According to the FBI, Aaron Scott Vigil--an accomplished Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force officer in Southern California--and his wife lived luxuriously by spending a whopping $1,600 more each month than their income. By 2009, the couple landed in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, lost their ... More >>
Fullerton Police officer Ben Lear appeared on KFI this afternoon and accused Acting Chief Dan Hughes of a cover up in the immediate aftermath of the Kelly Thomas killing. Lear, a 17-year veteran of the city's embattled force, has been on paid leave since circulating an email critical of Ca ... More >>
See Update No. 2 at the end of this post on ex-Officer Joe Wolfe being arraigned today on manslaughter and excessive-force charges.See Update No. 1 on a media report that the Grand Jury will convene to decide whether or not to indict a third officer involved in the Kelly Thomas beating.We don't know ... More >>
John Huelsman, stepfather of former Fullerton Police Officer Jay Cicinelli, went on KFI-AM 640 this afternoon to blast the city council for its decision to clear Kelly Thomas of wrongdoing on the night he was beaten to death. No big surprise! Hueslman viewed the council's move as a pollution of ... More >>
Ron Thomas is claiming another victory for his son Kelly who died following a merciless police beating last year at the Fullerton Transportation Center. In an email sent out to media outlets last night, Thomas said Acting Police Chief Dan Hughes will deliver a statement at next Tuesday's City Counci ... More >>
Despite only having one eye, we're sure Jay Cicinelli saw this one coming from a mile away. The Fullerton cop, charged with involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force in the unnecessary beating death of homeless man Kelly Thomas, has been fired. "The employment status of Corporal Jay C ... More >>
Cue the song "Kiss him Goodbye" by the band Steam: Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, hey. The city of Fullerton announced today that Joe Wolfe, one of the six officers involved in the savage beating death of Kelly Thomas, has been fired.Wolfe, who helped beat Thomas, is the second officer to leave the t ... More >>
Updated, with DA office response at the end of post.ORIGINAL POST, JULY 11, 3:30 P.M. John Huelsman, stepfather of one-eyed Fullerton cop Jay Cicinelli, sat down with Fox affiliate KTTV-TV Channel 11 yesterday to defend the accused officer in the court of public opinion. No surprise here: ... More >>
Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli, the two officers charged in the beating death of unarmed Fullerton homeless man Kelly Thomas, entered pleas of not guilty at arraignment today. Ramos is charged with second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter while Cicinelli is charged with involuntary manslaug ... More >>
The Fullerton space's show dedicated to the beaten-to-death-by-cops homeless man has some good pieces, but others lack true insight
While others held protest signs outside the Fullerton Police Department last summer, Julian Porte came with a guitar, a harmonica and a song. Small crowds assembled around the Santa Fe Springs-based musician as he sang "The Ballad of Kelly Thomas," about the homeless, schizophrenic man fatally beate ... More >>
[Locals Only] The fiery singer/songwriter finds power in protest
Proving yet again that what happens in the Kelly Thomas family does not necessarily stay in the Kelly Thomas family, the father of the slain homeless man is suing the city of Fullerton.The wrongful death lawsuit, filed by Ron Thomas on the one-year anniversary of his frail, 37-year-old schizophrenic ... More >>
The draconian and ideological $200,000 slash proposed by Supervisor Shawn Nelson to the county-contracted core budget of the Orange County Human Relations Commission won't be enacted. The Board of Supervisors met earlier today after postponing any action last week and came to a negotiated compromise ... More >>
A fired security guard at the Slidebar Rock-N-Roll Kitchen in Fullerton has filed a lawsuit accusing Lit guitarist Jeremy Popoff, an owner of the establishment, with enticing police to harass Kelly Thomas on the day officers savagely beat the homeless, schizophrenic man to death in July 2011, and th ... More >>
UPDATE, 2:37 P.M.: I can't vouch in any way for this lawsuit. For 19 hours, Russell R. Arens--the 1988 University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law graduate who is the plaintiff's lawyer--has knowingly ignored five calls to answer simple questions. That type of conduct makes me leery of the m ... More >>
This week Orange County Register columnist David Whiting changed things up. Instead of licking the boots of brutal police officers, he licked the loafers of the three Fullerton councilmembers facing recall in June: former Mayor Dick Jones, former Fullerton cop Don Bankhead and former Fullerton Polic ... More >>
Local blog Friends for Fullerton's Future is reporting officers Joe Wolfe and Manuel Ramos have been handed termination papers. The information was leaked to the blog by an anonymous source inside the Fullerton Police Department who said the firing stems from the officers' refusal to talk to in ... More >>
Ron Thomas confirmed today he was approached by the Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation, which sought his support along with civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for an April 26th rally in Los Angeles. The event was geared toward bringing attention to the unarmed Florida teen s ... More >>
[Moxley Confidential] Bootlicking 101, using the now-infamous Kelly Thomas video
