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Blogs
May 3, 2013
Kevin Michael Sianez, Cop-Turned-Illegal P.I., Cops to Defrauding and Intimidating But What About Getting Women to Screw His Dog?
Former police officer Kevin Michael Sianez pleaded guilty Thursday to 17 felony counts of grand theft by false pretense, 11 felony counts of fraudulently using an access card, two felony counts of identity theft, four felony counts of possession of a firearm by a felon stemming from a 1998 convictio ... More >>
Blogs
February 4, 2013
Adam Harrison Hall, Twice Convicted of DUI and Accused of Blazing on Meds in Fatal Crash, Faces Murder Count; Is That Right?
Trial began last week for a 29-year-old Placentia man facing a murder count for allegedly raging on methamphetamine, Diazepam, Nordiazepam, Alprazolam, Hydroxyalprazolam, Oxazepam, Temazepam, amphetamine, Morphine, and 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahyrocannabinol (THCA) before causing a car crash ... More >>
Blogs
January 14, 2013
Dee Francis and Rosalinda Rodriguez Landon, Administrators in Unity Medical Fraud Scam, Expand Their Rap Sheets with Guilty Pleas
Two ex-administrators are the latest to be convicted in the massive medical insurance billing fraud case involving the since-closed Unity Surgical Outpatient Center of Buena Park. Dee Francis, 63, was sentenced to six years in state prison after pleading guilty the various counts Friday, while his f ... More >>
Blogs
December 21, 2012
4 Get Prison Time (with More Likely to Come) in Massive Unity Medical Billing Fraud Scheme
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 who should have known better Thursday became the latest Unity Surgical Outpatient Center muckity-mu ... More >>
Blogs
December 12, 2012
Charles Anthony Murphy Jr. Found Guilty in Third Re-Trial in Burned Bodies Murder Case
Charles Anthony Murphy Jr. was found guilty today of murdering a father and daughter, trying to murder the man's wife and conspiring to murder the parents in a grisly 2007 case that included the bodies of the dead being set afire in an abandoned van. The Mission Hills 27-year-old could get life in s ... More >>
Blogs
December 6, 2012
Luis Alberto Pineda, Sicko Soccer and Karate Coach, Gets 285 Years to Life for Sex with Kids
When Luis Alberto Pineda was found guilty last month of sodomy, oral sex, sexual penetration and/or attempted sex acts with 10 boys and a girl he met through coaching soccer or teaching martial arts in North County, we noted he could get 255 years in state prison.We undershot. An incensed Orange Co ... More >>
Blogs
November 9, 2012
Vitaliy Krasnoperov Gets Life Without Parole for Role in Burned Bodies Murder Case
Vitaliy Krasnoperov was sentenced today to life in state prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the 2007 murders of an Anaheim Hills man and his daughter and the attempted murder of her mother.The bodies of the deceased were set aflame in an attempt to cover-up the crimes, and H ... More >>
Blogs
August 31, 2012
Jason Ara Erpinar, MySpace Rapist Who Previously Pleaded Guilty, is Convicted Again
When we Gazed our Navel on MySpace rapist Jason Ara Erpinar and his unicorn-follicle horn being tried the first time in August 2011, we received comments from his pals claiming there is no way the Yorba Linda 23-year-old sexually assaulted three woman, that we were out to get him and that his victim ... More >>
Blogs
August 28, 2012
Joseph G. Cavallo, Haidl Gang Rape Lawyer, Wins Personal Corruption Case Dismissal
It wasn't too many years ago when Joseph G. Cavallo was one of Orange County's most well-connected criminal defense lawyers. Cavallo's close, power-hungry pals included Sheriff Mike Carona as well as assistant sheriff George Jaramillo and Don Haidl.But that dream team began to collapse after Cavallo ... More >>
Blogs
August 17, 2012
William Leo McDougall, 83, Convicted of Killing Manh Ban Nguyen, 94, over Vietnamese Singing
