Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Less Than a Year Since She Was Appointed Sheriff, Sandra Hutchens Has Made Some Powerful Enemies

The Reg's Exciting Internet Strategy

The internet (or internets, if you're George Bush) has helped change the way news gets reported. Take for example, R. Scott Moxley's story on Los Angeles County Sheriff's Commander and candidate for Orange County Sheriff Ralph Martin's call for Mike Carona's immediate resignation. On Thursday at a p ... More >>

This Newsrack Will Self- Destruct in Five Seconds...

Color us crazy, but we'd have thought someone would have raised an ethical concern or three after the Los Angeles County Sheriff's arson squad blew up an LA Times newsrack in Santa Clarita on Friday. The concern we refer to is not whether deputies were under orders from the Sheriff Lee Baca to get b ... More >>

Following the Bouncing OCSD Gun Story

Did anyone catch the Malibu Ferrari Crash story in today's Times. Now, while there's no way the Orange County Sheriff's Department angle can possibly overshadow the meat of this story (rare Ferrari Enzo totaled on PCH, alleged lies to responding cops, a supposed Swedish con man, fake Homeland Securi ... More >>

Anti-Carona Commercial to Air

Los Angeles County Sheriff's commander Ralph Martin, who is trying to unseat third-term-seeking Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, has apparently made a huge cable television advertising buy so he can broadcast the following campaign commerical (Windows Media) into local homes. The beauty of the ad ... More >>

Tuesday's Headlines & Surprises: Poor Mike Carona

OC's Embarrassing Buford T. Justice: Law-enforcement helicopters and ground crews normally — blatantly — tail me. You should have seen them after I revealed that local cops had planted a handgun on a DUI suspect, after I wrote about a cop who ejaculated on a female motorist in Laguna Beach, and ... More >>

Sheriff Loses Battle To End Federal Case

A U.S. District Court in Los Angeles has refused Sheriff Michael S. Carona’s demand to dismiss a First Amendment complaint filed by former Carona challenger, ex-sheriff’s Lt. William Hunt, according to a press release issued this morning by Silver, Hadden, Silver, Wexler & Levine. Hunt attorne ... More >>

OC Register Loses Sheriff Candidate

Notice anything odd about this online Orange County Register story teaser from last night and this morning? Check our Total Buzz blog to find out what candidates Bill Hunt, Craig Hunter, Sharon Hutchens, Randy Adams, Jack Anderson, Salt Lake City undersheriff Beau Babka, San Bernardino undersherif ... More >>

And Now There Are Two

Five months after indicted Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona resigned to prepare for his corruption trial, the county's board of supervisors (BOS) today narrowed the prospective replacement list from nine candidates to just two: Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters and ex-Los Angeles County Sheriff's ... More >>

And The Sheriff is. . .

Sandra Hutchens! The Orange County Board of Supervisors earlier this morning appointed the retired LA County Sheriff's Department division chief to replace Mike Carona as Orange County Sheriff. The vote was 3-2 in favor of Hutchens. Supervisors Chris Norby and Bill Campbell supported Santa Ana P ... More >>

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens' Green Dream Team

The last time Orange County's sheriff announced the department's new management team, Bill Clinton was president, gasoline cost less than a buck fifty, people could afford their mortgages, and you didn't have to remove your shoes to enter buildings or airport terminals. Everything was better then--e ... More >>

Man Claiming to be FBI Informant Spins Quite a Tale

A location scout for a spy movie could not have picked a better location for my late December meeting with Craig Monteilh: a table outside a restaurant in a bustling Irvine shopping center. A lensman would appreciate the shadow-erasing clouds hovering overhead on the warm winter morning. And cen ... More >>

Reality TV Turns Its Steamy Cameras on OC Fire Hunks

Reality television has exploited our hot teens, our hot MILFs and . . . um . . . well, it has exploited a whole bunch of our hot teens and hot MILFs. Now their steamy cameras are set to record our hot fire hunks. Fox Reality Channel announced it has begun production on the third season of its origin ... More >>

Acclaimed OC Sheriff Finalist Retires

South Orange County resident Ralph Martin, a well-respected longtime Los Angeles Sheriff's Department commander who finished third to replace the disgraced Mike Carona as Orange County's sheriff last year, officially retired today after nearly 36 years of public service."I've got mixed emotions," sa ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

South Orange County resident Ralph Martin, a well-respected longtime Los Angeles Sheriff's Department commander who finished third to replace the disgraced Mike Carona as Orange County's sheriff last year, officially retired today after nearly 36 years of public service."I've got mixed emotions," sa ... More >>

Meet the New Sheriff . . .

Taking a wait-and-see stance toward OC’s new top cop

[Moxley Confidential] Don Bren Plays Rough With Businesswoman, His Kids-But Courts Play Rough, Too

Taking a wait-and-see stance toward OC’s new top cop

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

Taking a wait-and-see stance toward OC’s new top cop

[Moxley Confidential] Sandra Hutchens' Party Poop

Taking a wait-and-see stance toward OC’s new top cop

"This Is Unacceptable Behavior"

Web Exclusive! Veteran cop Ralph Martin calls on sheriff to resign after mob ties documented

Letters

Web Exclusive! Veteran cop Ralph Martin calls on sheriff to resign after mob ties documented

The Thin Boo Line!

