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

  Ruben "Gorilla" Gonzalez Jr., 20 y.o. Santa Anan, is OC's First Murder Victim of 2013

  published Jan 21, 2013

  A 20-year-old man became Orange County's first confirmed murder victim of 2013.Ruben Gonzalez Jr. was shot to death Saturday night in what Santa Ana Police suspect was a gang-related incident. Police ... More >>

• [UPDATED with Stanton, Villa Park Patrols:] Costa Mesa Hosts DUI Checkpoint Tonight

  published Jan 18, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post about sheriff's department roving patrols tonight.ORIGINAL POST, JAN. 18, 9:22 A.M.: The Costa Mesa Police Department holds a DUI checkpoint from 8 tonight throu... More >>

• Elizabeth Jane Barrett Gets 3 Years Probation After Copping to Aiding WWII Vet's Suicide

  published Jan 18, 2013

  A Laguna Woods woman was sentenced to three years of probation today after pleading guilty to helping an 86-year-old World War II veteran commit suicide in 2011 by serving him yogurt spiked with Oxyco... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Cross Dressing, Sex Shop:] Chad McCluskey and Kristen Laschober, Typical OC Couple, Tied with Priest to Meth Ring: Feds

  published Jan 18, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post about new revelations about the Orange County couple and apparently kinky Connecticut priest.ORIGINAL POST, JAN. 18, 8:08 A.M.: It's not difficult to find San Cl... More >>

• Matthew Ebert, Ex-Irvine Club Soccer Coach, Held for Lewd Conduct with 15 y.o. Girl Player

  published Jan 18, 2013

  A former club soccer coach in Irvine was arrested Thursday on suspicion of felony lewd conduct with one of his 15-year-old girl players, police say. And because 26-year-old Matthew Ebert worked as a v... More >>

• [VIDEO:] Whale and Dolphins Put On Another Visual Feast for Capt. Dave and His Passengers

  published Jan 18, 2013

  Not quite a whale doing the backstroke in your soup, it was still a rare spectacle none the same Monday when a whale and dolphins were seen playing together in front of passengers and crew on a Dana P... More >>

• MacGillivray Freeman Films of Laguna Beach and IMAX Ink Deal to Make 4 Pictures Together

  published Jan 18, 2013

  MacGillivray Freeman Films, the Laguna Beach-based maker of large-format documentaries that lean toward capturing beautiful nature scenes, has reached an agreement with IMAX to jointly finance, market... More >>

• Joshua Alexander Evans, Ex-Teacher, Gets a Year for Hugging, Kissing 14 y.o. Girl Student

  published Jan 17, 2013

  A former English teacher whose booking photo from early last year had him looking like a Die Hard villain pleaded guilty today under a plea deal to inappropriately kissing and hugging a 14-year-old f... More >>

• Robert Citron, Who Went From OC Treasurer's Office to Prison for 1994 Bankruptcy, Dies

  published Jan 17, 2013

  OC Weekly started publishing in September 1995, something I remember because I'd been hired on the editorial side four months before that. It's also my memory that our cover story package dissecting t... More >>

• Scott Spiezio of Legendary Angels Homerun Lore is Coming Back to the Big A

  published Jan 17, 2013

  Remember back in the days the Anaheim Angels of Anaheim were winning the West, taking the pennant and then ending the Fall Classic as World Series championsrYes, how soon we forget 2002.But a hero fro... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Batshit Nuts Birther Queen Orly Taitz Now Batshit Nuttier: Claims There are 2 Barack Obamas and White House One May be Indonesian Spy

  published Jan 17, 2013

  Oh, Orly Taitz, how will we fill this blog once you crawl back under that Eastern Bloc rock you emerged fromr The lawyer/dentist/real estate saleslady of Rancho Santa Margarita (I know, we've also pla... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Something's Out There: Orange County Beach Cities Edition

  published Jan 17, 2013

  Seal Beach was just named by Forbes "the fourth friendliest town in America," which may explain the visitor(s) who caught the eye of a resident last Saturday.It was an unidentified flying object that ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Escort's "Hot Sexy & Ready" ... to Steal an iPad

  published Jan 17, 2013

  Irvine Police are investigating a recent iPad theft where the victim is a man who said he hired an escort through backpage.com and the alleged thief is a woman who was accompanied by two men wielding ... More >>

