Anaheim Police Department

Kyndall Jack and Nicholas Cendoya Will Not Be Billed for Trabuco Canyon Search and Rescue

Kyndall Jack and Nicholas Cendoya, the teens who went missing in Trabuco Canyon on Easter Sunday before being found in different spots in the middle of the week, will not be billed for the massive search, which utilized various nonprofit, private and governmental resources (as well as scores of volu ... More >>

[UPDATED with 3rd Arrest:] Andrew Pacheco, 19, Fatally Stabbed as Attackers Yell Gang Name

See Update Nos. 3-4 on page 2 with the charges prosecutors have filed against three men in this case.See Update Nos. 1-2 on the next page identifying the dead man and the two men arrested for his murder.ORIGINAL POST, MARCH 11, 2:10 P.M.: A 19-year-old man was fatally stabbed Saturday night in an at ... More >>

Anaheim PD Paid Extra $5,000 to OC Human Relations Commission for Anaheim Anna Drive Work...at Suggestion of Commission

Nice work if you can get it: in September of last year, OC Human Relations CEO/Executive Director Rusty Kennedy wrote an email to Anaheim Police Department Chief John Welter about invoicing their Police Community Reconciliation Program for the year to the previously agreed-upon amount of $5,000. ... More >>

[UPDATED with Victim Reported a New Mom:] Newport Beach Police Seek Answers in "Suspicious Death" of Prostitute Tina Hoang

See the Update No. 3 at the end of page 2 with a friend and lawyer of the victim reportedly saying she had a baby in January and was trying to leave prostitution behind. See Update No. 2 on page 2 with the victim's multiple prostitution arrests and Update No. 1 on the next page with the victim's I.D ... More >>

[UPDATED with DA Levels Charges:] Christopher Glen Phernambucq, Sex Offender Parolee for Kiddie Porn Shoots, Repeats: Cops

See the update at the end of this post about the charges brought against the defendant.ORIGINAL POST, JAN. 24, 10:36 A.M.: The load to your right, a registered sex offender on parole for making kiddie porn, is accused of contacting two 17-year-old Anaheim boys via Facebook, shooting his latest skeev ... More >>

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

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 female student.Joshua Alexander Evans, 33, of Fullerton, was promptly sentenced to a year in Orange ... More >>

Anaheim Police Chief Accuses Longtime Watchdog Duane Roberts of "Bullshit Lies" in Public Meltdown

The issue of assessing models for a potential police oversight commission was on the agenda during last night's meeting of the Anaheim city council. An impromptu encounter between former council candidate Duane Roberts and Anaheim Police Chief John Welter in the chamber lobby was not. It was there t ... More >>

Juana Perez Valencia Gets 15 Years to Life for Murdering and Dumping Her Newborn

Juana Perez Valencia was sentenced today to 15 years to life in state prison for murdering her infant girl right after giving birth and tossing the corpse into a dumpster. After a first jury could not reach a unanimous verdict in January, a second one last September found the Anaheim 21-year-old gu ... More >>

Protest to be Held Outside OC District Attorney's Office Over OC's Killer Cops

The focus of controversial officer-involved shootings in Anaheim will turn to the Santa Ana office of the Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckus tomorrow morning. Family members who have lost loved ones will hold a demonstration at 9 a.m. asking supporters to join in the effort."We've been ... More >>

Anaheim City Council Candidates Forum Takes Place on Anna Drive

Over the course of two hours, candidates vying for two open seats on the Anaheim city council fielded questions Tuesday evening from residents of Anna Drive, the neighborhood where an officer-involved shooting claimed the life of unarmed 25-year old Manuel Diaz earlier this summer. The killing and t ... More >>

Families Affected by Officer-Involved Shootings Host Community Event in Anaheim

After the police killings and riots in Anaheim this past summer, Theresa Smith wanted one day for the city of Anaheim to get together for a day of peace and healing. After taking her request to the Anaheim City Council for a community event during a public comment session on Aug. 8,  fellow com ... More >>

[UPDATED with 2nd Death, I.D.'s:] Ramon Magana and Edwin Alarrazabal, OC Homicide Nos. 36 and 37: Gang Gunfire Suspected