From his wheelchair at the defense table, 83-year-old William Leo McDougall of Laguna Woods pleaded guilty to murdering his convalescent home roommate because he believed the 94-year-old man was singing in Vietnamese.As part of a plea deal with the court, McDougall is expected to be sentenced Oct. 2 ... More >>
Blogs
July 31, 2012
Suniti Shah and Supriti Soni Join Mom in Prison After Admitting Roles in $16 mil Scam
Two Newport Beach-area sisters will soon be reunited with their mother--in the state penal system anyway. Suniti Shah, 51, of Newport Coast, and Supriti Soni, 52, of Corona del Mar, pleaded guilty to their roles in a $16 million real estate scam that has already sent their 74-year-old mother, Susham ... More >>
Blogs
July 9, 2012
Kurt Duncan Naegele Sentence in Hearst Castle DUI Crash That Killed a Man Satisfies None
No one was happy when Kurt Duncan Naegele was blamed for causing a 2009 car crash near Hearst Castle that injured him, two others and killed a fourth. And they weren't happy when a mistrial was declared in his vehicular manslaughter trial after the defense said it would present evidence showing a di ... More >>
Blogs
June 28, 2012
Doctor Stands Trial For Overdose Deaths of Three Young Men; One From OC
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Dr. Hsui-Ying "Lisa" Tseng to stand trial for second degree murder in the deaths of three young men, one of whom was Vu Nguyen, 28, from Lake Forest. The decision came after a preliminary hearing that lasted three weeks. The osteopathic medicine doctor alle ... More >>
Blogs
June 6, 2012
Andrew Michael Phalen Gets Year in Jail for Home Loan Modification Scam
Andrew Michael Phalen was sentenced today to a year in jail and five years of formal probation today for his role in a scam that offered home loan modification assistance to struggling mortgage holders across the country. But four of the Mission Viejo 25-year-old's cohorts are looking at much more ... More >>
News
April 19, 2012
Victim Jose Garcia Says His So-Called Attempted Murderer Ramiro Alex Huerta Is Innocent
[Moxley Confidential] Appelllate courts uphold the convictions of the La Habra-based Monos gang member anyway
Blogs
April 17, 2012
Rapist Anaheim Cop Again Blames Intoxication For Guilty Plea, Demands New Trial
Bradley Stewart Wagner, the veteran Anaheim police officer who targeted at least three illegal immigrants near Disneyland for violent sexual assaults while on duty, is nothing if not persistent.This week, Wagner--who managed to stall his criminal case for more than five years--sent his defense lawye ... More >>
Blogs
March 26, 2012
[UPDATED with 2nd Mistrial:] Charles Anthony Murphy Jr. Accused in Grisly Family Murders
UPDATE, MARCH 26, 4:21 P.M.: Charles Anthony Murphy Jr. is now 2-for-2 in murder trials against him ending in mistrial. His first was declared in December, and today Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals declared a second to give the defense more time to examine evidence the prosecut ... More >>
Blogs
March 5, 2012
Mark Moen, OC Weekly's "Marijuana Martyr," Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering
Mark Moen, the former owner and operator of Lake Forest's 215 Agenda medical marijuana dispensary, has pleaded guilty to 73 counts of money laundering, four counts of selling marijuana, two counts of possessing it with the intent to sell, and one count of possessing more than $100,000 in cash fro ... More >>
Blogs
December 16, 2011
Douglas Nissan Part Owner Frank Ignacio Urbano and 2 Desk Managers Get Jail and Probation in Huge Loan Fraud Case
Marwan Abdellatif, a former Douglas Nissan desk manager accused of stealing the identities of unsuspecting customers and defrauding banks in the sale of used cars, remains a fugitive from justice. But his whereabouts being unknown did not stop the Orange dealership's part owner and two other de ... More >>
Blogs
December 6, 2011
