Costa Mesa 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 Rescuers Put in Harm's Way:] Kyndall Jack and Nicholas Cendoya Saved

See Update No. 7 on page 3 about a recently concluded press conference giving a complete overview of the latest events in Trabuco Canyon.See Update Nos. 3-6 on page 2 about the man being found alive, the search resuming for the woman, Kyndall Jack being found and airlifted out and how it all happene ... More >>

Hugo Godinez, Sex Offender Appealing County Pervs-in-Parks Ban, Jailed for Violating Parole

Hugo Godinez, the registered sex offender at the center of an appellate case that, depending on who tells it, freed only him from the restraints of a controversial county ordinance banning perverts from public parks or made that law null and void for all, has been sentenced to 197 days in jail for v ... More >>

[UPDATED with Charges:] Michael Burke McHugh, Recording Engineer, Held After Allegedly Saying He Had Gun at Estancia High

See the update at the end of this post about the charges filed against the man.ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 15, 4:28 P.M.: A man police say had a restraining order preventing him from contact with his daughter demanded that staff at Estancia High School in Costa Mesa turn her over to him this afternoon.Bad m ... More >>

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

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 checkpoint in Lake Forest starting at 6 tonight, while Costa Mesa kicks in with its own two hours later.Neith ... More >>

Meet Orange County's Horrible Mommie Dearest

Social workers and cops in Orange County weren't sure what to make of claims by a five-year-old girl named Diane that she and Tiffany, her two-year-old sister, were beaten by their mother with kitchen utensils.But nine years later in October 2011, there was no confusion about the trouble when t ... More >>

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

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 Orange County District Attorney's office responded it looked forward to, as the judges recommended, ... More >>

Farhad Ebadat, Bellagio Motors Owner, Accused of Embezzling $3 Million from Customers

The owner of a Costa Mesa dealership specializing in Audi Spyder, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Lotus, Maserati, Porsche, Rolls Royce and other high-end luxury cars is accused of embezzling $3 million from those buying and selling vehicles at his business.Farhad Ebadat, the 37-year-old operator ... More >>

[UPDATED with DA, Public Defender Interpretations:] Orange County Pervs-in-Parks Ban Violates State Constitution: Judicial Panel

See Update No. 2 on page 2, where DA Tony Rackauckas maintains the three-judge panel ruling pertains to the Godinez case and not pending or future cases involving the county sex offender ordinance. Public Defender Frank Ospino argues that law is now void.See Update No. 1 with the district attorney's ... More >>

Laguna Niguel and Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoints Tonight, Garden Grove on Saturday Night

Anyone taking that weird Laguna Niguel to Costa Mesa route this evening, with an overnight stop before heading on to Garden Grove Saturday night, will want to take extra care as three law enforcement agencies are running sobriety checkpoints in those towns those nights. Tonight's locations are undis ... More >>

[UPDATED with Charges, Arraignment Details:] Rachel Mae Buffett, Ex-Fiancee of Double-Murder Suspect Daniel Wozniak, Held

See the update at the end of this post with details on Rachel Mae Buffett's arraignment and the case against her.ORIGINAL POST, NOV. 20, 5:06 P.M.: The former fiancee of community actor-turned-suspected double murderer Daniel Patrick Wozniak has been arrested as an accessory to the slayings of 26-ye ... More >>

[UPDATED with Case Dropped:] Jason Richard Buchea, Irvine Valley College Worker, Allegedly Endangered His Baby on Campus

See Update No. 2 at the end of this post about the district attorney declining to file charges.See Update No. 1 clarifying the suspect's job at Irvine Valley College.ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 16: Went to Detroit, and the Irvine Valley College parking lot broke out.Yesterday, it was a report about an alleg ... More >>

South Coast Plaza Sued by Animal Activists

The Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL) contends in a lawsuit that tony South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa violates constitutionally protected free speech.The San Diego nonprofit's suit filed in Orange County Superior Court accuses California's largest mall of violating the First Amendment by re ... More >>

Denis Lyons, ex-OC Roman Catholic Priest, Must Register as Sex Offender For Sex With Second Grade Boy

A onetime prominent priest with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County finally will pay for repeatedly molesting a seven-year-old boy inside a parish rectory and church sacristy in the 1990s.According to prosecutors, Denis Lyons pleaded guilty in March and last week received his punishment: one ... More >>

Brandon Christopher Marriott, Tap Dance Teacher, Guilty of Tapping Teen Student

​The bottom of his feet was not all dance instructor Brandon Christopher Marriott was tapping as the Westminster 21-year-old pleaded guilty Monday to felony sexual penetration and oral copulation of a minor, a 15-year-old tap dance student.In a deal with the court, another count of sexual penetrat ... More >>

Anthony Paul Johnson, "White Boy" in Vietnamese Gang, Gets Life for '95 Murder

Funny, but Anthony Paul Johnson Jr. doesn't look . . . um . . . Westminsterish.Despite our onetime Ugly Police Mugshot of the Week modelist's appearance, he belongs or belonged to a Vietnamese criminal street gang that killed a dude.Today, besides Westminsterer, ugly mugger, gang banger and murderer ... More >>

