who hit actor Leonardo DiCaprio with a wine glass during a party in the Hollywood Hills more than five years ago, causing injuries that required stitches, was sentenced today to two years in state prison.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg imposed the term on Aretha Wilson, 40, who pleaded no contest July 12 to a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon involving the June 17, 2005, attack on the actor, who has appeared in films such as "Titanic," "Gangs of New York" and "Inception."More
December 13, 2010School board seeks advice
Board of Education to meet next week in closed session to discuss Supt. Hubbard's felony charges of misusing funds.
COSTA MESA — The Newport-Mesa school board plans to meet in closed session at 6:30 p.m. Monday to discuss two felony counts filed this week against Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard.
The charges, filed by the Los Angeles County district attorney, concern Hubbard's performance in his previous job as superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District. More
December 11, 2010
Judge issues injunction against L.A.'s medical marijuana law
The ruling finds the law's provision outlawing all dispensaries except those that registered under the moratorium unconstitutional. It leaves the city with little power to control pot shops. City officials vow to quickly address the concerns.
A judge handed Los Angeles a setback in its faltering drive to limit the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, granting a preliminary injunction on Friday that bars the city from enforcing key provisions in its controversial six-month-old ordinance. ”More
December 10, 2010
Judge rejects monitor for city of Bell
A judge has rejected a bid by the state attorney general’s office for the appointment of a monitor to oversee Bell’s finances in the wake of the management salary scandals that have enveloped the city.
Related Content•Interim city manager issues ‘First 100 Days’ report in Bell
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien issued a five-page ruling Monday in which he said the denial is “without prejudice to further review under different circumstances.”MoreDecember 08, 2010
Michael Jackson's dad files new wrongful death suit
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An attorney for the father of Michael Jackson on Tuesday filed a new wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor accused of involuntary manslaughter in the pop singer's death.
The lawsuit by attorney Brian Oxman on behalf of Joe Jackson was filed in California Superior Court against Dr. Conrad Murray and companies with which he is affiliated. It includes the "Thriller" singer's mother Katherine Jackson and his three children as nominal parties.More
December 06, 2010
Band Members Charged in Hollywood Freeway Traffic Jam
LOS ANGELES – Three members of an Orange County band were charged by the District Attorney’s Office today with felony conspiracy in connection with a purported publicity stunt that caused a massive traffic jam last month on the Hollywood Freeway.
“This was not a matter involving free speech or lawful protest,” said District Attorney Steve Cooley in a written statement. “This was a well-orchestrated commercial stunt perpetrated by these defendants and their accomplices with no concern for the lives or well-being of thousands of innocent victims who were caught up in the prank.More
December 03, 2010
California prison overcrowding case heads to Supreme Court
The state is appealing a 2009 federal judicial order to reduce the prison population by more than 40,000 in two years. Lawyers for 18 other states are backing the appeal.
Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles — The suicide rate in California's overcrowded prisons is nearly twice the national average, and one inmate dies every eight days from inadequate medical care.More
December 01, 2010
Lack of funding builds death row logjam
Convicted killers have a hard time finding lawyers to handle their final appeals, which can be both expensive and gut-wrenching.
Thirteen years ago, Edward Patrick Morgan asked the California Supreme Court for a lawyer to investigate and challenge his 1996 death sentence for a murder in Orange County. The court has yet to find Morgan an attorney.
The inability of the state to recruit lawyers for post-conviction challenges, or habeas corpus petitions, has caused a major bottleneck in the state's criminal justice system. Nearly half of those condemned to die in California are awaiting appointment of counsel for these challenges.More
November 25, 2010
Judge questions need to monitor Bell's finances
A judge today questioned the need for a monitor to oversee Bell's finances, but lawyers for the Attorney General's Office continued to push for an appointment.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O'Brien asked lawyers for the state why their office could not monitor city finances.More
November 24, 2010
Investigation of alleged extortion plot targeting Mel Gibson slowed by budget cuts
An investigation into whether Mel Gibson was the victim of an extortion plot is still being investigated by L.A. County sheriff's detectives, and it's unclear whether it will be completed by the end of the year.
“We are sifting through all the evidence. We are weeks away from completing the investigation,” said Steve Whitmore, a department spokesman.More
November 23, 2010
DOJ Agent Charged with Embezzlement
LOS ANGELES – A 35-year-old state Department of Justice employee was charged today with grand theft and embezzlement after he allegedly stole $33,000 last week during an internal investigation, the District Attorney’s office announced.
Gabriel Noel Baltodano, (dob 2-10-75), is a special agent with the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. He is charged in case BA378316 with two counts each of grand theft and embezzlement and one count of filing a false police report, said Deputy District Attorney Alfred Coletta with the Justice System Integrity Division. More
November 22, 2010
Producer accused of wife's killing to stay in jail
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for a reality TV producer charged with killing his wife in Mexico attacked the investigation Wednesday and promised a vigorous fight against extradition at a hearing where the defendant was ordered to remain in jail at least until a bail hearing later this month.
Suspect Bruce Beresford–Redman did not enter a plea during his brief appearance in federal court in Los Angeles. Dressed in a T–shirt and blue jeans, the former "Survivor" producer politely answered questions from a magistrate judge about his identity. More
November 19, 2010
Reality TV producer accused of killing wife in Mexico arrested
The arrest of Bruce Beresford-Redman comes five months after Mexican authorities accused him of killing his wife in Cancun and after he returned home despite being told not to leave Mexico.
An Emmy-nominated reality TV producer accused of killing his wife at a Cancun resort earlier this year was arrested Tuesday by U.S. authorities at his Rancho Palos Verdes home.More
November 18, 2010
Attorneys: Brown playing politics with Bell case
There has been no shortage of political profiteering in recent months over corruption and salary shenanigans down in the now-infamous city of Bell, but a judge's recent criticism of a civil suit filed by Attorney General Jerry Brown has given ammunition to defense lawyers who have long argued that the case was used to boost Brown's gubernatorial chances.
In a hearing a couple of weeks back, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ralph W. Dau questioned whether Brown had the authority to pursue the case, rhetorically adding: “So I'm wondering, is this just a political lawsuit?” More
November 17, 2010
Delay on lawsuit shows lack of evidence in Bell case, defense says
Action by Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown proves civil lawsuit was a publicity stunt in governor's race, attorney for former administrator Robert Rizzo says.
A request by the attorney general and the Los Angeles County district attorney's office to delay a civil suit filed against current and former Bell officials indicates a lack of evidence the city leaders plotted to loot the city treasury, the defendants' lawyers said Monday.More
November 16, 2010
Oksana Grigorieva didn't tell doctor Mel Gibson hit Lucia, says pediatrician who says she saw no sign of injury
Just days after Mel Gibson was ordered by a family court judge to pay the back child support he owes Oksana Grigorieva, a sworn declaration has surfaced in which Lucia's pediatrician says she saw no injury on the child during an exam the day after an argument in which Grigorieva alleges Gibson hit them both.
Nor did Grigorieva mention any injury during the Jan. 7 visit, Dr. Linda Nussbaum said in a June 24 document published Friday by TMZ. A picture of an allegedly injured Lucia surfaced at the same time as recordings of the actor ranting at his ex-girlfriend; Team Mel maintains that photo was doctored.More
November 15, 2010
Former KB Home CEO Bruce Karatz sentenced to five years' probation
Penalty in options-backdating case includes eight months of house arrest. Karatz is also ordered to pay a $1-million fine and do 2,000 hours of community service.
November 11, 2010|By Stuart Pfeifer, Los Angeles TimesBruce Karatz, whose 20-year run as chief executive of home-building giant KB Home was derailed by allegations that he manipulated the value of stock options, was sentenced Wednesday to five years' probation, including eight months of house arrest.U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II also fined the former executive $1 million and ordered him to perform 2,000 hours of community service. Wright rejected prosecutors' request for a lengthy prison sentence, noting that there was no evidence that the crimes damaged KB Home or its shareholders. More
November 12, 2010
Ex Pico Rivera mayor Beilke's trial delayed
LOS ANGELES - The lack of an available courtroom delayed the trial of a former Pico Rivera mayor accused of perjury and conflict of interest.
Ronald Beilke's trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court but it was continued to Dec. 29. More
November 11, 2010
Ex-Marines Arrested In Los Angeles Weapons Scheme
Federal agents have arrested three retired Marines suspected of selling illegal assault weapons to a notorious Los Angeles street gang, authorities said Tuesday.
The suspected ringleader, Adam Gitschlag, who served in Iraq and was once based at Camp Pendleton, was arrested at his Orange County home Nov. 2 as part of an operation carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as military investigators and local police.More
November 10, 2010
SIMI VALLEY HOSPITAL PAYS $5.15 MILLION TO RESOLVE CIVIL CASE ALLEGING THAT IT DEFRAUDED MEDICARE
LOS ANGELES – In a “whistleblower” case concluded today with the dismissal of the lawsuit, Simi Valley Hospital has paid the United States $5.15 million to resolve allegations that the hospital filed false claims with the Medicare program.