Orange Countys 31 scariest cops!

Orange County Sheriff Was A Democrat

Sandra Hutchens, Orange County's Republican sheriff, registered as a Democrat for as long as a decade in both Los Angeles and OC, according to records reviewed by the Weekly.In an interview for a March profile, Hutchens told me she is a Republican; holds conservative views, particularly on fiscal ma ... More >>

Possible Schwarzenegger Cameo in OC Fire Reality Show Finale

Courtesy Orange County Fire AuthorityUPDATED WITH CORRECT GRADUATION DATE . . . Fox Reality Channel's series The Academy: Orange County Fire does not debut with 10 original episodes until Oct. 24, but details about the season finale are spreading like a grass fire. Cameras capture a ... 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 >>

UPDATED: LA Deputy Who OC Deputies Tried to Protect From DUI Test Gets 6 Months for '08 Crash

UPDATED WITH SENTENCING CLARIFICATION . . . A deputy driving a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Chevrolet sports utility vehicle (but not necessarily this one) was convicted of DUI today.​The Orange County District Attorney's Office originally announced the sentence for Robert Andre ... 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 >>

Prosecutors Enthusiastically Endorse Sheriff Sandra Hutchens

Prosecutors: Hutchens deserves to win sheriff's race​Out on the campaign trail it often looks like Dana Point's Sandra Hutchens doesn't enjoy politics, but today the appointed sheriff has reason to smile after receiving the "enthusiastic and unconditional endorsement" of the Association of Or ... More >>

Sheriff's Poll: Sandra Hutchens In Big Lead

John GilhooleySmile Sandy Smile​The first public poll of voter support in the Orange County sheriff's race found that Sandra Hutchens is far in the lead but significantly short of winning the necessary 50 percent plus vote to avoid a November runoff, according to the Voice of OC.

Feds See a Red Door, Want to Paint It Black

​When Mick Jagger saw a red door, he wanted to paint it black, as is widely acknowledged (by me) in the greatest Rolling Stones song of all time (any girl who claims otherwise gets cut!).So, the federal investigation of the San Gabriel Valley-based Red Door gang--which just ... More >>

Missing Anaheim Hiker Found

​Active hiker Scott Gossard left his Anaheim home in his silver Toyota Tacoma truck on Friday evening to go hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains.The 44-year-old who had been reported missing over the weekend was found this afternoon.

James Ellroy, the "Demon Dog of Crime Fiction," Brings LA Noir to Orange County

​Los Angeles-based crime novelist and essayist James Ellroy makes the trip south Saturday as the Orange County Screenwriters Association's latest speaker.The author of The Black Dahlia, L.A. Confidential, White Jazz, The Cold Six Thousand and his autobiographical My Dark Places, speaks at 10 a.m. ... More >>

Lynsie Ekelund's Accused Killer Awaits Arraignment

Chris McAmis confessed to murdering the Fullerton College student in 2001. Their families now try to come to grips with the news

Denise Huber Case to Again Haunt OC Tonight

​Orange County residents could not help but be haunted by Denise Huber's disappearance in 1991. For years afterward, a painted portrait of the pretty 23-year-old was splashed on a wall facing the connector between the 405 freeway and Route 73--near where her car had broken down before being found ... More >>

Chris McAmis' Arraignment on Murder Charge Delayed

​Accused murderer Chris McAmis requested a new arraignment date today via his public defender, Leslie Gordon, at the Los Angeles Superior Court in Whittier. Commissioner Armando Moreno granted the request and set a new date for March 22, though he warned there would be no further continuances.

Costa Mesa Kills "Luxury" Police Helicopter Program

"Eagle" clips a political wire​Led by freshman Republican city councilman Jim Righeimer, the Costa Mesa City Council late tonight voted to kill an expensive police helicopter program to help resolve a massive budget shortfall."We need to do this," Righeimer said before the 4-1 vote. "This program ... More >>

Jan Morton Heger Allegedly Pulled $898K Scam With Baja Resort, Ghana Oil Funds and African Gold Mines

​An attorney is scheduled to be arraigned in Santa Ana this morning on charges of stealing $898,000 from 11 victims in an elaborate investment scheme that involved a luxury resort in Baja California, oil fund loans from Ghana and African gold mine revenues in Ghanan and Nigerian banks. Jan Morton ... More >>

[UPDATED] Chris McAmis Enters Not Guilty Plea in Lynsie Ekelund Killing

​UPDATE, MARCH 22, 12:44 P.M.: Today, after months of delays, 32-year-old Christopher McAmis entered a plea of not guilty to allegedly murdering and attempting to rape Placentia woman Lynsie Ekelund a decade ago. This was McAmis' fourth appearance at the Superior Court in uptown Whittier since his ... More >>