Robert Duston Strong and David Michael Knick, Presumed Killers of Sheriff's Sgt. Ira Essoe Jr., Must Be Freed
Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Robison has ruled that the presumed killers of an Orange County sheriff's sergeant must be released immediately. Compelling legal twists led to Robison's ruling for Robert Duston Strong and David Michael Knick, the strongest being the lack of judicial supp ... More >>
Blogs
November 29, 2011
[UPDATED with Scott Evans Dekraai Insanity Plea Predicted:] 6 Women and 2 Men, OC Homicides Nos. 45-52: Massacred at Beauty Salon
UPDATE, NOV. 29, 12:30 P.M.: During today's arraignment hearing, where Scott Evans Dekraai pleaded not guilty to murdering eight people and critically injuring a ninth, Deputy Public Defender Scott Sanders objected to press photographers being in the courtroom, saying this kind of media coverage ... More >>
Blogs
November 28, 2011
Sandra Jessee: Accused Murderous, Pot Smoking Granny Takes Witness Stand
Sandra Jessee: Were those tears real today?Accused of hiring hit men to murder her husband while she shopped at Walmart and Burger King for a fake alibi, Sandra Jessee declined to take the witness stand in her first trial and saw herself and co-defendant, Thomas Aehlert, come within one vote of s ... More >>
Blogs
November 14, 2011
[UPDATED with Conviction:] Prospero Guadarrama: Baby-Faced, Cold-Blooded Killer
UPDATE, NOV. 14, 5:42 P.M.: A jury today agreed Prospero Guadarrama's baby face is attached to a cold-blooded killer.Now 21, he was convicted of joining other Santa Ana street gang members as a 16-year-old in the execution-style murders of a 14- and 15-year-old while leaving a 16-year-old shot in ... More >>
News
November 10, 2011
The Chamberlain Files
The inside story of covering—and becoming part of—the county's most disturbing jailhouse murder case
News
October 27, 2011
Kevin Taylor: The Missing Defendant in the Chamberlain Murder
Five former inmates will likely spend the rest of their lives in prison for the jailhouse killing, while the man who many say instigated it wasn't even charged
Blogs
September 1, 2011
[UPDATED with Judge's Affirmation:] Armando Macias: DEATH!
Courtesy of OCDAArmando MaciasUPDATE, SEPT. 1, 1:26 P.M.: Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseno today affirmed the death sentence for gang member Armando Macias, the triggerman in a bizarre family murder plot in 2002.A jury that convicted Macias in April for his role in the slaying followed up ... More >>
Blogs
August 15, 2011
[UPDATED with Delay:] "Irvine 11" (-1) Case Heads for Trial
UPDATE, AUG. 15, 2:33 P.M.: The "Irvine 11" trial (now with one fewer defendant) was scheduled to begin today in Santa Ana.That didn't happen.Trial has been rescheduled to Aug. 29, which is when jury selection is scheduled to begin.
News
August 11, 2011
The John Chamberlain Murder Trial Begins
[Moxley Confidential] Some defense lawyers claim the deputies made their clients do it
Blogs
August 8, 2011
John Chamberlain Jailhouse Beating Death Trial Opening Statements Due This Morning
ChamberlainOpening statements are expected to begin this morning in the murder trial of five jail inmates accused of beating John Chamberlain to death at Orange's Theo Lacy Facility in 2006 because they believed their fellow inmate was a child molester. Garrett Eugene Aguilar, 28, of Anaheim; S ... More >>
Blogs
July 29, 2011
[UPDATED with Sentence:] Thanh Van Tran Guilty of Murdering Lunar New Year Partier Outside Little Saigon Restaurant
UPDATE, JULY 29, 3:02 P.M.: 29-year-old Thanh Van Tran, who a jury found guilty last month of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a Lunar New Year celebrant leaving a Garden Grove restaurant in 2009, was sentenced today to 40 years to life in state prison.Co-defendant and fellow Garden ... More >>
Blogs
July 21, 2011
[UPDATED with 11 Becoming 10?] "Irvine 11" Case Heads for Trial