Costa Mesa Gangster With Forming Kaos Admits Guilt in Mexican Mafia Operation

A massive law enforcement investigation into Forming Kaos (FK), a Costa Mesa-based criminal street gang tied to the Mexican Mafia, has won a guilty plea from Douglas Joseph Jackovich, AKA "Temper" and "DJ," according to federal court records in Orange County.Hoping for leniency when he is sentenced ... More >>

Fernando Sanchez and Jessica Gascon Allegedly Posted Facebook Threats, Conspired to Murder

As if Facebook isn't having enough problems this week, the social networking site is being dragged into a teen murder conspiracy case in Costa Mesa.Fernando Sanchez, 17, of Santa Ana, is facing charges as an adult of posting criminal threats against a Costa Mesa 20-year-old on Facebook before conspi ... More >>

Anthony Paul Johnson Jr., Giang Thuy Nguyen, Tam Hung Nguyen and Truc Ngoc Tran Convicted of Cold-Case Killing of Gang Buddy

Last month, Anthony Paul Johnson Jr. managed to snag one of our coveted Ugly Police Mugshot of the Week honors.Today, he and three of his gang-banging pals were convicted of gunning down a teen colleague in 1995.

[UPDATED with Yorba Linda and Lake Forest Votes:] Hugo Godinez, Sex Offender Busted in County Park, is Ammo for Two More Cities Considering Bans

​UPDATE, NOV. 16, 4:05 P.M.: The Yorba Linda City Council voted unanimously Tuesday for an ordinance on first reading to keep registered sex offenders out of city parks unless they first get permission from the Brea Police Department, which also patrols Yorba Linda.The ordinance would be enacted 3 ... More >>

State Farm Insurance Not Liable For Some Dude's Stolen Pot

​Guess what, stoners? If the cops come and raid your house, find a whole bunch of weed growing on your property and seize all that ganja, don't both trying to file an insurance claim for the missing marijuana. Just ask Costa Mesa resident Greg Barnett, whose house was raided by city cops back in ... More >>

Brandon Christopher Marriott, Tap Dance Instructor, Accused of Tapping 15-Year-Old Student

​Brandon Christopher Marriott was a tap dance instructor at Focus Dance Center in Irvine. But, according to police and prosecutors, he saved his best moves for inside his car. That's where the 21-year-old from Westminster allegedly fingered and orally copulated a 15-year-old dance student he'd "g ... More >>

[UPDATED with Victim's Daughter at Parole Denial:] Omaima Aree Nelson and the Prosecutor Trying to Keep the Model-Cannibal in Prison: Then and Now

​UPDATE, OCT. 5, 5:24 P.M.: From the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) statement on Omaima Nelson's parole denial this afternoon:"The victim's daughter Margaret Nelson was also present at the hearing and told the [parole] Board how her father was taken from her when she was a 15-ye ... More >>

Denise Marie Enriquez Accused of Baiting Former Security Guard Lover So Jose Jeremias Ayala Could Allegedly Shoot Him to Settle Grudge

​Earlier this summer, we blogged about a guy in a hoodie walking near Paularino School firing a gun into a moving car and striking the security guard behind the wheel, something we referred to as the opposite of a Costa Mesa drive-by. Today, police announced the arrests of Jose Jeremias Ayala (sho ... More >>

[UPDATED With Conviction:] First-Ever Racist OC Register Reader Fustercluck Case Goes to Trial Today

Jaime Zamora Ramirez booking photo​ [UPDATE, JULY 21, 3:50 P.M.] Yesterday, a jury of his peers found Jaime Zamora Ramirez guilty of raping two men, including a teenage female employee of his dry cleaning business. According to this morning's press release issued by the Orange County District A ... More >>

[UPDATED with Unusual Defense:] Emily and Father Russell Ford, OC Homicides Nos. 12 and 13: Her Ex-Husband Held

​UPDATED, JULY 15, 12:30 P.M.: 36-year-old Robert Allan Lehmann is due at Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach today for a preliminary hearing tied to the murder counts he faces for allegedly executing his former wife and father-in-law in May.It will be lonely at the defense table as a judge las ... More >>

[UPDATED: Police Chief Hiring Update] Costa Mesa Police Chief Resigns With a Letter, Calling City Council 'Incompetent' and the City's Fiscal Crisis a Lie

Chasen Marshall/OC WeeklyCity CEO Tom Hatch​UPDATE, JUNE 22, 6:15 P.M.: While Costa Mesa residents praised former interim police chief Steve Staveley's decision to write a scathing and accusatory letter on his way to resignation at last night's city council meeting, City CEO Tom Hatch didn't make ... More >>

[UPDATED with Arraignment Details:] Emily and Father Russell Ford, OC Homicides Nos. 12 and 13: Her Ex-Husband Held

