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

• Gabrielle Jane Nestande DUI Death Trial: 10 Reasons Things Don't Look Good for Defense

  published Feb 18, 2013

  After five days of making its case, the prosecution rested today against Gabrielle Jane Nestande, the daughter of a veteran Orange County politician and GOP insider fighting to stay out of a Texas pri... More >>

• [UPDATED with C.M. Results:] Lake Forest and Costa Mesa Held Sobriety Checkpoints Friday Night

  published Feb 18, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post with the checkpoint results released by Costa Mesa cops.ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 15, 3 P.M.: The Orange County Sheriff's Department is conducting a sobriety checkpoin... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Lonnie Loren Kocontes Escaped Feds' Grip for Ex-Wife's Murder But Not OC Authorities'

  published Feb 18, 2013

  The Orange County Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's office sent out press releases and OCDA Chief of Staff Susan Schroeder appeared in front of television news cameras Saturday with the stu... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Dana Rohrabacher Accused of Chewing Out 18-year-old College Student Who Visited His D.C. Office

  published Feb 18, 2013

  A meeting between an 18-year-old Golden West College freshman and Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) reportedly ended in the gazillion-term congressman's Washington, D.C., office wit... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Diane Harkey Seeks State Tax Board Seat as Husband's Company Goes Belly-Up to Stop Suits

  published Feb 18, 2013

  After many starts and stops, the day in court seemed to finally arrive Thursday for 80 investors who felt they had been hornswoggled by the husband of Assemblywoman Diane Harkey (R-Dana Point).But now... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with 70 Victims:] Zachary Joshua Reeder, High School Coach-Teacher, Allegedly Posed as Girl Online to Get Dirty Pics of Boys

  published Feb 18, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post about the suspect making bail as dozens and dozens of additional alleged victims come forward.ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 11, 4:13 P.M.: A 30-year-old teacher at Servite... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Gunshot Likely Killed Him:] Christopher Jordan Dorner was the Man in Burned-Down Cabin: Coroner

  published Feb 15, 2013

  See the update at the bottom of page 2 on the belief that a single gunshot killed the suspect, the San Bernardino County sheriff defending his deputies and the latest on the reward.ORIGINAL POST, FEB.... More >>

• Trestles Wins State Historical Landmark Nod and Now Goes for National Recognition

  published Feb 15, 2013

  Self-proclaimed historical preservationist and Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach blogged last month that he had "a hard time swallowing" a proposal to designate Trestles beach and San Onofre Stat... More >>

• Saul Jose Salazar Gets 16 Years to Life for Murder of Mother's House Guest in Santa Ana

  published Feb 15, 2013

  A Santa Ana man with a history of crime and a restraining taken out by his mother for the violence directed at her received the maximum sentence today for the second degree murder of her house guest,... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Erik Michael Krause, Huntington Beach Cop, Gets a Familiar Sentence for Ticket Fixing

  published Feb 15, 2013

  The other department-issued shoe has dropped as veteran Huntington Beach Police Officer Erik Michael Krause was sentenced today to a year of probation and 30 days in jail that can be set aside if he c... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Sid Landau Suffers Another Setback in Bid to End Sexually Violent Predator Status

  published Feb 15, 2013

  Sexual predator Sid Landau tried for years through the courts to be freed from a state mental institution on grounds he had not committed a crime against children in three decades, but at every turn t... More >>

• Miles Worthy Temby Gets Jail Stay for Booze and Oral Sex with Underage Girl Who Yakked

  published Feb 14, 2013

  Remember the young Irvine man facing a felony count for having oral sex with a drunky 15-year-old girl who barfed on him during the act at an elementary schoolrThe stomach contents emptying encounter ... More >>

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  [UPDATED with Conviction:] Mariano Antonio Castro, 58, Guilty of Ongoing Sex with Girl Impregnated at Age 11

  published Feb 14, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post on a jury finding the defendant guilty Wednesday.ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 6, 8 A.M.: A 58-year-old Santa Ana man faces trial today on accusations he sexually abused a... More >>

