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

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  FEATURED STORY

  Maribel Manriquez Ramos Confirmed to be Dead Body; Roommate Held in Murder: Update

  published May 17, 2013

  See Update No. 2 at the bottom of page 2 on the recovered body being identified as Maribel Ramos' and her roommate being arrested for her murder. Update No. 1 on page 2 was about a woman's body being ... More >>

• Christine Daniel, Who Hawked Phony Cancer Cure on TBN, Gets 14 Years, $1.2 Million Fine

  published May 17, 2013

  An ex-doctor and minister who hawked a miracle cancer cure via a program on the Costa Mesa-based Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison because her "brown... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Leticia and Noel Carrasco, Mother and Son Robber-Murderers, Draw Life Sentences

  published May 17, 2013

  Mother and son tag-teamers Leticia and Noel Carrasco received life sentences today for robbing and murdering a man in a Buena Park motel room after momma picked the fellow up in a Stanton bar with pro... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Babak "Bobby" Azadgilani is a Wanted Man, Suspected of Raping Laguna Beach Woman

  published May 17, 2013

  Have you seen this fellow to the rightrLaguna Beach Police suspect him of raping a woman in her home last month.Officers have tried to arrest Babak "Bobby'' Azadgilani, 26, at his Laguna Niguel home a... More >>

• Sequestration Hits Santa Ana HUD Office with Friday Furlough Days Through End of August

  published May 17, 2013

  Due to the sequestration cuts, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) office in Santa Ana will close next Friday, May 24, and unless funding relief comes it will be closed select Fridays through... More >>

• Safieh Fard, Mortgage Scammer, Gets 5 Years After Guilty Plea, Withdrawal and Conviction

  published May 17, 2013

  A Newport Beach jewelry store owner, who withdrew her guilty plea in a family mortgage scam case just before sentencing only to be found guilty in Santa Ana federal court anyway, has learned her fate.... More >>

• Amali Dissanayake, Former Kaiser Urgent Care Nurse, Sues Over Poor Training and Placement

  published May 16, 2013

  A former Kaiser nurse is complaining in Orange County Superior Court that she was tasked with duties beyond her experience and training, and that when she complained and asked for more training, she w... More >>

• Newport Beach and Huntington Beach React Differently to Fire Pit Pollution Findings

  published May 16, 2013

  Call it "A Tale of Two City Takeaways:" Newport Beach and Huntington Beach's mayors, at opposite ends on whether to remove fire rings along their beaches, heard--and reacted differently to--state data... More >>

• Richard Newton Has More of His Short Films Rolling in Laguna Art Museum Tonight

  published May 16, 2013

  Richard Newton, an artist who would embed himself in various locations to find odd, ordinary images (moving and otherwise) that a wide spectrum of people could relate to, has a collection of his short... More >>

• Jennifer Larsen, Formerly of Hustler and Porn Site Digital Playground, Commits Suicide

  published May 16, 2013

  A former public relations and marketing executive with porn star site Digital Underground took her own life Sunday via a gunshot wound to the head, the Orange County Coroner has confirmed. That means ... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  Lindsay Lohan Won't Have Newport Rehab to Kick Around Much Longer if City Gets Its Way

  published May 16, 2013

  It's a good thing Lindsay Lohan blew off Morningside Recovery for the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage because the Newport Beach rehab may have closed with her in it!Following an Orange County Super... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Dita Von Teese Offers a Piece of Herself: Photos

  published May 16, 2013

  You have a day left to bid on a piece of Dita Von Teese, the burlesque superstar who went by Heather Renee Sweet when she knocked around University High School in Irvine. It's not a smooth, milky whit... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Nicolas Cendoya, Kyndall Jack Again Off the Hook for $160k Trabuco Canyon Rescue Tab

  published May 16, 2013

  See Update No. 2 on page 2 about the Orange County Board of Supervisors deciding behind closed doors not to charge the rescued hikers for the $160,000 in various government costs.See Update No. 1 on t... More >>