The lawsuit, which was originally filed by a former employee of Simi Valley Hospital, alleged that the institution’s Behavioral Medicine Services unit knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare for chemical dependency and psychiatric patient services performed between 1991 and 1997. The United States intervened in the lawsuit negotiated the settlement with Simi Valley Hospital. United States District Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank dismissed the lawsuit this morning in accordance with a settlement agreement that was finalized last month.More
November 09, 2010
Scores arrested in Oakland protests over BART officer Mehserle
As many as 150 demonstrators were arrested in Oakland during protests over the two-year prison sentence handed down to a former police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on an Oakland train station platform.
A four-hour peaceful demonstration at Oakland City Hall moved into the surrounding streets and took on a more aggressive tone Friday evening with marchers smashing windshields, making obscene gestures at surrounding police and noisily shouting slogans.More
November 08, 2010
Ex-BART officer Mehserle sentenced to two years in prison for fatal shooting of unarmed man [updated] November 5, 2010 | 1:05 pm
A former transit police officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed man on an Oakland train station platform was sentenced by a Los Angeles judge Friday to two years in prison.
Johannes Mehserle, 28, contended that he mistakenly used his firearm instead of an electric Taser weapon when he shot Oscar J. Grant III in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009. But prosecutors argued at his trial that Mehserle meant to reach for his handgun as he tried to handcuff an unresisting Grant, who was lying face-down on the platform floor.More
November 06, 2010
MGM files for bankruptcy protection
Filing comes after leading creditors strike a deal with corporate raider Carl Icahn. He agrees to support a plan under which Spyglass Entertainment executives will run Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer when it exits Chapter 11.
TimesMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the fabled studio whose origins go back to Hollywood's earliest days, filed for bankruptcy protection, sagging under a mountain of debt. More
November 05, 2010
'Clown suit activist' arrested for allegedly threatening Bell city clerk at council meeting (Updated)
A political activist known for attending municipal government meetings in a clown suit has been arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats against the Bell city clerk.
Sheriff's deputies arrested Edwin Thomas Snell, 63, on Tuesday on the steps of the L.A. County Hall of Administration, where he was attending a Board of Supervisors meeting. More
November 04, 2010
"Calorie Commando" Juan Carlos Cruz Pleads No Contest To Plotting Wife's Murder
LOS ANGELES — Former "Calorie Commando" TV chef Juan Carlos Cruz pleaded no contest Tuesday to a charge that he hired two homeless men in a failed attempt to kill his wife.
Cruz, 48, pleaded no contest in Los Angeles County Superior Court to a count of solicitation of murder. The former Food Network chef made the plea as a preliminary hearing was scheduled to begin, prosecutors said. More
November 03, 2010
Public Laws Shaped by Private Interests: The Truth Behind Arizona's SB 1070
Sandra Hernandez is communications director for the ACLU of Southern California.
Immigration jails look to be the next big money maker for the private prison industry, according to National Public Radio’s Laura Sullivan. More
November 02, 2010
Mehserle won't get maximum sentence, legal experts say
OAKLAND -- While no one but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry knows exactly how long former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle will be sent to prison, if at all, most legal experts agree it won't be for the maximum term of 14 years.
No matter how loud the community shouts for Mehserle to be given the most severe punishment for killing Oscar Grant III, Perry will be guided by state law and court rules when he issues his decision Nov. 5 and both guidelines, experts say, point to Mehserle receiving, at most, a mid-term sentence. More
November 01, 2010
Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend Howard K Stern found guilty of supplying drugs to tragic star before her death
The boyfriend of tragic Anna Nicole Smith was today found guilty of helping to funnel prescription medications to the former Playboy Playmate.
After 58-hours of deliberation the jury convicted Howard K. Stern, 41, on two counts of conspiracy for allegedly fuelling the starlet's raging prescription drug problem that ultimately killed her. Stern was acquitted of seven other charges.More
October 29, 2010
Pakistani criminal justice system proves no match for terrorism cases
The courts, hamstrung by shoddy police work, antiquated procedures and witnesses who clam up, have a dismal track record.
Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan —
To find the office of the prosecutor in charge of putting Islamabad's bomb builders and terrorist masterminds behind bars, visitors must wend their way through the midday bustle of shoppers and descend into a dingy basement alcove, next to the Valley Tour travel agency. More
October 28, 2010
Four Irwindale Officials Charged with Misappropriation
LOS ANGELES – Four Irwindale city officials, including a current council member, have been charged with misappropriation of public funds after they allegedly attended Broadway shows and baseball games during trips to New York to get a better bond rating for the city.
Charged in case BA377327 are Councilman Mark Breceda, 50; retired city manager Steve Blancarte, 56; finance director Abe De Dios, 65; and former councilwoman Rosemary Ramirez, 49, said Deputy District Attorney Nipa Cook with the Public Integrity Division. More
October 27, 2010
Baca asks Sheriff's Department watchdog to examine his handling of donor's case
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca asked his department’s watchdog Tuesday to review his handling of a case in which he was accused of giving preferential treatment to a long-time supporter who has donated to the sheriff’s political campaigns and given him expensive gifts.
Baca wants the Office of Independent Review to consider guidelines that would help him decide how to handle requests for investigations brought directly to his attention, including pleas from donors, celebrities and friends. More
October 26, 2010
Anna Nicole Smith jury deliberations to resume
In this Feb. 28, 2006 file photo, Anna Nicole Smith, leaves the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)Jurors in the Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy trial are set to resume deliberations Tuesday.
The panel began their second week of talks Monday. The six women and six men spent the day closeted in their jury room and asked no questions.More
October 25, 2010
Additional Charges Filed Against Former Bell City Manager
LOS ANGELES – Additional felony charges were filed today against Robert Rizzo, the former city manager of Bell, who with several current and former council members of the small southeast community faces charges of misappropriating more than $5.5 million in tax dollars.
Today’s charges – one count each of conflict of interest and one of misappropriation of public funds – allege that Rizzo took an additional $2.4 million from the city coffers.More
October 24, 2010
Lindsay Lohan ordered back to rehab, not jail
BEVERLY HILLS — New year, new Lindsay Lohan?
That appears to be the hope of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox, who on Friday ordered the starlet to remain in rehab until January. In doing so he ended any short-term plans for the actress' comeback, but also followed the recommendations of medical professionals who say the "Mean Girls" star is only beginning to realize the depths of her addiction.
He also slyly removed one potential source of temptation and relapse.More
October 23, 2010
Judge denies motion by lawyer for Mel Gibson's ex-girlfriend
A judge Thursday denied a motion by Oksana Grigorieva's lawyer that sought to limit what Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies could take from her computer and cellphone as part of an extortion investigation involving her ex-boyfriend, actor-producer Mel Gibson.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon said that if Daniel Horowitz, the attorney for Grigorieva, had issues with the way sheriff's officials were conducting their investigation, he could bring up the matter in criminal court.More
October 22, 2010
Veteran LAPD detective arrested on suspicion of workers' comp fraud
For the second time in two weeks the Los Angeles Police Department has arrested one of its own on suspicion of workers' compensation fraud, this time a 15-year veteran of the force, officials said Wednesday.
Det. John X. Vach Jr., who was most recently assigned to the major crimes division, surrendered Tuesday night after an arrest warrant was issued alleging seven felony counts of workers' compensation fraud, perjury and attempted grand theft. More
October 21, 2010
Former Vernon city administrator indicted by grand jury
It is the third time in four years that a top Vernon official has faced public corruption charges, prompting L.A. County's district attorney to call for the city's disincorporation.
A Los Angeles County grand jury Tuesday indicted the former city administrator of Vernon on three felony counts of conflict of interest and misappropriation of public funds involving business deals between the city and his wife. More
October 20, 2010
Angelo Mozilo, other former Countrywide execs settle fraud charges
Angelo Mozilo and two others who led the lender make a $73-million deal with the SEC to avoid trial on allegations of fraud and insider trading.
Angelo R. Mozilo, who as head of home-loan giant Countrywide was at the center of the housing boom and bust, agreed Friday to pay a record fine as part of a $73-million settlement of a government fraud lawsuit over the lender's near-collapse. More
October 19, 2010
Millennium Bomb Terrorist Meskini Was Involved in Drugs, Fraud, U.S. Says
Abdelghani Meskini, convicted after informing on a foiled al-Qaeda plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport during millennium celebrations, got into drugs and prostitution after prison, U.S. prosecutors said.