See the update at the end of this post disclosing the second shooting victim died and identifying the dead men.ORIGINAL POST, SEPT. 27, 10:06 A.M.: Anaheim police officers, responding to a call around 10:45 p.m. Wednesday of multiple shots fired, arrived in the 100 block of North La Reina Circle to ... More >>

Anaheim Council Candidates Gather for First Electoral Forum

Seven of nine candidates vying for two open seats on the Anaheim city council gathered last night for the first--and hopefully not the last--forum in the lead up to the November elections. Hosted by the West Anaheim Neighborhood Development Council (WAND), the event, which took place at the Magnolia ... More >>

Day Laborer Faces Deportation After Anaheim Employer Who Hired Him Filed False Police Report

Jose Ucelo Gonzalez sought an honest day's work and compensation as many do outside the Home Depot on Brookhurst Street and Crescent Avenue in Anaheim back in March. The day laborer was hired by Michael Tebb, an Anaheim employer who used "Nick" as an alias, for a job in Garden Grove that unfortunate ... More >>

[W/ VIDEO] Did Anaheim Police Beat a Restrained Man Who Kept Shouting "I Quit! I Quit"?

A video of an alleged Anaheim Police brutality incident has gone viral, showing police beating a drunk man in an apartment complex. A contributor to BeforeItsNews.com posted the video, claiming the drunk man in the video initially resisted arrest after being restrained successfully, police continued ... More >>

Joshua Rich, Arrested Anaheim Protester, Sued Police for Alleged Beating in 2005

Click here for our Anaheim police shooting archivesOn July 24, Joshua Rich was the first demonstrator arrested outside of Anaheim City Hall during a protest against the police shootings of Manuel Diaz and Joel Acevedo. The 37-year-old Anaheim resident was the demonstrator rumored to h ... More >>

[UPDATED with Michael Joaquin Ablian Found:] Have You Seen This Boy?

See update at the end of this post on the boy being found safe.ORIGINAL POST, AUG. 22, 1:01 A.M.: Have you seen this boy?Michael Joaquin Ablian, 9, has been missing since 7 a.m. Monday, according to a bulletin from the Buena Park Police Department.

[UPDATED w/ Money Donated] Lalo Alcaraz Launches T-Shirt Fundraiser for Families of Anaheim Police Shooting Victims

Click here for our Anaheim police shooting archivesUPDATE, AUG 6 5:05 P.M.: As the funeral for Joel Acevedo took place earlier this morning at St. Boniface Church in Anaheim, La Cucaracha cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz made good on his t-shirt fundraising goal. Reaching over a thousand dollars in one week' ... More >>

A Closer Look at Less-than-Lethal Weapons Fired at Anaheim Residents on Saturday Afternoon

As OC Weekly reported on Saturday night, chaos ensued in Anaheim when police fired military grade less-than-lethal weapons at residents when they gathered demanding answers after an officer-involved shooting occured.  CBS News video shows the attacks and police unleashing a K-9 dog in front of ... More >>

Presente, National Latino Political Advocacy Group, Demands Full State Attorney General Investigation of Anaheim Police Department

The disturbing images of police repression from Saturday's standoff in Anaheim following the police killing of Manuel Diaz have gone viral, making international headlines. After a weekend of fatal officer-involved shootings and days of social unrest in the city, the national Latino political organiz ... More >>

"He's Still Alive!" Videos Emerges of Immediate Aftermath of Anaheim Police Killing of Manuel Diaz

The Weekly has obtained a video recorded in the immediate moments following the Anaheim Police Department shooting to death unarmed Manuel Diaz. The source (who requested anonymity) was on the scene, and audio from the video confirms what eyewitness accounts have confirmed but which police refuse to ... More >>

Nuzzio Begaren Pleads Innocent to Murdering His Prison-Guard Wife Elizabeth Wheat Begaren

Nuzzio Begaren pleaded not guilty at arraignment today after being indicted by the Orange County Grand Jury Thursday for the 1998 murder his prison-guard wife to collect $1 million in life insurance. According to the special circumstances murder indictment, the husband hired gang members to gun do ... More >>