UPDATE, JULY 21, 3:25 P.M.: The Irvine 11 may soon become the Irvine 10.If Hakim Nasreddine Kebir completes 40 hours of community service at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa by Sept. 23, the 20-year-old will be removed from the controversial case pending in Orange County Superior Co ... More >>
Blogs
July 11, 2011
Eric Naposki's Murder Prosecutor Slams Defense Lawyer Tactics
OC Register media pool photoNaposki: Thinks the case against him is laughable"He's got the suit. He's got the hair. He's got the watch and the shoes. He's a master in his style . . . [He] sounds great but there's absolutely no substance . . . Maybe that works in New York."That was Matt Murphy, a ... More >>
Blogs
July 1, 2011
[UPDATED with Stiffer Sentence:] Ex-Deputy Allan James Waters Guilty of Causing Crashes While Hopped Up on Pills
UPDATE, JULY 1, 1:18 P.M.: After his first sentencing hearing was postponed because Allan James Waters showed up to court drunk, the former Orange County sheriff's deputy finally learned his fate today: two years and eight months in state prison.The 37-year-old Laguna Niguel resident had bee ... More >>
Blogs
June 30, 2011
[UPDATED with Conviction:] Gustavo Adrian Vega, Repeat Drunken Driver Accused of Murdering Cara Alexandra Lee, Stands Trial
UPDATE, JUNE 30, 4:58 P.M.: A jury today found second-time drunken driver Gustavo Adrian Vega guilty of murder, hit-and-run resulting in death and possession of cocaine for the Valentine's Day 2010 crash in Costa Mesa that killed 20-year-old aspiring model Cara Alexandra Lee.Vega, 23, of Costa M ... More >>
Blogs
June 28, 2011
Kenneth Joseph Lucas II Gets 13 Years for Running International Phishing Scam and Indoor Pot Farm
UPDATE, JUNE 28, 2 P.M.: Sentences totaling 13 years for convictions in two cases have been given to Kenneth Joseph Lucas II, the "kingpin" of an international "phishing" operation that used spam e-mails and bogus websites to collect personal information used to defraud American banks. The 27- ... More >>
Blogs
June 28, 2011
Eric Naposki Murder Trial Gets Brutal and Then A Funny Man Takes The Witness Stand
Angelo MacDonaldYou've probably never heard of Kevin Ross Johnston, but this guy should be a witness in every murder trial.Why?Not because Johnston--a tall, natty, silver-bearded fellow with a quick, hearty laugh--has any known criminal expertise. Well, sure, there are those speeding tickets and ... More >>
Blogs
June 22, 2011
Carla Ann Brennan Accused of Using Stolen Student Loan Funds to Repay Tax Fraud Restitution
The evidence at right would indicate Carla Ann Brennan is a strong contender for Friday's semi-regular Ugly Police Mugshot of the Week feature. Believe it or not, there's an uglier one coming. But Brennan deserves some kind of recognition if the charges against her are true. Most brazen alleged g ... More >>
Blogs
June 21, 2011
[UPDATED with Defense Motion Denied:] "Irvine 11" Case Heads for Trial
UPDATE, JUNE 21, 11:51 A.M.: An Orange County judge last week denied a defense motion claiming 11 college students cannot be prosecuted criminally for disrupting an Israeli ambassador's speech at UC Irvine.Attorneys for the so-called "Irvine 11," who are enrolled at UCI and UC Riverside, argued t ... More >>
Blogs
June 21, 2011
Joel Lee Craft Jr., Seller of Telemarketing Leads, Indicted in $25 Million Indie Movie Investment Scam
David Mamet's independent movie (and play that preceded it) Glengarry Glen Ross is about slick salesmen using underhanded tactics to rope in would-be property investors culled from what is known as "lead lists." The CEO of a San Clemente information company that sells such lists to telemark ... More >>
Blogs
June 21, 2011
[UPDATED with Sentence:] Darryl Raymond Phillips, Ex-Fullerton Official, Gets Jail, Probation, Restitution
UPDATE, JUNE 21, 2:17 P.M.: The city of Fullerton's former risk manager admitted last week to scheming with his cousin and cousin's boyfriend to signing off on phony personal-injury and property-damage claims and cashing out about $28,000 in payouts for his own use.In exchange for guilty pleas, 4 ... More >>