Meskini, 42, an Algerian who pleaded guilty in 2001 to charges stemming from the foiled attack, was sentenced to six years in prison after he testified against a co-conspirator, Mokhtar Haourari and another co-conspirator. More
October 15, 2010
Jackson Video Tape Case Heading to Retrial
Two lawyers who worked for Micael Jackson have revived their legal battle with the owner of a private jet company who secretly filmed a private meeting with the superstar in 2003.
XtraJet boss Jeffrey Borer has admitted videotaping the Thriller hitmaker and his attorneys onboard one of his planes as they flew from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara, California, where the star faced a trial on child molestation charges. He was later acquitted.More
October 13, 2010
LAPD Officer Convicted of Felony
NORWALK – A Norwalk jury today convicted an LAPD officer of leaving the scene of an accident and causing great bodily injury for a June 2008 hit-and-run accident in a Saugus parking lot.
Jurors deliberated 2 ½ days before finding William Skett, 36, guilty of leaving the scene of an accident that injured two people on June 21, 2008, said Deputy District Attorney Natalie Adomian. Jurors also found true a special allegation of causing great bodily injury.
But jurors hung on a charge of DUI causing injury. He was acquitted of a third felony count, driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol level.More
October 12, 2010
Civil Rights Groups Move to Protect Men’s Central Jail Inmates from Retaliatory Abuse
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – In response to multiple reports of continued retaliation by guards at the Men’s Central Jail against detainees who report wrongdoing, the ACLU and the ACLU of Southern California, together with Disability Rights California and the law firm of Bingham McCutchen, today filed a motion in U.S. District Court seeking a protective order for inmates detained there.
“Retaliation against prisoners for cooperating in investigations of official wrongdoing isn’t uncommon, but the retaliation at issue here is so extreme – multiple credible accounts of beatings, stomping and shattered bones – that I haven’t seen anything to equal it in 17 years of prison litigation around the country,” said Margaret Winter, Associate Director of the ACLU National Prison Project. “These witnesses must have the court’s protection.”More
October 11, 2010
Rizzo may seek more money
The city of Bell reneged on a severance agreement, his lawyer says. The details of the resignation are murky.
Robert Rizzo might be due back pay from the city of Bell after officials reneged on an agreement to provide the longtime city administrator with severance payments and other benefits when he resigned earlier this summer, his attorney claimed Thursday.More
October 08, 2010
Defense argues prosecutors played dirty in Anna Nicole Smith trial
Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Prosecutors must play defense Friday when they have the last word in the Anna Nicole Smith drug trial.
A defense lawyer turned the tables on the deputy district attorneys in his closing arguments Thursday by accusing them of prosecutorial misconduct. More
October 06, 2010
'Die Hard' director gets a year in prison in wiretapping case
John McTiernan remains free pending an appeal of his sentence for lying about his role in the case of private investigator Anthony Pellicano.
"Die Hard" director John McTiernan was sentenced to a year in federal prison Monday for lying to the FBI — and later to a federal judge — regarding his role in the wiretapping case of disgraced Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano.More
October 05, 2010
Jerry Brown Wants Executions To Resume in California
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Whether California's first execution in more than four years will occur next week remained an open question Tuesday, as a judge grappled with a demand from the state attorney general's office to resume lethal injections.
A hearing was held on the issue after a Riverside County judge last month set an execution date of Sept. 29 for Albert Greenwood Brown, who was convicted of abducting, raping and killing a 15-year-old girl on her way home from school in 1980. More
October 04, 2010
Lawyer: NJ ticket scam defendants didn’t break law
The upcoming trial of four California men accused of illegally buying more than a million sports and concert tickets online could set new rules for prosecuting computer fraud if it's allowed to proceed, an attorney for one of the men argued in federal court Monday.
Or not, according to federal prosecutors, who characterized the case as a garden variety fraud. More
October 01, 2010
Judge in Anna Nicole Smith cas dismisses 2 charges against her boyfriend
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Wednesday dismissed two charges against the boyfriend of the late model and actress Anna Nicole Smith, but left most charges to be decided by a jury.
Judge Robert J. Perry dismissed two counts of obtaining an opiate by fraud against Howard K. Stern, who was also Smith’s lawyer, according to court spokesman Allan Parachini. Stern still faces nine counts related to allegedly providing Smith with powerful drugs.More
October 01, 2010
Judge in Anna Nicole Smith cas dismisses 2 charges against her boyfriend
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Wednesday dismissed two charges against the boyfriend of the late model and actress Anna Nicole Smith, but left most charges to be decided by a jury.
Judge Robert J. Perry dismissed two counts of obtaining an opiate by fraud against Howard K. Stern, who was also Smith’s lawyer, according to court spokesman Allan Parachini. Stern still faces nine counts related to allegedly providing Smith with powerful drugs.More
September 30, 2010
Anna Nicole Smith's fight for oil mogul's cash reconsidered by Supreme Court
Anna Nicole Smith's fight for cash from her late husband's estate will continue from beyond the grave - officials at the U.S. Supreme Court have agreed to reconsider the case.
Smith launched a legal battle for a $300 million share of oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall's estate prior to her death in 2007, maintaining he promised her the money during their 14-month marriage.More
September 29, 2010
Lindsay Lohan could be back in jail after hearing
Lindsay Lohan managed to spend only a few hours in jail Friday after failing a drug test, but experts said her legal troubles are far from over.
Superior Court Judge Elden Fox was overruled in his effort to send Lohan to jail for at least 30 days, but it's possible he will place her behind bars after a hearing Oct. 22 about her latest probation violation.More
September 28, 2010
Waiting for a death-penalty debate
Albert Greenwood Brown is slated to be executed this week. It's too bad we can't have a real discussion on capital punishment.
Despite a last-minute delay by the governor, Albert Greenwood Brown is still slated to die this week. Few would mourn the convicted murderer-rapist's passing, but it would nonetheless be a sad day for California.More
September 27, 2010
Lindsay Lohan freed after 15 hours in jail
Actress Lindsay Lohan was freed from jail late on Friday night after spending around 15 hours behind bars for evidence of another failed drug test, a Los Angeles-based celebrity website reported.
The once-promising star was led handcuffed from a Beverly Hills courtroom early in the morning for a third time in three years when a judge found evidence of substance abuse, which would make her a criminal. He ordered Lohan, 24, jailed until an October 22 hearing, but was later reversed by a supervisor.More
September 23, 2010
'Calculated greed' at heart of Bell criminal case, D.A. says
Eight current and former Bell city leaders were arrested Tuesday on charges of misappropriating more than $5.5 million from the small, working-class community as prosecutors accused them of treating the city’s money as their personal piggy bank.
The charges follow months of nationwide outrage and renewed debate over public employee compensation ever since The Times reported in July that the city’s leaders were among the highest paid municipal officials in the country. Among those charged was former City Manager Robert Rizzo, who led the way with a salary and benefits package of more than $1.5 million.More
September 22, 2010
Audit says public funds paid off ex-Bell city manager's loans
Draft report alleges that $95,000 in city money was put in Robert Rizzo's retirement accounts to repay loans he had made to himself. An expert says the allegations could amount to federal wire fraud.
Apparently acting without City Council approval, Bell spent nearly $95,000 to repay loans that then-City Manager Robert Rizzo made to himself from his retirement accounts, a draft state audit reviewed by The Times shows.More
September 21, 2010
Former 'bling ring' lawyer sentenced [Updated]
A Sherman Oaks attorney who represented an alleged member of the "bling ring" celebrity burglary group was sentenced Monday in an unrelated witness tampering case.
[Updated 4:20 p.m.: An earlier version of this post, and the headline, said Sean G. Erenstoft had been disbarred, based on a statement released by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. But prosecutors acknowledged Monday afternoon that Erenstoft faces potential disbarment rather than outright disbarment for pleading no contest to the single felony count of attempting to dissuade a witness.More
September 20, 2010
State Sen. Roderick Wright indicted on charges of voter fraud and perjury
The Inglewood Democrat is accused of listing as his residence a home in the district he wanted to represent when his actual home was elsewhere. He has pleaded not guilty.
A Los Angeles County grand jury on Thursday unsealed an eight-count felony indictment against state Sen. Roderick Wright (D- Inglewood), accusing him of filing a false declaration of candidacy, voter fraud and perjury beginning in 2007, when he changed his voter registration to run for the Legislature.More
September 18, 2010
Source: Lindsay Lohan Fails Drug Test, Faces More Jail
Lindsay Lohan has failed a court-mandated drug test, a source tells PEOPLE. The actress could now be facing 30 days in jail.
The actress, 24, was released from rehab Aug. 24 after serving almost two weeks in jail for violating probation in a DUI case. More
September 17, 2010
Michael Jackson’s Doctor Wants Charges Dismissed
According to sources Michael Jackson’s doctor who was chared in his death is seeking the dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit that was apparently filed by the late singers father. Sources claim the attorneys for Dr. Murray sought the dismissal in a motion filed Wednesday in Los Angeles.
