Garden Grove Police

Police Hunt for a Vampire (Tattoo): craigslist Men-Seeking-Men Ad Leads to Robbery

A guy places a craigslist personal ad for another guy on Tuesday. The ad placer quickly receives a response for a fellow who sends photos of himself. A meeting is set up at 11:30 a.m. that same day in the ad placer's home in the 13000 Block of Blue Spruce Avenue in Garden Grove.And that's when thing ... More >>

Norris Phuoc Nguyen, Obsessed with Sandy Hook and OC Schoolchildren, Back in Custody

Police spent 24 tense hours searching for a mental health patient obsessed with the Sandy Hook slayings and harming students of a particular teacher at a Garden Grove elementary school.But Norris Phuoc Nguyen, 23, voluntarily returned Saturday to Royale Health Care Center in Santa Ana.

Jose Fuentes Guilty of Murder in Beating Death of Much Older Gay Lover with Decorative Rock

A 23-year-old Santa Ana man was convicted today of murdering a male lover who was more than twice his age by beating him with a ceramic rock.Jose Fuentes now faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison without parole at a scheduled Friday hearing.

Trinh Nguyen Allegedly Tries to Kill Girlfriend with Hunting Knife at Vietnamese Center

A man visiting his girlfriend at a Little Saigon community center this morning got into an argument with her, whipped out a six-inch hunting knife and stabbed her twice in the abdomen, resulting in the 37-year-old having to undergo surgery at a local hospital that lists her in stable condition, acco ... More >>

[UPDATED with Victims and Property Reunited:] Julio Cesar Pachas Allegedly Had Sex with Minor, Porn of Her and Tons of Stuff Stolen from Cars Now on View (No, Not the Porn)

See the update at the end of this post detailing how many theft victims were reunited with their property at today's police viewing and how you can check if your stolen stuff remains.ORIGINAL POST, JAN. 9, 12:30 P.M.: Julio Cesar Pachas is "one of the most prolific vehicle burglars the Garden Grove ... More >>

Tustin Schools, Garden Grove Police are Latest to Reassure Parents After Newtown Shootings

The school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, continue to prompt police and school district officials in Orange County to assure parents everything is being done to keep their children safe.The Garden Grove Police Department has summed up its response in a letter to the community, while a Tustin Uni ... More >>

[UPDATED with Delay:] John Joseph Burke, Who Beat Roommates with Baseball Bat, Seeks Parole Today

See the update at the end of this post on today's hearing being delayed.ORIGINAL POST, AUG. 29, 7:05 A.M.: With temperatures in the triple-digits, Blythe is not the place anyone wants to be right now. But Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Paul Chrisopoulos is scheduled to make the trip t ... More >>

Garden Grove Crime Spree ... ala Breaking Bad?

Far be it for you to suggest we're watching waaay too much Breaking Bad, but a string of recent residential burglaries in Garden Grove has us thinking about the last two episodes of AMC's methtacular drama.Caught-up viewers can probably guess why only certain OC homes are being targeted. For the un- ... More >>

15-Year-Old Girl Has Quite a Scare After Getting Electrocuted in Backyard Pool

There was a freaky incident in Garden Grove this past weekend when two sisters, ages 15 and 23, were electrocuted in a backyard swimming pool for reasons so far unknown.After being pulled out of the pool in the 11400 block of Rainer Court, the unresponsive teen underwent life-saving efforts from her ... More >>

[UPDATED with Charges Clarified:] Grisel Maria Ramirez Held in Newborn-napping Try

See updates Nos. 4 and 5 at the end of this post on the charges and prison time Grisel Maria Ramirez faces, as well as allegations she shopped for a baby in "multiple hospital rooms."Also see updates: No. 3 on 9-1-1 audio and another hospital possibly targeted; No. 2 with photo evidence and the susp ... More >>

[UPDATED With Plea Deal:] Khuong Anh Nguyen Abused Momma Rabbit, Her 6 Dead Newborns and 5 Bulldogs

UPDATE, MAY 30, 9:21 A.M.: 35-year-old Khuong Anh Nguyen was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years informal probation after pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor animal cruelty charge. For keeping filthy and unsafe living conditions for five bulldogs and a rabbit in his Garden Grove backya ... More >>

Corrina Atuatasi Gets Year in Jail for Causing Baby Son's Halloween Suffocation Death

Over the objections of prosecutors, a mother who went on a drinking binge that ended with the suffocation death of her unattended 2-month-old baby was sentenced today at Westminster Justice Center to a year in jail. Senior Deputy District Attorney Susan Price argued that the seriousness 27-year-old ... More >>

Arturo Tapia Salazar Guilty of Beating, Choking Out Baby Momma Who Sought Child Support

A 44-year-old who beat and strangled his former girlfriend after she asked for money to care for their 8-year-old daughter was convicted last week.Arturo Tapia Salazar pleaded guilty Thursday to second degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison.