Blogs
June 21, 2011
[UPDATED with Charges Ditched:] OCDA Boasts First-Ever Case Against Parents of Truants
What truant?UPDATE, JUNE 21, 4:02 P.M.: Last month, the Orange County district attorney's office announced the first OCDA case against parents of children who have been chronically truant, despite repeated warnings from schools and police.Yesterday, charges against one of those parents disappear ... More >>
Blogs
June 14, 2011
[UPDATED with No New Boozing Counts:] Ex-Deputy Allan James Waters Guilty of Causing Crashes While Hopped Up on Pills
UPDATE, JUNE 14, 1:18 P.M.: Former Orange County sheriff's deputy Allan James Waters will not face additional counts after authorities suspected him of being drunk at his scheduled sentencing on charges of causing an injury accident while driving under the influence of prescription drugs.Thou ... More >>
Blogs
June 9, 2011
Thanh Van Tran Convicted of Murdering Lunar New Year Partier Outside Little Saigon Restaurant
A man who fatally shot a Lunar New Year celebrator outside D Saigon restaurant in Garden Grove in 2009 was found guilty by a jury today of second-degree murder.The jury also found true the sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death against Thanh Van Tran. The ... More >>
Blogs
June 7, 2011
[UPDATED with New Trial:] Vitaliy Krasnoperov Accused of Murder in Plot with 2 Burned Bodies
Vitaliy KrasnoperovUPDATE, JUNE 7, 11:52 A.M.: 25-year-old Hollywood resident Vitaliy Krasnoperov is accused of conspiring with childhood friend Iftekhar Murtaza via online instant messages to plan and carry out the kidnapping, murder and setting ablaze of the sister and father of Murtaza's ex-gi ... More >>
Blogs
June 2, 2011
[UPDATED with Mistrial:] Mary Katheryn Sharpski, Her Lover and His Butcher Friend Tried for Machete Attack on Her Husband
The wifeUPDATE, JUNE 2, 10:06 A.M.: The murder trial of the wife and lover accused of getting a butcher to kill her husband with a machete--which, ironically, is the name of the new John Grisham novel--has ended in mistrial.After deliberating for two days, the four-man, eight-woman jury informed ... More >>
Blogs
June 1, 2011
Did Appeals Court Read Own Ruling Clearing OCDA and Capistrano Unified Schools' Susan McGill?
In their California 4th Appellate District, Division 3, ruling in McGill v. Superior Court of Orange County, the justices exonerate both Susan McGill and the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA), which brought charges against the Capistrano Unified School District's former assistant su ... More >>
Blogs
May 20, 2011
[UPDATED with Sentence:] Joseph Raymond Garcia Raped and Sodomized Women He Met Online
UPDATE, MAY 20, 2:19 P.M.: A judge today sentenced Joseph Raymond Garcia to 45 years to life in state prison for forcibly sodomizing three women and raping two of them.The 51-year-old Irvine resident met two of the victims online through MillionaireMatch.com.
Blogs
May 19, 2011
[UPDATED with Sentence:] Armando Macias: DEATH!
Courtesy of OCDAArmando MaciasUPDATE, MAY 19, 6:08 P.M.: A jury today recommended that gang member Armando Macias, 35, of Lancaster, receive the death penalty for his role in a bizarre family murder plot in 2002.It was Macias who "executed" 44-year-old David Montemayor, who was fleeing after bri ... More >>
Blogs
May 5, 2011
[UPDATED with Sentences:] Caretaker Norma Ruth Casini, Husband Leno and Daughter Anastasia Darlena Mendezkestler Guilty of Fleecing the Elderly
UPDATE, MAY 5, 6:52 P.M.: Caretaker Norma Ruth Casini pleaded guilty to stealing more than $642,000 from multiple elderly victims, including taking $610,000 from an 85-year-old woman to spend on shopping, travel and a "dog whisperer." The 51-year-old Laguna Niguel resident was sentenced to 13 ... More >>
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