Email Author MATT COKER

Awards

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

  "Douchebag Does Sundance"

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2011 Stories by MATT COKER

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Sports Agent's Reaction:] Leigh Steinberg, Who Inspired Jerry Maguire, Accused of Being a Deadbeat

  published Dec 22, 2011

  UPDATE, DEC. 22, 5 P.M.: One-time super-sports agent Leigh Steinberg of Newport Beach has reacted to the bench warrant imposed on him by an Orange County court commissioner, calling the whole thing th... More >>

• [UPDATED with I.D., Suspect Description:] James MacGillivray, OC Homicide No. 65: Transient Found Stabbed to Death

  published Dec 22, 2011

  UPDATE, DEC. 22, 4:46 P.M.: Placentia Police identified the homeless man found stabbed to death as 53-year-old James MacGillivray, who beat officers knew slept in a camp at the north end of a strip sh... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  President Barack Obama Wins Again! Birthers Orly Taitz and Wiley Drake Lose Appellate Bid

  published Dec 22, 2011

  Barack Obama does not have to go to court to prove to Orange County's Orly Taitz and the Rev. Wiley Drake and seven other Southern Californians that he was natural born and eligible to be president of... More >>

• Matt Barkley Will Stay at USC for Senior Season

  published Dec 22, 2011

  Matt Barkley, the pride of Newport Coast and Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, announced today he will return to USC for his senior season.There had been speculation the quarterback might end his co... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Afghan Marine Similarities:] Soraya Faroqi and Her Unborn Child, OC Homicides Nos. 64 and 67: Boyfriend Ahmad Siddiqi Held in Stabbing Deaths

  published Dec 22, 2011

  UPDATE, DEC. 22, 2:12 P.M.: U.S. Marine Cpl. Ahmad Siddiqi cut a plea deal in an insurgent beating case last year that prevented him from being deported back to his native Afghanistan, where he was s... More >>

• Oytun Ayse Mihalik, Turkish National Living in OC, Accused of Funding Pakistan Terrorists

  published Dec 22, 2011

  Ah, Pakistan, that U.S. . . . ahem . . . ally with the homegrown terrorists trying to blow up American soldiers and citizens abroad. Let's us keep those special friends in mind while checking out this... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Dennis Rodman's Celebrity Rehab: Pouring and Downing Patron Shots on Newport Pen

  published Dec 22, 2011

  Starz Uncut ("Where the fans tell the story") has a question for NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman after a "drunk-infused night" with him at Fuji Yama on the Newport Beach Pen:"What happened to Celebrit... More >>

• Newport Beach Holds Checkpoint Today

  published Dec 22, 2011

  The Newport Beach Police Department conducts a sobriety checkpoint from 4 to 11 p.m. today at Dover Drive and 18th Street.Cops will be hunting for motorists who have no drivers license or have had too... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  8 Reasons October Was 2011's Worst Month

  published Dec 22, 2011

  There was a lot to hate about 2011 as a whole.And, there are still nine days left for December to make a case for changing my mind about which was the worst month in Orange County this year.But, from ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Richard and Jolene Engel, High-Flying Society Couple of the '90s, Hid $180 Million in Income

  published Dec 21, 2011

  In the 1990s, you could not serpentine around a champagne server at a high society soiree in Orange County without bumping into Richard and Jolene Engel. They were everywhere, even landing aboard the ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Mike Morgan, Local Surf Legend, Remembered at Paddle Out for Seal Beach Victims' Families

  published Dec 21, 2011

  A memorial paddle out pushes off at dawn Thursday in Seal Beach to remember Mike Morgan, who grew up in Long Beach, became a nationally ranked surfer and coach, and in the '90s began a new career as ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Sex Clash Motive:] Ricardo Rios, OC Homicide No. 61: Lost Fight at Home

  published Dec 21, 2011

  UPDATE, DEC. 21, 11:30 A.M.: 22-year-old Edgar Salvador Luciozamudio and Ricardo Rios fought over a sexual act the 47-year-old initiated before the older man was murdered, prosecutors say.The disclosu... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Home's Christmas Light Show is Jarring Even for Fountain Valley