[UPDATED with Stats:] Costa Mesa Sobriety Checkpoint Saturday; Garden Grove Reveals Stop Stats and Plans

UPDATE, APRIL 27, 11:58 A.M.: If you believe sobriety checkpoints cost cities too much for the inconvenience and scant arrests they generate, the Costa Mesa Police Department counters with this: you're wrong.Funded by grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway ... More >>

What We Learned, March 31-April 13

It's another double installment, the last for a while one hopes, of stuff that happened and what we gleaned from it.MARCH 31: It's disclosed that Arthur Palomino, one of the children in Mendez, et al v. Westminster, et al,, Orange County's most famous civil rights case, passed away. What We Learned: ... More >>

Guns and Ammo: Orange County Law Enforcement Agencies Grab More Than $4.2 Million in Surplus Military Equipment

​Thanks to a giveaway program, Orange County law enforcement agencies have received more than $4.2 million in military-grade equipment from the U.S. Department of Defense.From chemical-biological masks, to chapel lecterns, police here have snapped up a booty of armor to help them protect and serve ... More >>

What We Learned, March 24-30

​The week flew by, but we still learned from it.MARCH 24: Octomom Nadya Suleman earns $8,000 posing nude for a British magazine. She is not using the money to save her La Habra house, as that's listed for sale as a foreclosure, but to rent a new pad for her, her 14 kids and the gaggle of gossip re ... More >>

[UPDATED With Campus Cleared, No Injuries] Esperanza High School on Lockdown Over Suspicious Package

[UPDATED, March 29, 5:04 P.M.]  Dennis Smith, superintendent of the Placentia-Yorba Linda School District, has released the following statement:At approximately 1:40 p.m. today Esperanza High School received information regarding a potential bomb threat.  The campus was immediate ... More >>

Oscar Manuel Vaquera Accused of Touching Young Boys' Penises, Videotaping Crimes and Possessing Tons of Little Boy Porn

​An Anaheim man is to be arraigned this morning on charges of sexually assaulting two boys, ages 9 to 11, and possessing graphic child pornography featuring young boys. Held on $1 million bail, Oscar Manuel Vaquera, 37, faces up to 45 years in state prison if he is convicted.

[UPDATED with Suspect I.D., Charges:] Edgar Cervantes, OC Homicide No. 7: Stabbed in Fight

​UPDATE, MARCH 21, 2:17 P.M.: The Orange County District Attorney's (OCDA) office has announced the 17-year-old accused of fatally stabbing Edgar Cervantes, 19, of Riverside, in Anaheim Monday night will be tried as an adult.As such, the OCDA identified him as Ryan Nichols Coale of Anaheim.

Tensions Remain High at Anaheim Police Meeting Over their Killing of Martin Angel Hernandez

​Two weeks after a fatal officer-involved shooting in Anaheim resulted in the death of Martin Angel Hernandez, the surrounding community once again came out in sizable numbers to express frustration. The setting this time was the Ponderosa Elementary School Library where the Anaheim Police Departm ... More >>

Joshua Alexander Evans: English Teacher Allegedly Hugged, Kissed 14 y.o. Girl Student

​On many Fridays, Navel Gazing presents the ugliest police mugshot of the week. Perhaps on Mondays, we should offer up the Die Hard henchman police mugshot of the week. English teacher Joshua Alexander Evans would take this week's honors.Law enforcement is reaching out to the public for other poss ... More >>

2011 Bob Dornan Scary OC Hall of Fame Inductee: Barbara Coe!

​No one except Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Friend of the Taliban) in Orange County history has consistently proven to be scarier over a longer period of time than California Coalition for Immigration Reform head Barbara Coe--and even Dana has had flashes of sanity in his Bedlam brain. Shit, ev ... More >>

SUV Flips, Dog Dies in Anaheim

​A Toyota 4Runner flipping in Anaheim after a police chase this morning was not the worst of it.One responding officer, with his patrol car's lights and sirens on, struck and killed a dog that had wandered into the street.Meanwhile, the unidentified SUV driver was arrested after a short foot pursu ... More >>

[UPDATED with Anaheim Response:] Paul Lawrence Wadley, Retired Police Chief, Left Nude Photos and Exposed His Junk on Park Trails

