Email Author MATT COKER

Awards

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

  "Douchebag Does Sundance"

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2012 Stories by MATT COKER

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  COVER STORY

  Navel Gazing's Project Un-uncensored

  published December 27, 2012

  Keeping up with this crazy county of ours through the dead-tree issue is fine in a sopping-up-chin-latte-at-the-coffeehouse kind of way, but... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Both Sides Ready to Debate Orange County's Pervs-in-Parks Ban Before Appeals Court

  published Dec 21, 2012

  When a panel of three Superior Court judges last month nullified the County of Orange's ordinance that bans registered sex offenders from county parks and recreational areas where children gather, the... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Disney Nixing Future Gigs:] Suzy Favor Hamilton: 3-Time Olympic Runner, Disneyland Marathoner and "Full GFE" Escort

  published Dec 21, 2012

  See the update at the end of this post on Disney canceling a 2013 Suzy Favor Hamilton appearance in Anaheim.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 20, 1:08 P.M.: Suzy Favor Hamilton, a three-time U.S. Olympic runner who... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Karen Elaine Hanover, Already Convicted for Posing as FBI Agent, Indicted for Mail Fraud

  published Dec 21, 2012

  Remember Karen Elaine Hanover, the Seal Beach real estate saleslady who was looking at 40 years in prison but was sentenced to six months in jail for using "spoofing" technology to impersonate an FBI ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  4 Get Prison Time (with More Likely to Come) in Massive Unity Medical Billing Fraud Scheme

  published Dec 21, 2012

  An attorney, an accountant, and two medical center administrators walk into a bar . . . oops, that should be behind bars--for their roles in the nation's largest medical fraud prosecution. Four people... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Schools' Rejection:] Derek Reeve, San Juan Capistrano Council's Goofball Pro Tem, Calls for Arming Teachers

  published Dec 20, 2012

  See the update at the end of this post where school officials reject the idea of arming teachers.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 20, 2:36 P.M.: As you may have noticed since the tragic shootings in Newtown, Conne... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Jail Release:] Peter Gregory Chadwick, Millionaire Accused of Murdering Wife, Has Charges Reduced

  published Dec 20, 2012

  See the update at the end of this post about Peter Gregory Chadwick being released from custody.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 19, 11:15 A.M.: The spousal murder charges against Peter Gregory Chadwick, the U.K.-... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Who are Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson Gonna Callr

  published Dec 20, 2012

  The Royer Mansion in Orange, Fairhaven Cemetery in Santa Ana and John Wayne's old tub the Wild Goose in Newport Harbor have company when it comes to being well-known haunted places in Orange County.It... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Pedro Castillo-Sanchez Touches Boy's Penis, Jerks Off in Front of Him ... and Gets 3 Years

  published Dec 20, 2012

  We told you in March that a condom tossed out a car parked in the Northgate Market lot on West McFadden Avenue near Bristol Street in Santa Ana led to the arrest of a man for touching an 8-year-old b... More >>

• Laguna Beach Film Society Presents Movie Chris Colfer Wrote and Stars in, Struck By Lightning

  published Dec 20, 2012

  I believe it was an old screenwriting teacher who concluded Sunset Boulevard was the first film narrated by (spoiler alert) a dead character.Glee's Chris Colfer gets the honors in Struck by Lightining... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Tustin Schools, Garden Grove Police are Latest to Reassure Parents After Newtown Shootings

  published Dec 20, 2012

  The school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, continue to prompt police and school district officials in Orange County to assure parents everything is being done to keep their children safe.The Garden... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  18,400 Rodents and 600 Reptiles Put Down After Activists Force Inspection of OC Exotic Pet Company's Filthy Breeding Facility

  published Dec 19, 2012

  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is boasting about the role of animal activists in uncovering cruel conditions at a Rancho Santa Margarita exotic pet company's Lake Elsinore breeding... More >>