• iPadding Test Scores: UCI Medical Students With Special Tablets Do Better Than Others

  published Feb 13, 2013

  First-year medical students at UC Irvine were given special iPads in 2010 that were loaded with enhanced note-taking and recording capabilities, podcasts of topical lectures, and other software to sup... More >>

• Christopher Joseph Polovina, Newport Beach Pro Surfer, Gets Probation for Ex-Wife Threats

  published Feb 13, 2013

  Even with a high-speed Internet connection, I only now heard back from prosecutors in Flemington, New Jersey, about whatever became of Christopher Joseph Polovina, the Newport Beach professional surfe... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Hot Gassing Defended:] Christopher Jordan Dorner War Is Over!

  published Feb 13, 2013

  Click here for new updates on the Chris Dorner case.ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 7, 9:48 A.M.: The word coming out of the Los Angeles Police Department this morning is meant to apply to that storied agency, bu... More >>

• Sergio Camacho Gonzalez Guilty of Killing Fellow Homeless Man with Piece of Wood

  published Feb 13, 2013

  A jury in Santa Ana today convicted a homeless man of killing another homeless man by beating him in the head with a piece of wood.Sergio Camacho Gonzalez, 39, faces up to 26 years to life in state p... More >>

• 5 Funny Tweets from Standup Comics on Christopher Jordan Dorner's Big Bear Stand-off

  published Feb 12, 2013

  Newsies aren't the only ones lighting up the Twittersphere with updates on the gun battle with triple-homicide suspect Christopher Jordan Dorner near Big Bear. Comics across the country are also glued... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  10 Who Have Been or Could be Mistaken for Manhunt Subject Christopher Jordan Dorner

  published Feb 12, 2013

  Thanks to Facebook, fan sites and law-enforcement alerts, it seems as if we have seen every known photo and video of Christopher Jordan Dorner created over the past decade or so.But that hasn't stoppe... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Gabrielle Jane Nestande Trial's Jury Selection Draws Once-Politically Powerful Dad Bruce

  published Feb 12, 2013

  For the first time in 16 months, a powerful former Orange County supervisor watched his daughter in court.But Bruce Nestande was not in the Austin, Texas, courtroom to see his 25-year-old daughter try... More >>

• Maury May Be Able to Say, 'You ARE the Father,' Thanks to Smartphone App Developed at UCI

  published Feb 11, 2013

  Pretty soon, the host of syndicated TV's Maury may be able to whip out his smartphone, look at the screen and proclaim, "You are the father!"And if Maury Povich does do that, he'll have computer scien... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Ira Glass Drops F-Bombs in Long Beach

  published Feb 11, 2013

  Asked about the legacy he will leave, Ira Glass delivered a message Saturday night to future generations of earthlings:"FUCK OFF!"Needless to say, many bluehaired This American Life listeners in the C... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Christopher Jordan Dorner Manhunt: Make the Million-Dollar Reward Check Out to My Dad

  published Feb 11, 2013

  Adios, mofos! Or, more appropriately, aloha, as I'm blowing this Orange County taco stand for Hawaii. That's because my 85-year-old father called a tip into the LAPD's million-dollar, find-Chris-Dorne... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Christopher Jordan Dorner Manhunt: 'Freaking the Fuck Out' While Big Bear's Under Siege

  published Feb 11, 2013

  Longtime Weekly readers recall "Homegirl Arrissia" Owen from her multiple appearances in Commie Girl, serving as the Robin to the Batman of that former column, Rebecca Schoenkopf (now fighting crime a... More >>

• Inadvertent Fox News Same-Sex Wedding Image of the Day

  published Feb 08, 2013

  Over a FoxNews.com story about men and women having to acknowledge they are not equal to enjoy healthy, straight relationships . . . No penis was injured in the making of this picture because there is... More >>