• Chris Kluwe, NFL Punter Out of Los Al High and Marriage Equality Champion, to be Feted in OC

  published Jan 16, 2013

  Chris Kluwe, the Minnesota Vikings punter, has been honored in Minneapolis-St. Paul and around the country for being a straight champion for marriage equality. But where's the love where the professio... More >>

• Gabriela Osorio Gets 24 Years in Prison for Trying to Kill Woman to Steal Her Newborn

  published Jan 16, 2013

  A 30-year-old Santa Ana woman was sentenced today to 24 years in state prison for stabbing a new mom in 2010 to kidnap her infant child.  Gabriela Osorio pleaded guilty to counts that, had she ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Rainer Klaus Reinscheid, UCI Professor and Grieving Father, Faces More Arson Charges

  published Jan 16, 2013

  The Orange County District Attorney's Office announced today it will file an additional arson charge against Rainer Klaus Reinscheid, the UC Irvine professor accused of setting several fires and writ... More >>

• The Irvine International Film Festival Shows Off Its Good Eye

  published January 17, 2013

  The Irvine-elope, Please: Rambunctious Irvine International Film Festival lineup includes nine Oscar nominees More >>

• Edder Giovani Nieves-Bera, Once Deported Tattoo Artist, Allegedly Plied 14 y.o. Girl with Drugs, Alcohol, Free Tattoo, Creepy Advances

  published Jan 16, 2013

  A tattoo artist who was previously deported after serving time for child annoyance in Murrieta in 2004 was arrested Tuesday at Dana Point Harbor, where he thought he was meeting a 14-year-old girl he'... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with $10 Million Claim Filed:] Binh Van Nguyen Shot Dead by Santa Ana Police

  published Jan 16, 2013

  See Update No. 2 on page 2 with details on the $10 million claim against Santa Ana filed by the wife of the late Binh Van Nguyen.See Update No. 1 after the jump identifying the dead man and detailing ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  OC-based Tea Party: Impeach Obama Over Gun Control Executive Orders ... or Benghazi

  published Jan 16, 2013

  Before President Barack Obama just announced 23 executive orders he will issue and a $500 million package and changes in law he will seek from Congress in the wake of the mass shooting in Connecticut... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with More Serious Charges:] Jorge Diosdado Serafin, Youth Soccer Ref, Allegedly Molested 2 Boys and Forcibly Raped a Third

  published Jan 15, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post with the DA revealing there is a third victim and filing serious charges that could put the defendant away for life with a conviction.ORIGINAL POST, JAN. 14, 3:4... More >>

• Huell Howser Died of Prostate Cancer

  published Jan 15, 2013

  Golden Californian Huell Howser died at his Palm Springs home Jan. 7 of complications from prostate cancer, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Health.So reports TMZ, which claims to hav... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  WhiteHouse.gov Petition Wants Birthers Like Orly Taitz to Pay Up for Frivolous Lawsuits

  published Jan 15, 2013

  The petition-gathering page at WhiteHouse.gov, which aims to create the appearance of open government and we the people and yadda yadda yadda, rolled into news cycles thanks to the Sandy Hook massacre... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Newport Beach Attorney for Lance Armstrong Accuser: 'Confession Brings Day of Vindication'

  published Jan 15, 2013

  Chris Manderson, the Newport Beach attorney who represents Tyler Hamilton, the disgraced cyclist and former Lance Armstrong teammate, believes Armstrong's apparent doping confession to Oprah Winfrey "... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Disney Cast Member is Speed Bump for Anaheim Cop

  published Jan 15, 2013

  How did the Disney cast member cross the roadrPoorly.The unidentified woman was struck by a car driven by an undercover Anaheim police officer last night. Her E-ticket ride happened around 10 p.m., wh... More >>