DMVEmily Ford​UPDATE, MAY 5, 11:28 A.M.: The Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) just announced that Robert Allan Lehmann will be arraigned today for the murders of his ex-wife Emily Ford and her father Russell Ford. The 36-year-old Costa Mesa resident has been charged with two felony ... More >>

[UPDATED] Robert Ellsworth Shorter Jr., Ex-Guard Accused of String of Burglaries at TBN Headquarters

​A fired security guard is being arraigned in Newport Beach this morning for allegedly stealing from what we assume must be a bejeweled donation box given the Caligula set holding it: The sparkly Trinity Broadcasting Network headquarters across the 405 from South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.Robert E ... More >>

[UPDATED: Suspect Indicted] Robert Sickles, OC Homicide No. 1: Stabbed Outside Hotel New Year's Party in Costa Mesa

Courtesy of the OCDAAdam Randy Baker's booking photo​UPDATE, FEB. 10, 5:36 P.M.: The case regarding a New Year's Eve murder and stabbing at a Costa Mesa hotel took a step forward this afternoon. Adam Randy Baker, 23, of Dana Point has been indicted by the Orange County Grand Jury on ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Robert Sickles, OC Homicide No. 1: Stabbed Outside Hotel New Year's Party in Costa Mesa

Courtesy of OCDAAdam Randy Baker​​Update, Jan. 13, 8:15 a.m.: Adam Randy Baker, who is accused of stabbing a man to death with a knife and hospitalizing another in the early hours of New Year's Day, is out of jail after paying his $1 million bail on Wednesday. After recovering for days in t ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

The Cannabis Candidate

Dispensary owner and Costa Mesa City Council aspirant Sue Lester is ready to 'raise my hand and do what I can for what I think is right'

Samuel Eliezer Herr, OC Homicide No. 22: Shot, Dismembered, Body Parts Spread Around

Courtesy of Costa Mesa Police DepartmentSammy Herr went from murder suspect to murder victim.​Originally believing Samuel Eliezer Herr to be the prime suspect in the murder of 23-year-old Irvine resident Juri Julie Kibuishi in his own apartment (see OC Homicide No. 19), Costa Mesa police detective ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Advocate Chadd McKeen Seeks to Shake Up Costa Mesa City Council

Photo by Keith MayChadd McKeen, the man with the plan.​Chadd McKeen, the Weekly's current cover boy ("Growing Pains at Otherside Farms"), is not only working to change people's perception of medical marijuana providers through his Costa Mesa business that helps patients grow their own. He's also w ... More >>

Hi-Tech Stalker Cop Caught

davidsonscott15​Tracking devices: not just for sci-fi flicks and pricey pooches. Cops who can't get dates hide them in women's cars, too!

Costa Mesa Is On the Verge Of Paying One Cop $23,000 a Month

R. Scott MoxleyThe sky's the limit for police pilot K.C. Gleason.​Calling its proposal a "potential savings," the Airborne Law Enforcement Services (ABLE) is contemplating giving one Orange County police helicopter pilot two taxpayer-funded paychecks totaling more than $23,325 a month for the next ... More >>

Crime Time: F-Bombers, Tiki Takers, Beatles Fans, Creepy Molesters and Tawny Kitaen on the Loose

FACES OF TAWNY Actress, ex-Anaheim Angel wife, car hood buffer, supposedly reformed druggie and all-around hot mess Tawny Kitaen is shown on a February 2004 Weekly sex issue cover (left); in a booking photo from her April 2002 assault on then husband Chuck Finley in Newport Beach (top right); and wr ... More >>

Crime Time: Boozy Mom, Asshole Cop, Thieving Aliens, Fast-Acting Pharmacist and Lotsa Stabbers

It's the Weekly's weekly round-up of local police calls--now with more boozy moms, asshole cops, fast-acting pharmacists, apartments full of thieving aliens and loads of stabbings!Courtesy of Costa Mesa Police DepartmentCraig Anthony McVay, 48, of Garden Grove, was in the midst of three years probat ... More >>

FBI Boasts More Arrests in Largest Gang Case Ever

The FBI announced it made 11 additional arrests this morning tied to a Hawaiian Gardens gang, upping the number of defendants to 24 in the final phase of the nation's largest-ever gang investigation and prosecution that included the participation of Orange County law enforcement agencies and is cred ... More >>

Chicken Babies, Bondage Nights and Severed Monkey Heads

True-life adventures with Richard Johnson, art provocateur

Razin' La Raza

Whether posing as protesters or cutting off speeches, OC police clamp down on immigrant-rights activists

Buckle Up for Terrorism

Multi-agency sweep results in major arrests . . . for not wearing seatbelts

Power Brokered

Ex-county chief gets Costa Mesa nightclub approved

31 Scariest People in OC

The Birds

Why OCs crow problem wont go away

Spew Spew Spew!

RODMAN REELED IN

The Kid Is Innocent

The only question is whether the DA will do anything to free 17-year-old Arthur Carmona

Police On My Back

Costa Mesa cops bomb U.S. Bombs show, Kona Lanes is collateral damage