[UPDATED: Body ID'd as Joe Le] Joe Le, GWC Student, Missing After Being Swept Away in the San Gabriel River

Joe Le (Anaheim)​UPDATE: APRIL 4, 9:11 A.M. The OC Register now reports that the Los Angeles County Coroner's office has confirmed that the body found in the Angeles National Forest near the San Gabriel River was that of Joe Le. His body was found on Sunday.UPDATE: APRIL 3, 7:30 P.M. The OC Regist ... More >>

Joe Le's Body Was Found by Volunteers; Family and Friends Frustrated with LA County Sheriff's Efforts to Find Lost Hiker

Vang AnhJoe Le recovered​A three-day search in the Angeles National Forest by Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials for the 20-year-old Anaheim hiker, Joe Le, ended last Sunday when his body was pulled from the icy waters of the San Gabriel River by a handful of volunteers, approximately 500 feet ... More >>

LA County Settles Suit for $4.75 Million With Victims of '08 Crash Caused by Drunk Deputy Who OC Deputies Tried to Protect From DUI Test

​UPDATE, MAY 18, 4:29 P.M.: LA County supervisors have approved a $4.75 million settlement for two Anaheim residents, one of whom was critically injured, whose car was plowed into by a veteran Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy driving a department SUV under the influence in 2008.Robert Andrew M ... More >>

[UPDATED with Sentence:] Sean Paul Delacerda, LA County Sheriff's Deputy, Gets 13 Years for Assaulting Ex-Girlfriend

​UPDATE, JULY 25, 8:26 A.M: Sitting on top of his ex-girlfriend so she could not escape and holding his hand over her mouth so she could not scream, Sean Paul Delacerda put the barrel of a gun he'd just placed a bullet in into his mouth and pulled the trigger.Click.The gun did not fire, but th ... More >>

Deverick Deshawn "Dog" Mathis of La Habra Accused of Heading Notorious Crips Pot Ring in Compton

​A La Habra man headed a notorious Crips street gang drug ring that sold marijuana across the country and held meetings on the same Compton block where a second Crips operation sold pot and moved prescription drugs to Louisiana, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles.Deverick Desha ... More >>

[UPDATED W/Official Rand Corp. Retraction] Closing Marijuana Dispensaries Actually Increases Crime, Rand Study Finds

​UPDATED Oct. 25, 11:30 A.M: Two weeks after lifting the report from its website, Rand Corporation, the research organization that helped crunch body count numbers during the Vietnam War has officially retracted its study from last month that claimed crime increased near medical marijuana dispensa ... More >>

[UPDATED with Long Beach Journo's Take:] ACLU Sues Sheriff's Deputies for Hassling LA and Long Beach Photographers Under Anti-Terror Policy

ACLU/SCGreggory Moore shares with the media his brushes with sheriff's deputies.​UPDATE, OCT. 28, 9:54 P.M.: The Long Beach Post's Greggory Moore has graciously agreed to share with Weekly readers his real-time coverage of moves officers from two separate police agencies made against him and colle ... More >>

Santa Ana Off-Duty Cop Shoots and Kills a Guy

​The off-duty officer from the Santa Ana Police Department has not been identified, but the circumstances that led him to shoot and kill a man in Lakewood this morning have been released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.The cop heard noises outside his Longworth Avenue home, went out ... More >>

[UPDATED with Jason Bitz was Unarmed, May Have Not Been Stealing Car:] Santa Ana Off-Duty Cop Shoots and Kills a Guy

​UPDATE, NOV. 3, 3:09 A.M.: Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators say Jason Richard Bitz was not armed when a Santa Ana police officer fired four times and killed the Long Beach 23-year-old in Lakewood Monday morning. The unidentified officer, who has been placed on administrative leave, had ... More >>

Court Okays George Jaramillo's $529,000 Pay Day; Cites Peace Officer's Bill of Rights

George and Mike: Before the storm​A California Court of Appeal has affirmed a lower court's decision to award George Jaramillo nearly $529,000 in backpay and lawyer fees because the former Orange County assistant sheriff's 2004 firing blatantly violated the state's peace officer's bill of rights ( ... More >>

Kids with Toy Rifle Spook Frazzled Drivers

​An assault rifle pointed from a minivan on Highway 60 in Walnut Friday afternoon prompted another driver to follow the vehicle onto Highway 71, into Chino Hills north of Orange County and finally a parking lot where seven summoned police and sheriff's units soon arrived as well.Shortly thereafter ... More >>

Richard Patterson, Off-Duty LA County Sheriff's Deputy, Faces DUI Charges After Motorcycle Collision on The 405

​An off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who allegedly rammed his motorcycle into a vehicle while drunk, faces up to three years in state prison.Richard J. Patterson, 38, faces multiple charges: a felony count of driving under the influence causing injury (his wife, who was on the back of ... More >>