The document will literally ask the judge to dismiss the case on the grounds that Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson did not have the legal right to file the case in the first place on grounds that he is not a beneficiary of the estate. The Jackson family patriarch sued Murray in federal court in June, the one year anniversary of his son’s death. He claimed the doctor acted negligently by providing the pop singer with a mix of sedatives, including the anesthetic propofol. However, the father of Michael Jackson has no leverage in the case because he has nothing to do with the late pop icon’s estate and the judge will see this. Murray of course pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in criminal court.More
September 15, 2010
ACLU/SC Class Action Suit Challenges U.S. Government’s Prolonged Detention of Immigrants
LOS ANGELES –The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California added refugees from Somalia and U.S. residents from El Salvador and Mexico to its class action lawsuit in federal court here challenging the U.S. government’s right to detain immigrants indefinitely while they await the outcome of immigration proceedings.
Co-counsel in the lawsuit include the national ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, the Stanford Law School Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, and the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP. More
September 14, 2010
Married former ICE agents charged with theft from federal agency
LOS ANGELES — A retired special agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his wife, who also worked for the federal agency in Los Angeles, were arrested today on charges of stealing from the government and lying to investigators about it.
An indictment handed down by a Los Angeles federal grand jury alleges that Frank Eugene Johnston, 51, and his 53-year-old wife, Taryn, stole almost $600,000 that she received in salary and benefits from ICE, even though she had done virtually no work for the agency in years. More
September 13, 2010
Former Temple City mayor gets 16 months in state prison in bribery case
LOS ANGELES - A Superior Court Judge Friday sentenced former Temple City Mayor Judy Wong to 16 months in state prison for her role in a corruption case involving a developer that caused the downfall of several local politicians.
Wong, who resigned from the City Council in March, pleaded no contest in May to felony charges that she asked for and received $13,100 in bribes from local developer Randy Wang and lied about it. She was sentenced Friday on one count of solicitation to commit bribery. MoreSeptember 12, 2010
LAPD officer who fatally shot day laborer was accused of using improper deadly force in 2008 shooting
A federal civil rights suit is pending over the earlier incident, which the Police Commission found to be 'in policy.' But the panel found that the officer used improper tactics.
The Los Angeles police officer who fatally shot a day laborer in Westlake was previously found by the department's watchdog arm to have used improper tactics in 2008 when he shot and wounded a man in the leg, authorities said Friday.More
September 10, 2010
L.A. County district attorney drops felony criminal charges against ESPN's Jay Mariotti
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office did not pursue felony criminal charges on Tuesday against ESPN sports personality Jay Mariotti, who was arrested last month on suspicion of domestic assault against his girlfriend.
"We reviewed the case for filing consideration and determined based on the evidence it was consistent with misdemeanor charges," said Shiara Davila-Morales, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office. The case was then referred to the Los Angeles city attorney, who could still pursue misdemeanor charges against Mariotti. More
September 08, 2010
Suit Charges LA-Area Federal Contractor with Exploitation and Discrimination of Immigrant Workers
Terra Universal routinely required its largely immigrant workforce – documented and undocumented alike – to work overtime hours without overtime pay. To evade government scrutiny, it created a fraudulent time system, requiring workers to clock out at the end of an 8-hour workshift and clock back in as a “second job.” Workers who complained about workplace issues or who suffered injuries were fired, had their pay deducted or their hours reduced and were verbally abused.
“Terra Universal is just one example of the countless employers nationwide who prey on the vulnerabilities of immigrant workers, believing they will never get caught. Such unscrupulous exploitation hurts all American workers,” said Randy Renick, partner at Hadsell, Stormer, Keeny, Richardson & Renick. “We caught Terra Universal red-handed, breaking nearly every wage and hour law in the book.” More
September 07, 2010
Former Palos Verdes Police Officer Charged in Embezzlement Case
LOS ANGELES – A former police officer of the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department accused of misappropriating police association funds is due to be arraigned this morning, the District Attorney’s Office announced.
Alex Ghazarian, (dob 7/9/77) 33, is charged in case No. BA375303 with one count each of grand theft of personal property and embezzlement by a public officer. Ghazarian is scheduled to be arraigned in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. More
September 06, 2010
T.I. faces possible prison time for drug arrest
Grammy-winning rapper T.I. is headed back to Atlanta and may soon be ordered to face the federal judge who signed off on an extraordinary deal that shaved years off a potential prison term.
T.I.'s arrest Wednesday night in Los Angeles for suspicion of possession of methamphetamine could trigger a motion by his probation officer. The officer could ask U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell Jr. to revoke some of the remaining probation on T.I.'s federal sentence stemming from his arrest on gun charges three years ago. T.I's probation expires in 2013. More
September 03, 2010
Man accused of fraud may get life in prison under California's three-strikes law
The stiff penalty is rarely used against white-collar criminals. Timothy Barnett is charged with 23 felonies for allegedly tricking five people into unknowingly granting him title to their homes.
Timothy Barnett spent nearly five years in state prison for a 1990s foreclosure rescue scam in which he conned homeowners out of tens of thousands of dollars. Now, prosecutors say, he has been at it again, targeting residents in the same South Los Angeles neighborhood he fleeced before.More
September 02, 2010
Judge doubts prosecutors can prove 2 key charges
LOS ANGELES — The judge in the Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy trial said Tuesday he doubted prosecutors can prove key charges against two doctors and the lawyer-boyfriend of the late Playboy model.
The two counts targeted by Superior Court Judge Robert Perry are at the heart of the case, accusing the three defendants of conspiring to prescribe, administer and dispense controlled substances to an addict and obtaining and dispensing prescriptions by fraud and use of false names.More
August 31, 2010
Paris Hilton's boyfriend Cy Waits pulled gun on knife-weilding home intruder Nathan Parada: source
LOS ANGELES - No wonder Paris Hilton thinks her new boyfriend is hot - he's packing heat.
Vegas nightlife impresario Cy Waits, 34, pulled a gun on an armed intruder at Hilton's Los Angeles home early Tuesday, a law enforcement source told the Daily News.More
August 28, 2010
PEOPLE v. SHIN
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
BAE HYUK SHIN, Defendant and Appellant.2d Crim. No. B212544.
Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Six.
Filed August 26, 2010.
Jeralyn Keller, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Joseph P. Lee, Sarah J. Farhat, Stephanie C. Brenan, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.More
August 27, 2010
Judge again delays sentencing of ex-Temple City Mayor Judy Wong
LOS ANGELES - Ex-Temple City Mayor Judy Wong, who pleaded no contest to multiple counts of bribery in May, received another reprieve on Tuesday as her sentencing was delayed until Sept. 10.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg agreed to postpone the sentencing to allow Wong to find a caretaker for her elderly mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. Wong's sister, who was to have taken care of the mother, had to leave the country to tend to an emergency, Wong said before the hearing.More
August 26, 2010
ACLU/SC Suit Seeks Information on U.S. ‘Proxy Detention’ of American Citizen in the U.A.E.
LOS ANGELES – Seeking to uncover information about the U.S. government’s 2008 overseas “proxy detention” of American citizen Naji Hamdan, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a lawsuit in federal district court here today. The suit asks the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and other intelligence agencies to turn over records about their surveillance of Mr. Hamdan in the United States, and their involvement in his detention and torture in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
The suit results from the failure of these intelligence agencies to release any information about Mr. Hamdan under the Freedom of Information Act in response to a request from the ACLU/SC filed in January 2010.More
August 24, 2010
Comedian Rip Torn Denied Probation in Bank Break-In
You get drunk and break into a bank while armed and suddenly judges just won't cut you a break.
So Rip Torn has learned after a judge denied probation Wednesday. Torn, 79, an Emmy-winning actor with roles in "Men in Black," "Dodgeball," "30 Rock," and "The Larry Sanders Show," had hoped to enter a two-year program that would lead to all charges being dropped after a successful completion. He had no prior criminal record. Litchfield Superior Court Judge James Ginocchio found that the allegations against Torn were far to serious for him to qualify for probation under the program called accelerated rehabilitation.
However, prosecutors dropped a felony burglary charge as there was no evidence that Torn intended to commit a crime. Apparently Rip Torn went on quite a bender the night of the incident, drinking all night and then driving to a Salisbury bank which he mistook for his own home. The bank is in a house-like buidling nearby his home. Two hours after being arrested, Torn blood alcohol level was recorded at 0.203, over two and a half times the legal limit, the AP reports. Torn has said that he remembers nothing from that night. He has competed a two month inpatient rehab and over five months of outpatient couseling. More
August 21, 2010
Case of soup-kitchen thief fuels critics of three-strikes laws
A California man sentenced to 25 years to life was released Monday because a judge ruled his sentence under a three-strikes law was too harsh for his crime – breaking into a church soup kitchen 13 years ago.