• Kirk Robert Lotzgesell, Ex-Cop Who Stole $60k from Cop Charity, Cops to Being a Stinkin' Thief

  published Dec 19, 2012

  A former La Habra police officer, who misrepresented himself as an active duty cop on medical leave when he was given a volunteer treasurer position with a nonprofit police football charity he woul... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Loretta Sanchez Cites Los Alamitos Serval Cats Incident in Push for Wildlife Ownership Ban

  published Dec 19, 2012

  In light of three serval cats, who resemble small cheetahs, escaping from a Los Alamitos apartment recently, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) today renewed her call for a federal law pr... More >>

• [UPDATED with Charges:] Baylor Eldric Maggenti Held After Material to Make IED Bombs, Cache of 34 Guns Found

  published Dec 19, 2012

  See the update at the end of this post with the charges and possible sentence facing the suspect.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 18, 5:21 P.M.: A 66-year-old man who was apparently living in a commercial business... More >>

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  [UPDATED with Second Reading Approval:] Lake Forest Scraps Pervs-in-Parks Ban

  published Dec 19, 2012

  See the update at the end of this post about the council vote on second reading. ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 5, 9:39 A.M.: The Lake Forest City Council voted Tuesday night to repeal its ban on registered sex ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Mayra Gonzalez Gets a Year for Having Sex and a Baby with Daughter's 16-year-old Boyfriend

  published Dec 19, 2012

  A Santa Ana mom who blew, bedded and bore the child of her daughter's then-16-year-old boyfriend pleaded guilty Monday to felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and oral copulation with a person... More >>

• Dr. Kenneth Thaler Gets Year in Prison and $11 mil Fine for Tustin Hospital's Skid Row Scheme

  published Dec 18, 2012

  Dr. Kenneth Thaler, a 61-year-old physician who admitted homeless patients to the Tustin Hospital and Medical Center after they had been driven from "Skid Row" in downtown Los Angeles as part of a M... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Marcos Sarinana Gurrola, Alleged Fashion Island Shooter, Faces Up to 115 Years in Prison

  published Dec 18, 2012

  The Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) just announced that 42-year-old Marcos Sarinana Gurrola of Garden Grove faces 66 felony counts and, if convicted, up to 115 years in state prison fo... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  VIDEO: Wake for It ... Wake for It ... Now Catch Hardcore Surfers Hang Fin

  published Dec 18, 2012

  Summer is the season most of us associate with surfing because when we stick our toes in the water any other time the water is too dang cold.But hardcore surfers kill the waves any time of year, as wi... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Newport-Mesa Meeting:] Irvine Holds Town Hall on School Shootings

  published Dec 18, 2012

  See the update at the end of this post on a Newport-Mesa Unified School District special meeting this afternoon.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 18, 6:08 A.M.: In the wake of the mass shootings in Newton, Connecti... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  David Edmonds Gets Fine, Prison and Home Confinement for Bribing Greek Officials

  published Dec 18, 2012

  A federal judge in Santa Ana on Monday sentenced a businessman to four months in prison and four months of home confinement for bribing officials in Greece.David Edmonds, 60, was also ordered to pa... More >>

• Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon of "Showtime" Lakers Brighten Christmas for Homeless Kids

  published Dec 18, 2012

  Showtime-era Lakers starts Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon are scheduled to come to Buena Park tonight to help give Christmas gifts to homeless children. But, given the state of the Los Angeles Lakers th... More >>

• John Taylor, San Juan Capistrano Mayor, Attacked by Two Strangers on the Street

  published Dec 17, 2012

  San Juan Capistrano Mayor John Taylor was assaulted as he was walking to his home in the historic Los Rios area after a Christmas party Saturday night, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Deparme... More >>

• Ignacio Leon Jr. Hospitalized After Taking Two Santa Ana Police Rounds to the Chest

  published Dec 17, 2012

  Santa Ana Police say a fleeing Ignacio Leon Jr. reached for the waistband of his pants before officers fired two shots into his chest early Sunday.Curious, then, that the 27-year-old, who was later li... More >>