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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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).…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›In California a common charge involving assault is Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Penal Code Section 245); if a person points a gun (or other dangerous weapon) at another person then he can be charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Even if the gun was not loaded and even if the person holding the…
Continue reading ›The LA Times and Orange County Register report that the Orange County crime lab and new DNA database will be reviewed in order to examine if there is a level of bias and to check productivity. John Moorlach a member of the Board of Supervisors commented that “if we’re doing all right they way it…
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