Los Angeles
Critics of "three-strikes" laws are hoping that the release Monday of Gregory Taylor – serving a near life sentence for breaking into a soup kitchen 13 years ago – will provide momentum to efforts to repeal or modify the laws in the 25 states that have them. MoreAugust 20, 2010
Three Strikes and He's Out (of Prison)!
Homeless Man Spent 13 Years Behind Bars After Trying to Break into Church Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) A California man who spent 13 years in prison after trying to break into a church to find something to eat, and who became an example of the state's strict three-strikes law, has been ordered released from prison by a Superior Court judge.
Tears rolled down the face of 47-year-old Gregory Taylor when Judge Peter Espinoza ordered that he be set free, reducing his sentence from 25 years to life, to the time he has already served. More
August 19, 2010
ACLU/SC Suit Seeks Information on U.S. ‘Proxy Detention’ of American Citizen in the U.A.E.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
LOS ANGELES – Seeking to uncover information about the U.S. government’s 2008 overseas “proxy detention” of American citizen Naji Hamdan, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a lawsuit in federal district court here today. The suit asks the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and other intelligence agencies to turn over records about their surveillance of Mr. Hamdan in the United States, and their involvement in his detention and torture in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
The suit results from the failure of these intelligence agencies to release any information about Mr. Hamdan under the Freedom of Information Act in response to a request from the ACLU/SC filed in January 2010. More
August 17, 2010
Prop. 8 backers ask for permanent hold on same-sex marriage ruling
In an emergency appeal, they contend that Judge Vaughn R. Walker's ruling overturning California's gay marriage ban flouted the law and ignored the evidence.
August 14, 2010|By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles TimesIn an emergency appeal now before a federal court, the backers of Proposition 8 have asked for a permanent hold on last week's "egregiously selective and one-sided" marriage ruling, contending it flouted the law and ignored the evidence. More
August 16, 2010
California Storing DNA of Innocent People
California’s law mandating that DNA samples be taken from all felony arrestees is facing a legal challenge from the ACLU of Northern California.|
Petitions by Change.org|Get Widget|Start a Petition » Forcing people to provide a DNA sample without any judicial oversight, just because a single police officer has arrested them, violates the Constitution. That’s why California’s law mandating that DNA samples be taken from all felony arrestees is facing a legal challenge from the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC). More
August 14, 2010
LAPD tactics in wild pursuit are under review [Updated]
The chaotic, potentially dangerous ending to a high-speed car chase last week has raised questions among high-ranking Los Angeles Police Department officials over the tactics and force several officers used to apprehend the driver.
Tonsha Wilcher, 39, walked into the lobby of the LAPD’s Southwest Area station about 2 p.m. Thursday, threatened to kill the officers working at the front desk and then fled in his car, according to an LAPD account of the incident. More
August 13, 2010
Judges Propose 'Bill of Rights' for Trial Courts in California
SACRAMENTO (CN) - At a California State Assembly hearing Wednesday, a group of trial judges told legislators that 200 judges around the state are writing a "trial court Bill of Rights" intended to give judges more power over the spending of money allocated by the legislature and retake control from the statewide Administrative Office of the Courts. "The AOC does not govern the trial courts," said Judge David Lampe of Kern County Superior Court who spoke on behalf of the Alliance of California Judges.
Lampe said the proposed Bill of Rights, is intended to lend balance to a currently unbalanced governance structure, with the AOC imposing its mandates on individual courts. "This governance structure has to be clarified," said Lampe in an inteview after the hearing. "There seems to be a gradual push that the AOC governs the judicial branch. That's just not the law." More
August 12, 2010
Long Beach agrees to pay $8 million in wrongful murder conviction
Thomas Goldstein was jailed 24 years based largely on a jailhouse informant whose credibility was questionable. The city denies his rights were violated but says it couldn't risk a sizable jury award.
Long Beach has agreed to pay nearly $8 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who spent 24 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of murder based largely on the testimony of a jailhouse informant. MoreAugust 11, 2010
Long Beach Police Officer Charged with Grand Theft, Other Counts
LOS ANGELES – A police officer accused of stealing firearms from the Long Beach Police Department was charged today with more than a dozen counts, including grand theft, the District Attorney’s Office announced.
Deputy District Attorney Alfred Coletta of the Justice System Integrity Division said Damian Ramos, 32 (dob 8/21/77), is expected to be arraigned this afternoon in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. More
August 09, 2010
Former Deputy, Accomplice Sentenced in Drug Smuggling Case
LOS ANGELES – A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy and a male co-conspirator were sentenced today to four and two years in prison respectively for attempting to smuggle drugs into a county jail facility guarded by the deputy.
Peter Paul Felix, 26, had been a sheriff’s deputy about two years until he resigned shortly after Oct. 13, 2008. On that date he was caught attempting to smuggle 161.5 grams of heroin, 24.4 grams of methamphetamine and 51.5 grams of marijuana into the North County Correctional Facility where he worked as a guard. More
August 06, 2010
Woman alleges group sex at Rialto Police Department Union Hall
RIALTO - Police officers engaged in group sex with female workers from the Spearmint Rhino strip club, according to a $500,000 claim filed by a woman at the center of a sex scandal that has sent shock waves through the Police Department and city.
"The claims that we have made are simply the tip of the iceberg and we have substantial proof to back up these claims, and my client will move forward with a lawsuit should the city not take her claims seriously," said Danuta W. Tuszynska, a Riverside-based attorney representing Nancy Holtgreve. MoreAugust 05, 2010
Legacy's De los Angeles arrested over estafa case
A cop blotters Legacy Group president Celso delos Angeles (center) in Camp Karingal on Tuesday after his arrest.
Businessman Celso de los Angeles, the principal suspect in the Legacy insurance and pension scam, was arrested Tuesday at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City due to estafa charges filed against him in Leyte.
De los Angeles had been confined at the hospital after undergoing treatment for his stage 4 throat cancer and was later transferred to the Cathedral condominium inside the hospital's premises, where he was arrested.More
August 04, 2010
Grim Sleeper serial killer suspect expected to answer charges at arraignment
A South L.A. man accused of being the Grim Sleeper serial killer is expected to answer charges against him at an arraignment Tuesday morning.
Lonnie David Franklin Jr., 57, was charged earlier this month with killing 10 women over a period spanning more than two decades. He has been held without bail since his arrest July 7, which came after undercover officers surreptitiously collected a sample of his DNA that authorities say matched evidence found at several of the crime scenes. If convicted, Franklin could face the death penalty. More
August 03, 2010
A Michigan Couple Convicted in John Stamos Extortion Trial
A man and woman accused of attempting to extort $680,000 from actor John Stamos in 2004 were convicted Thursday in a U.S. District Court in Michigan, CNN reports, and face up to nine years each in prison.
Prosecutors said Allison Coss and Scott Sippola had threatened to sell to a magazine allegedly compromising pictures of Stamos doing cocaine with a pair of strippers; when the FBI searched the couple's home, no such photos were found. Stamos had maintained that no pictures existed because nothing inappropriate had happened during a 2004 trip to Orlando, Fla., where he met Coss. More
August 02, 2010
Corruption and Abuse By LA County Deputies Contribute To Suicide, Report Confirms
John Horton was held in solitary confinement in the Los Angeles County Men‘s Central Jail following his arrest for drug possession. He committed suicide.
In the days leading up to his death in March 2009, jail staff noted that Mr. Horton was despondent. His cell was a dimly-lit, windowless, solid-front box the size of a closet. His body was already stiff by the time security staff discovered him hanging from a noose in his cell, with his hands bound – one of eight successful apparent suicides in the L.A. County jails in the past calendar year. More
July 31, 2010
One father's message to another
Terrell went to a party with friends in 2005 in an affluent neighborhood and was shot to death. He was home on winter break from Humboldt State University. Even though Terrell had never been involved with a gang, he became a victim of random gang violence.
Terrell's younger brother and sister suffer to this day. The perpetrator has never been caught or charged. But with every passing year I grow more committed to seeing justice through and to ending this type of senseless violence. I know one key is for parents to act more wisely to protect young people. More
July 29, 2010
Los Angeles Police Arrest American Pie Star Chris Klein For DUI
The man best known for his character of Oz in the "American Pie" comedies will soon be giving a call to his Los Angeles DUI attorney, as the man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of drunken driving. The Los Angeles Times reports that the actor Chris Klein was weaving across three lanes of traffic on the westbound 101 Freeway, which caught the attention of law enforcers and led to the pulling the actor over.
