Email Author MATT COKER

Awards

• 2011 - Southern California Journalism Awards/LA Press Club, published February 4, 2010

  "Douchebag Does Sundance"

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2013 Stories by MATT COKER

• John Paul Beckman, Third Striker Who Shivved an Inmate, Stirred Up Prison Riot, Wins Release

  published Jun 18, 2013

  Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald today re-sentenced and released career criminal John Paul Beckman over the objections of the district attorney's office.The hearing was prompted by... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  James Michael Camp Goes to Prison for the Disneyland Bomb Threats, Stays for the Rapes

  published Jun 18, 2013

  James Michael Camp, who was serving a five-year federal sentence in an Arizona prison for issuing bomb threats to Disneyland when he was extradited to Orange County in April to answer to allegations i... More >>

• Who Saw This Comingr Man Shot at by Police Manhunters for Christopher Dorner Sues

  published Jun 18, 2013

  The last time we checked in with David Perdue, he was holding one of the bullets a Torrance police officer fired at him in those tense SoCal days in early February when rogue ex-LAPD cop Christopher J... More >>

• Dana Rohrabacher Mad Dogs John Boehner Then Really Goes Off on "Weasel" Marco Rubio

  published Jun 18, 2013

  John Boehner should be removed as Speaker of the House if he forwards to members the "Gang of Eight" immigration bill being debated in the Senate, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-The Moon) reportedly ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Tim Tebow Could Be an Angel

  published Jun 18, 2013

  Tim Tebow could be playing for the Anaheim Angels of Anaheim right now instead of possibly holding a clipboard for Tom Brady on the New England Patriots' sidelines (if the controversial lefty quarterb... More >>

• Orange County Film Society Opens Summer Run with Terence Stamp in Unfinished Song

  published Jun 18, 2013

  The Orange County Film Society kicks off its summer programming Wednesday evening with Unfinished Song, which veteran actor Terence Stamp has called "probably the best experience of my career." Other ... More >>

• John Rand Agosta Guilty of Murdering Wife Alejandra Hernandez on Quiet Irvine Street

  published Jun 17, 2013

  An Anaheim man was found guilty today of following his estranged wife as she took a lunch break from her job at an Irvine preschool and shooting her to death in a quiet residential cul de sac in the T... More >>

• Capistrano School Board Shitcans World History Textbook for Leaning Too Far to the Left

  published Jun 17, 2013

  Reversing a district panel that had narrowly recommended the sixth edition of World Civilizations: The Global Experience for use in AP world history classes, the Capistrano Unified School District Boa... More >>

• Dennis Scott Durbin Guilty of Rubbing Lady Patient Wrong Way in His Chiropractor Office

  published Jun 17, 2013

  Dennis Scott Durbin's guilty plea to sexually assaulting a female patient in his Irvine chiropractor's office sends him to jail for a year, subjects him to three years of probation and forces the surr... More >>

• Truc Ngoc Tran is the Latest to Get Life with No Parole for Fellow Gang Member's 1995 Murder

  published Jun 17, 2013

  Another sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole has been handed down in the 1995 murder of an 18-year-old man in Costa Mesa that four fellow gang members have been convicted of ca... More >>

• Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Injures Head in Single-Car Crash While on Patrol

  published Jun 17, 2013

  It remains a mystery at this hour why an Orange County sheriff's deputy on routine patrol drove his cruiser into a light pole along Marguerite Parkway near Vista Del Lago in Mission Viejo around 3 thi... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Juan Humberto Avila Gets 363 Years to Life for Rape of 16-Year-Old Girl and Past Violence

  published Jun 17, 2013

  Juan Humberto Avila is going to have a long time to consider his wayward ways in state prison: 363 years to life.Orange County Superior Court Judge W. Michael Hayes handed down that lengthy sentence f... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Joseph Thomas Brewer Jr., 54, Fatally Shot by Orange Officer in Quiet Neighborhood: Update

  published Jun 15, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post identifying the dead man as Joseph Thomas Brewer Jr., 54.ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 13, 7:23 A.M.: The source of gunfire in a quiet, relatively crime-free residential n... More >>