The Wad​UPDATE, JUNE 24, 10:11 A.M.: I still haven't heard back from the Anaheim City Attorney's office over its prosecution of retired pervy police chief Paul Lawrence Wadley. Perhaps given my history with the case (see the 150 updates that precede this one), they assume I'll blame them for the ... More >>

U2 Traffic Advisory Care of the Anaheim PD

​Tomorrow and on Saturday, U2's sold-out 360 tour is stopping at the Angel Stadium of Anaheim, anticipated over 50,000 people each night. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and the shows will start promptly at 7 p.m. Food, beverage, and bathrooms will be available starting at 8 a.m. (no early arrivals). ... More >>

[UPDATED with Formal Charges:] Juan Martinez, OC Homicide No. 25: Stabbed After School

​UPDATE, JUNE 15, 4:59 P.M.: 18-year-old Bryan "Moto" Ocampo of Anaheim could be sentenced to 26 years to life in state prison if he is convicted of the stabbing-murder of a seventh grader.Currently jailed on $1 million bail, Ocampo was charged today with one felony count of murder with a sentenc ... More >>

Ducks And Angels Two-Fer Tonight: Anaheim Cops Issue Warning

​Unless you live in Anaheim or happen to have tickets to either Ducks-Predators or the Angels-Red Sox games in Anaheim tonight, you might want to avoid the city like the plague. In anticipation of major traffic snarls around both Anaheim Stadium and Honda Center, the Anaheim Police issued a media ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Cops Want What's in Your Medicine Cabinet

​UPDATE: We missed probably the biggest collection point of all (updates throughout) . . . Local police want what's in your medicine cabinet today.No, government budget cuts have not been so deep that the forced confiscation of citizen medications has replaced cops' prescription drug plans. This i ... More >>

Places to Avoid For Tomorrow's All-Star Game Traffic Nightmare

​The Disneyland Resort is supposed to be the "Happiest Place on Earth," right? Too bad the name doesn't really take into consideration the thousands of motorists trapped in the hellish traffic jams along Harbor Boulevard or the 5 Freeway that surround the park--nobody sings "Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah" on t ... More >>

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs: Cortina's vs. Niberino's

Flickr user maggiejane​The meatball sandwich: a great American invention born of great Italian ingredients. Big, thick, juicy meatballs bathed in rich tomato sauce, piled into a crusty roll and topped with "moozadell" or provolone cheese, then slid into an oven to crisp and melt.

Unattended Bag Discovered in Tomorrowland, Disneyland Evacuating Guests

Flickr user jimw​We just received word via Twitter that an unattended backpack has been found in Tomorrowland. Disneyland has cleared the area and is currently working with the Anaheim Police Department. We've yet to hear back from Disneyland's Media Relations for an official quote. Stay tuned!If ... More >>

Which OC Sheriff's Candidate Has The Best Campaign Website?

​In just 133 days, Orange County residents will have their first opportunity to vote for sheriff after the FBI and IRS arrest and corruption conviction of Sheriff Mike Carona. There are three candidates at this point: Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, a former Los Angeles County Sheriff's official who was ... More >>

Authorities Trumpet Largest Orange County Curfew Sweep

​About 300 officers from 20 law enforcement agencies made sweeps through various Orange County communities last night and early today and swooped up 67 kids in violation of city curfew laws, the District Attorney's office announced. Curfews begin at 10 or 11 p.m., depending o ... More >>

Did the Moon Rise for Last Time at Annual Mugs Away Event?

Photo by Christopher VictorioIt's mighty uncrowded along the fence as folks bare their asses for passing trains Saturday.After getting the greenlight from the Laguna Niguel City Council, the Orange County Sheriff's Department beefed up its presence before Saturday's annual mooning of passing trains ... More >>

Anaheim

Letters

Diary of a Mad County

Cop Magnet

Forget doughnut breaks. Cops prefer looking for drunks around Downtown Disneys House of Blues

Whistleblower Blues

Anaheim gang-unit cop still awaits justice

Subcomandante Martin

Anaheim high school prez Harald Martin wants Mexico to paybut he cant add