  published Dec 21, 2011

  If you suffer from autism, migraines, hyperactivity or epileptic seizures, you should probably avoid a certain Fountain Valley house this holiday season. Installed by Devers Dream Works, the Christmas... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Daniel Amen, Newport Beach Brain Doctor, Says NFL Must Get Its Heads Examined

  published Dec 20, 2011

  Pro football players of the past like Conrad Dobler, Hacksaw Reynolds and Hollywood Henderson were known for being crazy on and off the field. Now, a Newport Beach brain doctor says football players s... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Conviction:] Christian William Carney, Drug Dealer, GUILTY of Murdering Fellow Camp Pendleton Marine

  published Dec 20, 2011

  UPDATED, DEC. 20, 3:51 P.M.: Lance Cpl. Christian William Carney, who besides being a Camp Pendleton Marine was a dealer of cocaine and ecstacy, was convicted today of murdering a fellow Marine who wa... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  State Fines Newport Beach and Yorba Linda Nursing Homes for Deaths from Poor Care

  published Dec 20, 2011

  Newport Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Newport Beach and Emeritus at Yorba Linda received Class "AA" citations, the most severe penalty under state law, for inadequate care that led to a deat... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Irvine and Santa Ana (Yes, That Santa Ana) are Dueling Safest Cities in America

  published Dec 20, 2011

  UPDATE, DEC. 20, 12:39 P.M.: My morning coffee obviously had not kicked in yet when I posted the original version of this item on Irvine and Santa Ana appearing on dueling lists of the safest cities i... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Elf on the Shelf Means You Better Watch Out ... Or He'll Sue!

  published Dec 20, 2011

  Elf on the Shelf, the decoration that spies on children to check if they are naughty or nice for you-know-who, has caught much attention this Christmas season, even thousands of miles away in Taiwan w... More >>

• Jeremy Kealoha Belisario Gets 12 Years in Prison and $2.6 Million in Fines and Restitution for Embezzling from Travel Firms He Managed

  published Dec 19, 2011

  What do you get if you buy stuff for your boyfriend and yourself from high-end retailers like Sony, Gucci, Neiman Marcus, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, and Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as 42 Super B... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Smile for the 10 Ugliest Police Mugshots of 2011

  published Dec 19, 2011

  On several Fridays this year, we've presented the Ugliest Police Mugshot of the Week.But what about the Ugliest Police Mugshots of the YearrGlad you asked.After the jump are the 10 ugliest of the ugli... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Organic Consumers Meet the Occupy Movement

  published Dec 19, 2011

  As the Organic Consumers Association begins organizing for a planned November 2012 California ballot initiative that would require mandatory product labels for genetically engineered foods, the nonpro... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Cupid's Online Memorial:] Cops Shoot and Kill Pit Bull Then Disagree With Owner Over Why

  published Dec 19, 2011

  UPDATE, DEC. 19, 9:05 A.M.: The owner of a Huntington Beach mobile home declined to speak with the Weekly on the record as he pursues legal remedies, but a Facebook page has been set up in memory of h... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Niveen Ismail Seemed Prison-Bound for Plot to Kidnap Son Until Jurors Heard Her on Tape

  published Dec 19, 2011

  Niveen Ismail headed into a Santa Ana courtroom last week facing the possibility of a three-year prison sentence for allegedly asking a private investigator to kidnap her 7-year-old son from his foste... More >>

• Charles Michael Reynolds Gets Life for Murder of Freedom Writers Co-Star Armand Jones

  published Dec 19, 2011

  A Long Beach gang member has been sentenced to life in state prison for his role in the murder of Armand Jones, a rising actor who had just wrapped filming Freedom Writers in March 2006 when he was gu... More >>

• [UPDATED with I.D.:] Il Jae Kim, OC Homicide No. 63: Found Dead in His Apartment

  published Dec 18, 2011

  UPDATE, DEC. 18, 9:49 A.M.: A man found murdered in his apartment in the 200 block of South Western Avenue, near West Del Monte Drive, in Anaheim has been identified as 80-year-old Il Jae Kim. "Offic... More >>