Chris Klein's breath test indicated that his blood-alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit and that this is the actor's second DUI arrest in the last six years, TMZ states. So perhaps the man already knows a DUI attorney in Los Angeles. Now that he's in danger of becoming a two-time DUI offender, it looks as though he'll be needing the best lawyer possible. More
July 28, 2010
An Open Letter to Lindsay Lohan from the ACLU
Dear Lindsay,
We know that going to jail is scary. But we can assure you that your experience at the women’s facility in Lynwood, outside Los Angeles, is likely to be starkly different from the thousands of others serving time and awaiting trial in the Los Angeles jails. Based on the ACLU’s decades of experience as an official court-appointed monitor of the jails, and the stories of countless women with whom we’ve spoken, the facility where you are staying is an overcrowded detention facility where women are needlessly humiliated for so long that they come to expect sub-human treatment.
It’s a place where an eight month pregnant woman was forced to sleep on the floor because she could not access the top bunk to which she was assigned. A place where women have said they are made to stand naked while menstruating, as they waited for jail-issued clothes. And a place where women routinely tell us they cannot get access to the same medications they took in the community (though we doubt that you will face this same problem.) More
July 27, 2010
'Bling ring' member is released from county jail
A 19-year-old Calabasas woman sentenced to six months in jail for burglarizing actor Orlando Bloom's Hollywood Hills home was released from jail Friday night after serving less than a month of her sentence.
Alexis Neiers, who starred in the E! Entertainment reality show “Pretty Wild” while being prosecuted for her role in the “bling ring” celebrity burglary case, pleaded no contest in May to felony residential burglary charges. More
July 26, 2010
UCLA Innocence Project hopes to help wrongfully convicted inmates by reviewing old cases
By reviewing old cases, UCLA Innocence Project hopes to help wrongfully convicted inmates
A few months ago, Amber Phillips maneuvered her Honda Element into the parking space at about 4 p.m.
That was when the stakeout began.
Over the next five hours, Phillips sat in her car with fellow UCLA School of Law student Steven Krieger. They studied, munched on chips and took swigs of Gatorade. Occasionally, they left the car to stretch their legs. But mainly, they watched and waited. More
July 25, 2010
The Death Penalty is a Woman's Issue Too
The anti-death penalty movement in California is expanding and gaining momentum. Our core base of activists—people concerned about the inequities of the criminal justice system and people of faith—are finding coalition with activists from other movements, movements whose core issue is not ending the death penalty. Young people are angered that California spends billions on the death penalty while slashing Cal Grants and raising tuition. The LGBTQ community fought against the inclusion of a death penalty provision in the Mathew Shepard Hate Crimes Legislation and are fighting horrific bills in Uganda that would impose the death penalty for being gay. Civil rights groups are demanding that we implement protections to ensure that race is not a factor in who gets sentenced to death.
Most recently, California NOW—the largest state based feminist organization in the US—joined the fight against new execution regulations in California. California NOW objected to the regulations based on the unfair and unequal treatment of women on death row, and encouraged their members to voice their opposition as well. Some might be surprised that a group focused on women’s issues would take a stand against the death penalty. But the death penalty is a woman’s issue too. More
July 23, 2010
Let’s Cut the Death Penalty and Save California $126 Million a Year
The California Supreme Court ‘sentenced’ our state’s taxpayers to an additional debt of $180,000 more per year yesterday.
How? The state’s high court upheld the death penalty in two cases. Imposing the death penalty adds enormously to the cost of prosecution and permanent lifetime housing for an inmate. The death penalty is certainly a polarizing public policy issue, but I wonder how many people realize that it’s also a vortex-like drain on their own pocketbooks. More
July 22, 2010
District Attorney Responds to Swiss Decision on Polanski
LOS ANGELES – District Attorney Steve Cooley said today that although Switzerland refused to return Roman Polanski to California for sentencing, extradition will be sought if the fugitive is arrested elsewhere.
“I am deeply disappointed that the Swiss authorities denied the request to extradite Roman Polanski,” Cooley said in a prepared statement. “Our office complied fully with all of the factual and legal requirements of the extradition treaty and requests by the U.S. and Swiss Departments of Justice and State.More
July 21, 2010
Shapiro Quits Lohan's Case
Lindsay Lohan has been left without legal representation again - top lawyer Robert Shapiro has quit her case just hours before the actress is due to start her stint behind bars.
O.J. Simpson's former attorney publicly announced he had agreed to take over as the star's representative after her legal Shawn Holley Chapman quit earlier this month. More
July 19, 2010
Lindsay Lohan's New Lawyer: "She Is Suffering From a Disease"
Lindsay Lohan's new lawyer officially stepped forward today—and made sure everyone knew he wasn't taking the job to enable anymore ridiculous excuses.
"I have agreed to represent Ms. Lohan on the condition that she complies with all of the terms of her probation, including a requirement of jail time that was imposed by Judge Marsha Revel," Robert Shapiro said in a statement to E! News. MoreJuly 16, 2010
Races could test voters' views on death penalty
For decades, capital punishment was a driving force in California politics, swaying elections for governor and the U.S. Senate and reshaping the state Supreme Court.
While executions in California have been on hold for more than four years, tied up in court challenges to lethal injection procedures that the state is now redrafting, November's elections may determine whether the death penalty still carries political weight. More
July 15, 2010
Riots in California after police officer who shot dead unarmed black man is cleared of murder
53 arrests as protesters furious at verdict storm the streets
Violent protests erupted in the city of Oakland in California today after a Los Angeles jury convicted a white former transit officer of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man.
Police in riot gear watched over a crowd of protesters as emotions ran high with 500 people marching in the street and 83 people arrested. More
July 14, 2010
Mass arrests in Oakland protests against court verdict
Police officer who killed defenseless man given lenient verdict
Police arrested 83 protesters in Oakland, California on Thursday, after hundreds went to the streets in demonstrations against a jury verdict of involuntary manslaughter for a police officer who was caught on video tape killing an unarmed man, execution-style.
Transit officer Johannes Mehserle was caught by at least four cameras shooting 22-year-old Oscar Grant III in the back as the victim lay face down on the ground and offered no resistance. Another officer was recorded screaming “bitch-ass nigger” at Grant shortly before he was executed. More
July 13, 2010
Holder raises question on Sept. 11 death penalty
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder says there's a real question about whether a terrorist suspect such as self-professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed can face the death penalty if he were to plead guilty before a military commission.
Holder proposed last year trying Mohammed and four alleged accomplices in civilian courts in New York City. But that idea generated so much controversy that it's all but been abandoned. More
July 12, 2010
Former BART officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter
Prosecutors accused Johannes Mehserle of intentionally firing his handgun as he tried to handcuff Oscar J. Grant III on New Year's Day 2009. Mehserle testified that he thought he was pulling out his electric Taser weapon and not a firearm.
Johannes Mehserle.
A former transit police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man at an Oakland train station was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Thursday, capping a racially charged case that raised fears in the Bay Area of possible violence after the verdict. MoreJuly 09, 2010
California Implodes
California is the wealthiest and most populous State in America, and Los Angeles County is the largest county in America, so both the State and LA County wield unbelievable power in Washington D.C. The corruption in California affects you directly.
• How would you feel if you knew your federal tax dollars were being used to finance California’s corruption? MoreJuly 07, 2010
Lindsay Lohan sentenced to jail for violation
Beverly Hills -- A judge ruled Tuesday that Lindsay Lohan violated the terms of her probation in a drunken-driving case when she failed to attend alcohol education classes and sentenced her to 90 days in jail.
Judge Marsha Revel stated several instances over the past few years in which the actress lied about taking drugs and drinking.More
July 06, 2010
Ferris Bueller's Day Off actor chared with failing to update sex offender registration
Actor Jeffrey Jones, best known for his portrayal of a high school dean in the 1986 movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," has been charged with a single felony count of failing to update his registration as a sex offender, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Jones, 63, was arrested June 23 on suspicion of failing to renew his registration with the state within five days of his last birthday, Sept. 28, 2009, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. He was released on $20,000 bail. More
July 05, 2010
California Warden Now Believes that Executions Don't Make us Safer
Death row realism
Do executions make us safer? San Quentin's former warden says no.As the warden of San Quentin, I presided over four executions. After each one, someone on the staff would ask, "Is the world safer because of what we did tonight?"
We knew the answer: No. More
July 01, 2010
A death penalty record
L.A. County led the U.S. in capital sentences in 2009. Prosecutors are being overzealous and inhumane.
Harris County, Texas, used to be known as the death penalty capital of the United States, the focus of national and global outrage over an outdated, costly and immoral form of criminal justice. But things have changed: Harris County now has a sentencing record that looks like Denmark's, and the hanging judges (or rather, prosecutors) seem to have relocated to liberal Los Angeles.
A recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union shows that Los Angeles County sent more people to death row last year than any other county in the U.S. -- and more than the entire state of Texas. The trend is particularly odd given that most of the rest of the country is headed in the opposite direction. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the number of death sentences nationwide last year was the lowest since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.More
June 30, 2010
Stories of Wrongful Conviction from California, continued:
More than 200 men and women have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes in California, six of whom were sentenced to death. Here are some of their stories.
Gloria Killian
County: Sacramento
Convicted of: 1st Degree Murder
Year of Conviction: 1986
Sentence: 32 years to life
Year Released: 2002
Years Served: 18 years
Wrongful Conviction Factors: False testimony of informant; misconduct by prosecutor MoreJune 29, 2010
ACLU Lawsuit Spotlights Sonoma County Sheriff and ICE for Unlawful Detentions and Racial Profiling of Latinos
Echoes of Arizona in Lawsuit Asserting Sonoma Sheriff Exceeded Local Authority in Immigration-Related Arrests
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in San Francisco issued an order Friday that an American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) lawsuit charging unlawful collaboration between the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to unlawfully target, arrest, and detain Latinos in Sonoma County can move forward.
"As the nation repudiates Arizona's racial profiling law, we continue to challenge the same type of profiling in our own backyard," said Julia Harumi Mass, ACLU-NC staff attorney. "No matter where they happen, violations of fair and common-sense legal protections like due process put all U.S. residents at risk – citizen and non-citizen alike." More
June 28, 2010
Too Many Wrongful Convictions in California
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of California's Innocence Projects, two California men were found innocent and freed in one week in February after years in prison for crimes they did not commit.
On Monday, February 5, the District Attorney in Santa Clara County dismissed charges against Jessie Rodriguez, who served six years of a potential life sentence in prison for a robbery he did not commit. The jury hung at Rodriguez's first trial, but convicted him at his second. The Sixth District Court of Appeal, however, overturned his conviction based on inadequate defense by his attorney, who limited his efforts in the second trial after the family ran out of money. In preparing for a third trial, the newly-assigned Deputy District Attorney re-investigated the testimony of an eyewitness and the forensic evidence. The DA found that eyewitness was no longer confident and that the original forensic analysis was wrong.More
June 25, 2010
9th Circuit reinstates criminal charges against Pierce O'Donnell
LOS ANGELES — A federal appeals court has reinstated criminal charges against plaintiffs' attorney Pierce O'Donnell after concluding that the section of the Federal Election Campaign Act on which he was charged applied to conduit, or indirect, campaign contributions, not just to contributions made under false names.
O'Donnell of O'Donnell & Associates in Los Angeles was indicted on charges that he reimbursed 13 employees of his law firm and others who had contributed $26,000 in 2003 to the presidential campaign of former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. See The American Lawyer's article, "The Trials of Pierce O'Donnell."More
June 24, 2010
Stories of Wrongful Conviction from California
More than 200 men and women have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes in California, six of whom were sentenced to death. Here are some of their stories.
Herman Atkins
County: Riverside
Convicted of: Forcible Rape, Forcible Oral Copulation, and Robbery
Year of Conviction: 1988
Sentence: 45 years
Year Released: 2000
Years Served: 11.5 years
Wrongful Conviction Factors: Mistaken eyewitness identification MoreJune 23, 2010
Wrongfully convicted prisoners left uncompensated
States rarely pay for the mental and physical suffering of those wrongfully convicted.Byron Halsey recently had the happy and tragic distinction of being the 238th wrongfully convicted prisoner released from prison in the past two decades due to DNA testing. Halsey was the 12th wrongfully convicted prisoner exonerated this year. In 1985, he was accused of the rape and murder of two Plainfield, N.J., children.
Halsey’s nightmarish tale after the arrest is woefully familiar to others wrongfully accused. They face marathon police grilling, with threats and intimidation, a coerced confession, slipshod legal representation, a fast track trial, conviction, and then they are either dumped in a cell for life or receive the death penalty. Halsey faced the death penalty. More
June 21, 2010
Former BART officer testifies he pulled Taser before colleague fatally shot passenger
A former Bay Area transit police officer testified Friday that he pulled out an electric Taser weapon and threatened to use it on a group of men as an “intimidation tactic” minutes before a fellow officer fatally shot one of the men on an Oakland train platform.
Prosecutors allege that Anthony Pirone’s use of profanity and aggressive conduct in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009 created a chaotic scene that resulted in the killing of Oscar J. Grant III." More
June 18, 2010
Bicyclists Clash with LAPD
Bad blood continues despite attempts at detente
Tensions between the LAPD and a group of hard-core bicyclists boiled over this spring, despite efforts by both sides to smooth over their history of bad relations.
Relations between the police and pedal-power activists, many of whom are ardent environmentalists, seemed to reach the bottom of a Gulf oil well in January, when cyclist Ed Magos, who works for the city's Information Technology Agency, was hit downtown by a woman who left the scene only to report the collision at the neighboring Rampart Division station.."More
June 17, 2010
False arrests and the Los Angeles Police Departments
Police have an odd way of measuring their performance. Their performance appraisals are largely based on the number of arrests made and citations issued. Felony arrests get more points than misdemeanor arrests and although citations for things like not wearing a seatbelt, expired registration tags, etc aren't technically arrests; they make the government a lot of money. So cops get points for them as well.
If you haven't noticed the flaw in this system, allow me to elaborate. Let us say that someone is murdered. The police arrest somebody for the murder and as far as the police are concerned "the case is cleared."MoreJune 16, 2010
Michael Jackson's doctor can keep medical license, judge rules
A doctor accused of administering a lethal dose of a strong anesthetic to pop icon Michael Jackson last year will keep his California medical license for now, a Los Angeles judge ruled Monday.
L.A. Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor rejected a request by the state's medical board to suspend Dr. Conrad Murray's license to practice medicine. In his ruling, Pastor noted that another judge at Murray's arraignment earlier this year restricted the physician's use of the drug propofol and other strong anesthetics as part of his bail conditions.MoreJune 15, 2010
Who should control California's prison budget? U.S. Supreme Court may weigh in
Reporting from Ione, Calif. —
A legal battle over who gets to control California's massive spending on prisons — judges or corrections officials — may be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, with overcrowding at the state's 33 prisons at the center of the debate.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state officials have challenged an edict from three federal judges that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation must cut the prison population by 40,000, or about a quarter of its 165,000 inmates. The judges' order, issued last August, cited overcrowding as the main cause of healthcare failures that amounted to cruel and unusual punishment and left inmates to die from treatable conditions at the rate of one per week.MoreJune 14, 2010
Notorious past tainted robbery trial, Simpson appeal claims
Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) -- Attorneys for disgraced gridiron great O.J. Simpson return to court Friday, arguing that the judge at his 2008 armed robbery trial in Las Vegas did not adequately guard against the looming shadow of his notorious past.
Simpson's defense is seeking to reverse his conviction on 12 counts of armed robbery and related offenses in connection with a Las Vegas hotel room confrontation over sports memorabilia. The 62-year-old is serving nine to 33 years in a state prison.MoreJune 11, 2010
False arrest lawsuit filed against West Covina, police chief and police officer
A man has sued West Covina, its police chief and West Covina police officer Tyler Kennedy, whom he claims falsely arrested him in order to have an intimate relationship with his ex-wife.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and seeks unspecified damages. It also alleges West Covina police officers, with the tacit permission of city government, regularily discriminated against Hispanics and other minorities.More
June 10, 2010
L.A. County sheriff's lieutenant is under investigation in sex-assault case
The department is conducting an internal criminal probe into whether Lt Michael Rodriguez went to the home of a coworker and sexually assaulted her. Rodriguez denies the allegations.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is conducting an internal investigation into allegations that a lieutenant in San Dimas went to the home of a co-worker and sexually assaulted her.MoreJune 09, 2010
Call on death penalty to wait
Three-member panel will decide whether to pursue capital punishment for double-murder suspect Daniel Wozniak, 26.
Prosecutors won't decide until after a preliminary hearing whether they should seek the death penalty against a Costa Mesa actor accused of killing two Orange Coast College students, officials said Wednesday.MoreJune 08, 2010
Freed after 16 years in prison, he says thanks
SAN DIEGO — Reggie Cole left prison a free man Saturday, after serving 16 years for a murder he didn’t commit. But instead of heading straight home to Los Angeles , he made a detour to California Western School of Law in San Diego.