• Man Stabbed at UC Irvine Campus Party; Police Seek Knifeman, Who is Not a UCI Student

  published Jun 14, 2013

  A man who is not enrolled at UC Irvine stabbed another man during a fight at a party on campus early today, according to UCI officials.The victim's wounds are not considered life-threatening, and UCI ... More >>

• Michelle Lynn Johnson, Brea Olinda High Math Teacher, Accused of Sex with Male Student

  published Jun 14, 2013

  A letter to parents from the district superintendent today--followed by police confirmation--indicates that Brea Olinda High School's 2009 teacher of the year was arrested Wednesday evening for allege... More >>

• Christian Isaiah Barnes, Disneyland Cast Member Held in Dry-Ice Blasts, Ordered Freed

  published Jun 14, 2013

  Over the objections of the prosecutor, a judge in Fullerton ordered the release of a worker who'd been held in connection with two dry-ice bomb explosions at Disneyland last month.Christian Isaiah Bar... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Simon Buckles, 27, Identified as Gunman Fatally Shot by Fullerton Police Officer: Update

  published Jun 14, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post with police identifying the dead man as Simon Buckles, 27, of Anaheim, and details culled from social media and the fellow's brother.ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 13, 11:4... More >>

• James Allen Dorscht Church Burglary Case in Limbo; Daniel Ruben Cortes is Guilty: Update

  published Jun 14, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post about prosecutors declining to proceed in the church-burglary case against James Allen Dorscht and detectives trying to resurrect it, as well as Daniel Ruben Cor... More >>

• Tuan Thanh Tran, Ex-Lawyer Who Settled Crash Claims and Pocketed Payouts, Gets Year in Jail

  published Jun 14, 2013

  A disbarred Irvine attorney, who was looking at up to 15 years in prison for defrauding clients who'd hired him for traffic crash-related civil litigation, got a year in jail and five years probation ... More >>

• Jason Leffler's Fatal Crash at Southern New Jersey Speedway Sparks Investigation

  published Jun 14, 2013

  New Jersey State Police say an investigation has been launched into the Bridgeport Speedway dirt track crash that killed NASCAR driver Jason Leffler of Long Beach Wednesday night.Leffler was in second... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Mark Wesley Anderson, Who Forced Woman to Turn Tricks, is OC's First Prop. 35 Convictee

  published Jun 14, 2013

  Orange County prosecutors have notched their first human-trafficking conviction under California's Proposition 35, the initiative voters overwhelmingly supported last November to increase the penalty ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Robert Ruben Ornelas, Former Santa Ana Teacher Accused of Molesting Girl Relative, Was Outed by Brother: Update

  published Jun 14, 2013

  See Update No. 3 at the bottom of Page 2 on Ross Ornelas, the brother of the suspect, identifying himself as the one who turned Robert Ornelas in to authorities. Update No. 2 on page 2 has more detail... More >>

• Border Patrol Plucks 24 Off Panga in Laguna

  published Jun 13, 2013

  Panga, not to be confused with the Hasbro game Jenga, is a boat used to ferry undocumented immigrants from south of the border into the U.S. illegally. But the crafts are being used in a game of sorts... More >>

• Edwin Alan Wikstrom, Katella High Baseball Coach, Faces Nearly 4 Years for Sexting Teens

  published Jun 13, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post about the charges prosecutors have leveled against Wikstrom and the punishment the veteran local baseball coach faces with a conviction.ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 13, 9... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Mayors of Newport Beach and Santa Ana Devise Plan to Keep Some Fire Pits in Newps: Update

  published Jun 13, 2013

  See Update No. 2 on page 2 about a proposal from the mayors of Santa Ana and Newport Beach to reduce the number of fire rings in the beach city and convert some remaining into cleaner-burning pits. Up... More >>