• Rare Boards (and an Even Rarer Book) Auction Raises $680k for Surfing Heritage Spot: Update

  published May 15, 2013

  See the update at the end of page 2 on last weekend's Surfing Heritage Vintage Surf Auction raising $680,000 and other event details.ORIGINAL POST, MAY 9, 2 P.M.: The Surfing Heritage & Cultural C... More >>

• German Bravo DeJesus, Healthcare Creeper, Guilty of Fondling Little Girls at Work and Park

  published May 15, 2013

  A 34-year-old Lake Forest man was convicted today of touching the vaginal areas of a 7-year-old visiting a family member at the Laguna Woods healthcare facility the creeper worked at and a 6-year-old ... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  Sign the Petition to Bring Bluth's Original Frozen Banana Stand "Home:" Update

  published May 15, 2013

  Click here to find out where you can sign a Change.org petition to bring Bluth's Original Frozen Banana stand to Newport Beach!ORIGINAL POST, MAY 8, 1:30 P.M.: To promote the 15 new episodes being rel... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Petition Drive Launched to Bring Bluth's Original Frozen Banana Stand to Newport Beach

  published May 15, 2013

  As a guest food blogger brilliantly reported on the Weekly's Stick a Fork In It, NetFlix is promoting new Arrested Development episodes by taking Bluth's Original Frozen Banana stand to London, New Yo... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Could Costa Mesa Teen Turn into Bat Boyr

  published May 15, 2013

  You never know what you'll find tucked in a corner of your garage: a shattered holiday bulb, an unstrung wooden tennis racket, a rabid bat ... A 15-year-old Costa Mesa boy was recently treated for exp... More >>

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  Angel Rojas, School Janitor, Gets 9 mos. in Jail for Hiding Camera in Girls Restroom: Update

  published May 15, 2013

  See Update No. 2 at the end of this post on Angel Rojas Jr. being sentenced to 270 days in jail and the other punishment he received. See Update No. 1 on the next page on the Corona man being convicte... More >>

• Clock is Ticking on $156k Mega Millions Lottery Ticket Bought in Dana Point 3 Months Ago

  published May 13, 2013

  It's out there somewhere.A California state lottery ticket worth $156,712 was purchased at Super Stop Liquor, 34469 Golden Lantern, Dana Point, and has not been claimed three months later.Better check... More >>

• Edward Sellers Fitzgerald, Ex-Dana Point Yacht Broker Accused of Fraud, Busted in Florida

  published May 10, 2013

  A former Dana Point yacht broker was arrested in Florida today on a warrant alleging he stole more than $1.5 million from 26 customers of his yacht brokerage, Dana Island Yacht Sales and Charters.Edwa... More >>

• Charles Patrick Drew, Two-Stiker Sex Offender, Indicted for Brutal Rape and Murder of Woman

  published May 10, 2013

  Ugly mugged sex offender Charles Patrick Drew has been indicted for the special circumstances murder of a 29-year-old woman in the course of raping her in a Stanton motel room in June of last year. Dr... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  UC Irvine Says "Go Back 2 Africa Slave" Note Was Left in Student's Backpack in Lab: Update

  published May 10, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post with an image of the note stating "Go Back 2 Africa Slave" and the university disclosing it was left in the freshman student's backpack in a lab.ORIGINAL POST, M... More >>

• Jeremy Dwayne Martin Gets 50 Years for Killing Father with Gun Dad Wanted Out of the House

  published May 10, 2013

  A man who fatally shot his father because the old man didn't want junior keeping a firearm in his Huntington Beach mobile home was sentenced today to 50 years to life in state prison.When jurors found... More >>

• Christopher Jordan Dorner $1 Million Split Injunction Request Denied by Judge: Update

  published May 10, 2013

  See the updates at the end of this post about one of the eight parties shut out from the $1 million Christopher Dorner reward going to court to stop the distribution of funds today, and a judge in Los... More >>