“He wanted to meet a lot of the students who had worked on his case,” said Justin Brooks, director of the school’s California Innocence Project.MoreJune 05, 2010
BART police officer murder trial set to begin in Los Angeles
The murder trial of a former BART police officer who fatally shot an unarmed rider last year, sparking riots in Oakland, is expected to begin Wednesday with jury selection in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
Johannes Mehserle, 28, is charged in the New Year's Day 2009 killing of Oscar Grant on a BART station platform.MoreJune 04, 2010
LAPD officers accused of clashing with bicyclists relieved of field duty during probe
Four police officers involved in a clash with cyclists in Hollywood during a mass bicycle ride have been removed from the field while investigators review the incident, an LAPD official said Wednesday.More
Police launched an internal investigation into the Friday night episode after a video circulated that appeared to show an officer kicking at a passing bicyclist during a protest ride against BP's role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said Cmdr. Andrew Smith.MoreJune 02, 2010
Former NASCAR driver arrested in Orange County on suspicion of attempted rape
Former NASCAR driver James Neal was arrested on attempted rape charges Monday within hours of his release from the Orange County Jail after serving a brief sentence on a misdemeanor driving count, authorities said.
Neal, 56, of San Clemente, was back in jail after he was booked on suspicion of attempted rape and false imprisonment, said Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Jansen.MoreJune 01, 2010
Man Accused of Killing Angels Pitcher Wants Change of Venue
Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed along with two friends in April 2009.
SANTA ANA -- The suspected drunken driver charged in connection with the crash that killed Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others wants his trial moved outside of Orange County.
An attorney for Andrew Thomas Gallo filed a motion Friday saying Gallo can't get a fair trial in Orange County where the Angels have a huge fan base and there's enormous sympathy for the victims.MoreMay 31, 2010
Los Angeles Man Is wrongly convicted then released From Prison after 14 years
Reggie Deshawn Cole spent 14 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit.
Shoddy investigation leading to a wrongful conviction, how does that happen in California?
LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles man who was wrongly convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a 1994 murder and attempted robbery in South Los Angeles is a free man today.MoreMay 29, 2010
L.A. police panel fails to disclose findings on use-of-force incidents
The outcomes of reviews of at least 240 shootings and other violent encounters with suspects were not revealed, despite a Police Commission promise four years ago to post decisions on the Internet.
The Los Angeles Police Commission has failed to publicly disclose its findings on at least 240 police shootings and other violent encounters with suspects, despite a promise four years ago to be more transparent and post its decisions on the Internet, a Times review has found. MoreMay 28, 2010
Wrongful Convictions in California are Plentiful
More than 200 men and women have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes in California, six of whom were sentenced to death. Here are some of their stories.
Herman Atkins
County: Riverside
Convicted of: Forcible Rape, Forcible Oral Copulation, and Robbery
Year of Conviction: 1988
Sentence: 45 years
Year Released: 2000
Years Served: 11.5 years
Wrongful Conviction Factors: Mistaken eyewitness identification MoreMay 27, 2010
A death penalty record in L.A.
L.A. County led the U.S. in capital sentences in 2009. Prosecutors are being overzealous and inhumane.
Harris County, Texas, used to be known as the death penalty capital of the United States, the focus of national and global outrage over an outdated, costly and immoral form of criminal justice. But things have changed: Harris County now has a sentencing record that looks like Denmark's, and the hanging judges (or rather, prosecutors) seem to have relocated to liberal Los Angeles.MoreMay 26, 2010
California Needs Eyewitness Identification Reform
Herman Atkins suffered for 12 years in a California prison -- for crimes he did not commit. Then DNA exonerated him. Mr. Atkins was a victim of faulty eyewitness identification.
Mr. Atkins' wrongful conviction for rape and robbery began when the victim and a witness identified him as the perpetrator after seeing his picture on a wanted poster for an unrelated crime. Then, the photo array used later by police also contained the wanted poster photo, which had already been viewed by the witnesses. MoreMay 25, 2010
California's Innocence Projects Free Two Wrongfully Convicted Men in One Week
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of California’s Innocence Projects, two California men were found innocent and freed in one week in February after years in prison for crimes they did not commit. These new exonerations come almost a year after California’s largest gathering of wrongfully convicted people, the Faces of Wrongful Conviction Conference, sponsored by the ACLU-NC, the Innocence Projects, and others. More than two dozen of California’s wrongfully convicted stood together at the conference’s opening session, somberly reciting the number of years stolen from them by the State of California and stating, “I am free, but countless more innocent men and women
remain in prison.”
Now, two more join the ranks of California’s exonerated.MoreMay 24, 2010
L.A. officer gets probation in hotel worker assault
A Los Angeles police officer who had been accused in Travis County of attempting to sexually assault a motel worker in April 2009 pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge of assault, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to two years of probation.
With the plea, Silvio Sam Filipovich, 44, agreed to surrender his peace officer's license and not to reapply to be a law officer anywhere in the country while on probation.More -
21 May ' 15:33
May 21, 2010Defense reiterates request for sealed transcripts in Polanski case
In court papers filed Friday, Roman Polanski's attorneys said transcripts they want unsealed will bolster their contention that Los Angeles County prosecutors relied on "false statements'' in seeking the filmmaker's extradition from Switzerland in his 1970s teen sex case.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza is scheduled on Monday afternoon to hear a request from attorneys Chad S. Hummel and Bart Dalton for transcripts of the closed-door testimony of Roger Gunson, a now-retired prosecutor who was assigned to Polanski's case for 25 years. More...
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20 May ' 10:45
May 20, 2010Two More Pot Dispensaries Raided; Arrests Made
Los Angeles police this week served search warrants on two medical marijuana dispensaries, resulting in at least a few arrests, according to Los Angeles Police Department officials.
Six search warrants and three arrest warrants led cops to Medco Organics at 326 N. Vermont Ave. in Hollywood and The Relief Co. at 5669 W. Pico Blvd. in Wilshire Vista, police said. The raids happened Tuesday. More...
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19 May ' 16:12
May 19, 2010Extended Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders Is Upheld
WASHINGTON — In a broad endorsement of federal power, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Congress has the authority under the Constitution to allow the continued civil commitment of sex offenders after they have completed their criminal sentences.
The 7-to-2 decision touched off a heated debate among the justices on a question that has lately engaged the Tea Party movement and opponents of the new health care law: What limits does the Constitution impose on Congress’s power to legislate on matters not specifically delegated to it in Article I? More...May 18, 2010
JAMES MCCONVILLE AND FIVE OTHERS INDICTED ON CHARGES RELATED TO MORTGAGE FRAUD
OAKLAND, Calif. – United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced today that a federal grand jury in Oakland indicted the following individuals on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud: More...
May 17, 2010
Former TV chef held on suspicion of murder for hire
A onetime Food Network chef and cookbook author is in custody for allegedly asking homeless people to kill someone for him, Santa Monica police officials said Friday. More...
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14 May ' 03:04
May 14, 2010STOCKTON MAN INDICTED ON PASSPORT FRAUD, AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT AND FELON IN POSSESSION OF FIREARM CHARGES
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Enrique Fonseca Martinez, 53, of Stockton, with passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, illegal reentry into the United States and being a felon in possession of a firearm.More...
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13 May ' 09:34
May 13, 2010FORMER RESIDENT OF SAN PABLO CHARGED WITH TAX FRAUD, ATTEMPTING TO INTERFERE WITH IRS LAWS AND UNLAWFULLY OBTAINING NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP
SAN FRANCISCO – Harjit Bhambra made his initial appearance in federal court Friday on charges that include filing false tax returns, false statements, unlawfully obtaining naturalization and citizenship, and impeding the administration of Internal Revenue laws, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello and Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Scott O’Briant announced. More...
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11 May ' 05:31
May 11, 2010TWO MORTGAGE FRAUD CASES CHARGED
Five Defendants Legally Changed Their Names to Conceal Scheme
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Jake Weathers, 34, Elk Grove, Glenn Watkins, 40, Elk Grove, Kevin Watkins, 25, Elk Grove, Frederick Davis, 40, Elk Grove, and Paul Yearby Jr., 29, of Fair Oaks, with 11 counts of mail fraud relating to their alleged operation of a mortgage fraud scheme that involved the defendants changing their names to Muslim names in order to obtain new credit and to conceal poor credit histories and other liabilities in their birth names. More...
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10 May ' 04:42
May 10, 2010Chaos in the Casitas
Lawless, south of the border-style speakeasies get a grip on L.A.
All along busy Florence Avenue, between Halldale and South Denker, two blocks from the corner where riots erupted over the Rodney King jury verdict in 1992, the air is pungent with the smell of onions and corn tortillas rising from Vicki’s Tacos, a silver lunch truck. On very late weekend nights, there’s usually a line for her tacos once the nearby clubs, El Tiburon and El Nuevo Reno, close, at 2 a.m.More... -
07 May ' 08:00
May 07, 2010SAN PEDRO FISH COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO FALSIFYING DOCUMENTS RELATED TO HARVEST OF PACIFIC SARDINES
LOS ANGELES – A San Pedro fish canning and packing business has pleaded guilty to federal wildlife trafficking charges for knowingly falsifying landing receipts for Pacific sardines in 2008 and 2009.More...
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