[UPDATED with 2nd Arrest:] People are Sought (and Found) in Violent Circle K Beer Robbery

​UPDATE, JAN. 10, 4:03 P.M.: A 17-year-old boy was arrested this morning for allegedly being the second robber who participated in a violent beer theft from a Circle K market in Garden Grove last week. Like the 16-year-old suspect who turned himself in Monday, the second arrestee is not being ide ... More >>

[UPDATED with Driver Turning Herself In:] Gregory Martin Hit by One Car and Dragged by Another

​UPDATE, DEC. 30, 10:53 A.M.: Garden Grove Police say Guadalupe Quinonez turned herself in as the hit-and-run driver who struck Gregory Martin before the 54-year-old was dragged 750 feet by a second car Wednesday evening.Quinonez, 29, of Santa Ana, was booked into Orange County Jail on charges of ... More >>

17 of 19 Defendants Pleaded Guilty in Little Saigon Gaming Machine Case

​Seventeen of the 19 people swept up in last spring's crackdown on illegal gambling machines in Little Saigon have reportedly pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.Charges were dismissed against an 18th arrestee, California Café manager Anh Viet Quach, 34, of Westminster, while Cafe Miss Cutie owner Ha ... More >>

[UPDATED with Arrest:] Tyler Sanchez, OC Homicide No. 37: He and Pal Shot Walking in Garden Grove

Sanchez​UPDATE, AUG. 16, 4:02 P.M.: A gang member on parole for weapons charges was arrested Monday afternoon for the murder of Tyler Sanchez and attempted murder of Mauricio Marin, according to Garden Grove Police.Ivan Castellanos, 21, of Orange, was arrested around 2 p.m. after being pulled over ... More >>

Phat Huy To, the Garlic & Onion Donut Rapist, Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison

​On Friday afternoon, Phat Huy To was read his 8-year prison sentence for forcibly raping and sodomizing a 23-year-old woman in Garden Grove in July 2010. To had plead guilty and was charged with one felony count each for forcible rape, sodomy by force, forcible oral copulation, and kidnapping, ac ... More >>

[UPDATED] Orange County Cops' Sunday Afternoon? Killed a Couple of Dudes

​Update, Jan. 18, 12:31 p.m.: Garden Grove Police announced the identity of the armed-robbery suspect shot to death after a brief chase Sunday.He was Wilfredo Ayala, 19, of Santa Ana. According to police reports, "Ayala had previous arrests for possession of H&S 11359 possession of marijuana f ... More >>

Is There a Boy Scout Badge for Nabbing Trailer Thieves?

​Jeez, no one is safe from the sticky-fingered these days, not even Garden Grove Boy Scout Troop 75.The troop's 2005, dark-blue, enclosed 15-foot trailer, which was secured in the First Presbyterian Church parking lot with a cable through the tandem wheels and axle, has been stolen, as has the $5, ... More >>

Maria Cristina Ramirez-Diaz, OC Homicide No. 51: Allegedly Killed by Baby Daddy

Courtesy of GGPDArturo Salazar​UPDATE: Orange County District Attorney's statement claims the suspect beat and strangled his former girlfriend after she asked for money to care for their 8-year-old daughter (see end of post) . . . Family members found Maria Cristina Ramirez-Diaz on the garage flo ... More >>

Jose Alonso Najera Jr. Gets Life Sentence for Murdering Parents Over Y2K Savings

​Jose Alonso Najera, Jr., the 29-year-old Garden Grove man convicted June 1 of murdering his parents in a plot to steal money they pulled out of the bank before Y2K, was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole.He thus becomes the second man sentenced to life for the s ... More >>

Water Scam Being Pulled in Garden Grove is Larger, Wider and Now Has a Face

​We told you here about a mystery man who went to a home in Garden Grove, identified himself as a city employee named Christopher for the resident and claimed he was there to perform tests because the city water supply had been contaminated.As the city then warned, there is no contamination, no su ... More >>

Stephen Kadlec Popped for Being '07 Wedding Crasher Who Stole Gift Box With $1,800 Inside

​He doesn't have the distorted nose of Owen Wilson, the infectious smarm of Vince Vaughn or the $209,255,921 domestic total gross of their 2005 mega-hit Wedding Crashers, but Stephen Kadlec did manage to slip in uninvited to a Garden Grove wedding reception in 2007 and, according to police, walk a ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Pedro Cerecer, OC Homicide No. 25: His Lover Confessed to the Killing, Say Police

UPDATE: Charges announced this afternoon by the Orange County District Attorney's Office detail the identity of the murder victim, how he was killed and his relationship to his supposedly confessed killer. Updates throughout . . . ​Jose Fuentes, 23, and Pedro Cerecer, 47, had been lovers for abou ... More >>

Garden Grove Holds Yet Still More DUI Checkpoints and Laguna Beach Joins in the Fun

​Garden Grove Police had such a swell time at its Dec. 4 DUI checkpoint that it will have its officers "saturate" the city looking for drunks behind wheels on Friday before conducting another checkpoint on Saturday. Hick.

UPDATED WITH ARREST: Just Another Orange County Murder: Tayroh DeShawn Stinson

View Larger Map UPDATE JUST IN FROM GARDEN GROVE POLICE DEPARTMENT: "On Sept. 29, Johnathan Allen Kincaid, 20, of Anaheim, was arrested for the murder of Tayroh Stinson.  Kincaid was already in custody after he was arrested on Sept. 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by the U.S. Marshal's Office for an o ... More >>

Police Chief Operates Surf City's Only Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Cops around here have developed a nasty habit: bogarting joints. That is, they illegally confiscate medical marijuana, get dragged into court for violating state law, lollygag in chambers for years, and have the local verdict kicked up to appellate court, where they ultimately lose and have to give ... More >>

Garden Grove Police Officer Mark Hutchinson Says His Union Activities Cost Him a Promotion

Chronic Tension

Marvin Chavez is free. So can he please have his pot back?