The founder of Friends for Fullerton's Future blog says his war on bad government didn't start with the Kelly Thomas beating, and it's not over yet
The two officers charged with the death of Kelly Thomas will have to answer for their actions at trial. Orange County Superior Court Judge Walter Schwarm rendered his decision at 2:30 p.m. following a three-day preliminary hearing. Referring to the felony charges faced by both Manuel Ramos (sec ... More >>
The lawyer for the mother of Kelly Thomas, the 37-year-old homeless man beaten to death by Fullerton police officers last July--told a judge today that District Attorney Tony Rackauckas is playing "inexplicable" games with his client's victim rights to access prosecution evidence.According t ... More >>
[Moxley Confidential] The veteran criminal-defense lawyer insists his cop client didn't murder Kelly Thomas
PopoffThe claim that a Slidebar Rock-N-Roll Kitchen employee may have inadvertently helped ignite the brutal, July 5 killing of a homeless man by Fullerton cops is not true, according to Slidebar co-owner Jeremy Popoff.In a Dec. 29 phone message to the Weekly in response to months of seeking an i ... More >>
The body count is piling up in Orange County this last month of 2011, with some slayings so awful they made the following compilation of the 11 most ucked fup murder scenes of the year.Please note that this will also be my last list of 2011 that includes the Salon Meritage massacre. As much as I ... More >>
Deputy DA turned defense lawyer GurwitzAn Orange County Superior Court judge has ordered prosecutors to explain a decision to block Kelly Thomas' mother from her right to inspect law enforcement files about the gruesome Fullerton police killing of her son in July.Court records obtained by the Wee ... More >>
Register: You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll be spoon-fed the official police version!There's no doubt that Fullerton police officers killed Kelly Thomas last July in an outrageous incident that provoked international focus on police brutality in Orange County.I'm focusing on the word "killed" beca ... More >>
The Slidebar Rock N Roll Cafe is in the middle of a month-long food collection initiative aimed at aiding the Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Services. Founded in 1975, FIES is a charitable collective providing emergency food and transitional housing to homeless in the Fullerton area. Slideba ... More >>
Long before officers beat Kelly Thomas to death, the city's cops ran roughshod over anyone and everyone
Jay CicinelliEven though Fullerton stopped paying Cpl. Jay Cicinelli on Oct. 8 -- three months after he and other Fullerton cops beat Kelly Thomas to death -- he's still getting a fatty pension paycheck.And, today's vote by the board that oversees cop pensions in LA, ensured that that's not gonna ... More >>
A community is crying foul and following in Fullerton's footsteps.On Oct. 22, a Downey police officer gunned down Michael Nida, a father of four who had spent the day celebrating his birthday, according to a Los Angeles Wave story.Police stopped Nida for his alleged connection to an armed robbery ... More >>
Manuel Ramos, left, and Jay CicinelliThis morning, Judge Erick L. Larsh continued the pre-trial hearings of two Fullerton officers facing charges in the beating death of Kelly Thomas. Last time Officer Manuel Ramos showed up at the Central Justice Center he wore a yellow jumpsuit and handcuff ... More >>
[Moxley Confidential] Gordon Dillow may have left the building, but his cop-loving spirit lives on
Officer Manuel RamosAt the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana this morning, Fullerton policeman Manuel Ramos wore a yellow jumpsuit and sat behind a metal mesh wall separating him from everyone else in the courtroom -- including Kelly Thomas' relatives and several members of his own family.  ... More >>
DA T-RackUPDATE 11:00 a.m.: Gustavo here. Before the press conference even began, veteran attorney John Barnett (whom you'll remember helped to represent the Haidl gang) announce to reporters that his client, Fullerton Officer Manuel Ramos, had surrendered himself to face charges on second-degree ... More >>
Courtesy of Orange County District Attorney's OfficeOfficer Manuel RamosUPDATE, SEPT 21, 4:03 P.M.: At his arraignment this afternoon, which the Weekly's Marisa Gerber attended, a handcuffed Fullerton Police Officer Manuel Ramos pleaded not guilty to felony second-degree murder and involuntary ma ... More >>
Marisa Gerber/ OCWeeklyRon ThomasAs soon as Ron Thomas showed up at the district attorney's office around 10 a.m., reporters and members of "Kelly's Army" swarmed around him. That same clan would be there again an hour later when he learned that the D.A. charged two Fullerton policemen--Officer ... More >>
Ed CarrascoFullerton Acting Police Chief Kevin HamiltonIn response to Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas' announcement of a second-degree murder charge against Fullerton Police Officer Manuel Ramos and an involuntary manslaughter charge against Corporal Jay Cicinelli in the death of ... More >>
Brandon FergusonJulian Porte performing at Kelly Thomas Memorial ConcertSaturday's concert in memory of brutalized Fullerton homeless man Kelly Thomas saw a modest crowd of protesters, local residents and music fans gather in the Fullerton Downtown Plaza to listen to an eclectic mix of local band ... More >>
UPDATE, SEPT. 10, 6:27 P.M.: Fullerton police officers have had little to no presence at the Kelly Thomas protests outside their building for the past several weeks. Today, however, they stepped up enforcement and issued citations to three motorists who honked as they drove past the protest. ... More >>
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