Los Angeles County

SoCal Police's Blood Money

When the DA declines to prosecute bad cops, the only justice families can get is financial

Ink Me

New film documents Southern California’s tattoo scene, 
from Danny Trejo to Ed Hardy

Arthur Andrew Andrade of Tustin Charged with Gunning Down Estranged Wife Soria Esperanza

A Tustin man has been charged with murdering his wife by shooting her multiple times in front of the Montebello restaurant where she worked.Arthur Andrew Andrade, 29, had turned himself in at the Whittier Police station around 1 a.m. Sunday after being the subject of a manhunt since Soria Esperanza ... More >>

Robert Pimentel, Retired Teacher Accused of Having Sexually Abused a Dozen Girls in LA, Allegedly Victimized One of Them in OC, Too

Newport Beach retiree Robert Pimentel, who is fighting charges he touched at least 12 little girls sexually during his Los Angeles Unified School District teaching career, committed lewd acts on one of the victims in Orange County, according to authorities. Already facing criminal counts tied to tha ... More >>

CorrectiveSolutions' Checkmate

Prosecutors nationwide team up with the San Clemente debt collector to terrorize consumers in ways both highly profitable and usually sketchy

Rodney Alcala, Serial Killer Convicted in Orange County, Pleads Guilty to 2 Murders in New York

Rodney Alcala vehemently denied killing Robin Samsoe as he defended himself in the trial that preceded his 2010 conviction for slaying the Huntington Beach 12-year-old and four young Los Angeles County women in the 1970s.But the serial killer who has been sentenced to death three times in California ... More >>

Garden Grove Prostitute Killer Filed A Hopeless Conviction Appeal

In 2011, an Orange County jury agreed with prosecutor Cameron Talley's assertion that convicted felon Cesar Gomez savagely beat, robbed and strangled to death a female prostitute inside her room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Garden Garden.In February, Superior Court Judge William R. Froeberg gav ... More >>

More American Than Jay Chen?

Ignoring racist emails is all in a day's work for the Democratic congressional candidate

"We're Done": Popular LA Food Trucks To Stop Coming To OC Thanks To New Permit Requirements

Enjoy the tasty grub from The Grilled Cheese Truck, Grill 'Em All and Greasy Wiener? Sorry, but you'll soon have to drive to Los Angeles County to get some, thanks to a countywide crackdown by OC health officials.     Many LA-based luxe loncheras like the trio mentioned above frequent ... More >>

Dispatch from Anaheim's Fourth Night of Rage

Click here for our Anaheim police shooting archivesLast night's riots, which erupted around Anaheim Boulevard and Broadway, saw protesters, enraged by the recent police-involved shootings of two residents, smashing windows, setting structural fires and throwing bottles and other objects at cops. The ... More >>

Breaking Down the 47th Congressional District Primary, One Vote and Dollar at a Time

Peter Mathews is a Cypress College political science professor, so who better to break down the 47th U.S. Congressional District primary? His interest extended beyond academics. The Democrat was among eight candidates on the ballot for the redrawn district that includes Cypress, Rossmoor, Stanton, W ... More >>

Saigon TV Owners Accused of Cheating the Station's Founder Lose Jury Verdict Appeal

A California Court of Appeal has blasted the owners of Saigon TV for dishonesty in its legal attempts to overturn a $472,000 judgement against them for cheating the founder of the Vietnamese language station in Little Saigon. Following a 2010 jury trial in Orange County Superior Court, Larry Phan--t ... More >>

How Doritos Were Born At Disneyland

Adapted from 'Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America'

Kenneth Ray Johnson, Charles Anthony Mackbee, Arrested in Philip Victor Williamson Murder

​Police in Long Beach have announced two more arrests in the March 2011 murder of Philip Victor Williamson, whom police believe may have been carrying seven pounds of marijuana and $500,000 in cash when he was shot in an alley north of downtown. Kenneth Ray Johnson, 36, and Charles Anthony Mackbee ... More >>

(Government) Cheesey Orange County: OC Second in State With Number of Adults Who Are "Food Insecure"

​According to the latest California Health Interview Survey, Orange County has the second-most number of low-income adults in the state who are food insecure - defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as "limited or uncertain availability of traditionally adequate and safe foods".  Presu ... More >>

Reps. Gary Miller and Ken Calvert Get Their Assets Handed Back to Them

​The Washington Post compared the annual financial disclosure reports filed by every member of Congress over the past decade to various public records and discovered that nearly 50 senators and House representatives directed millions of dollars in earmarks to projects that could either enhance ... More >>

Karen Anne Christiansen, Newport-Mesa Schools Chief Jeffrey Hubbard's Co-Defendant, Convicted of Conflict-of-Interest

​The former Beverly Hills School District official who, according to prosecutors, received racy emails and secret bonuses from future Newport-Mesa Unified School District Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard has been convicted of conflict of interest charges.Karen Anne Christiansen, who was the Los An ... More >>

Dr. Nazar Al Bussam, Newport Coast Septuagenarian, Pleads Guilty to Writing Prescriptions for Cash

​A 72-year-old doctor, who lives in Newport Coast, but practiced medicine in Los Angeles County, pleaded guilty to federal charges for writing thousands of unjustifiable prescriptions yesterday. The OC Register's Doug Irving reports that Nazar Al Bussam faces 230 years of prison time for "cri ... More >>

Anthony Garcia, Dumb-Ass Cholo, Convicted for Cold-Case Murder Because Chest Tattoo Featured the Murder Scene

​Cholos aren't exactly the brightest bulbs in the criminal marquee, but the actions of the pendejo at right take the tamale for sheer stupidity. Anthony Garcia was a seeming run-of-the-mill hood when Los Angeles County's sheriffs arrested him for a routine traffic stop and took the snapshot at rig ... More >>

Steven Bickel, OC Prosecutor, Target of Hit by Quadruple Murderer, LA County DA Alleges

​Los Angeles County prosecutors claim a Whittier man facing the death penalty for fatally shooting four people tried to arrange a gang hit on Steven Bickel, an Orange County deputy district attorney attached to the Welfare Fraud unit.The allegation was made Monday during the penalty phase of 37-ye ... More >>

[UPDATED With Charges, Arraignment Date] Miguel Lerma Jr., Border Patrol Officer, Held in Sexual Assaults of Women in Garden Grove and Long Beach

​UPDATE, APRIL 4, 3:24 P.M.: U.S. Customs & Border Protection officer Miguel Lerma Jr. has been charged with one felony count each of forcible rape, sodomy by force and forcible oral copulation for allegedly attacking a woman in Garden Grove, plus one felony count of rape by use of drugs f ... 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 >>

George Eugene Cross Matches an Ugly Crime Spree with Our Ugly Police Mug of the Week

​Shortly before midnight on Dec. 30, 1997, George Eugene Cross knocked on the door of an Anaheim apartment, waking a 17-year-old girl sleeping inside. When she opened the door, Cross told the girl her mother owed him money. When she informed Cross her mother was not home, he asked to wait inside ... More >>

[UPDATE: National Tsunami Week] Tsunami Watch OC: Crowds Gathering to Catch Glimpse of Tsunami, But Not Much to See

Will it come?!​UPDATE, MARCH 16, 5:32 P.M.: To the people of Japan and even (to a lesser extent) the seafaring folk in Santa Cruz, the Weekly sends its best regards for a full recovery. The devastation that has rocked and continues to rock Japan is unlike anything we ever hope to see again in a li ... More >>

Census 2010: Orange County African-American Community Increases in Size, Still Embarrassingly Low

​The figures from the 2010 Census that are freaking the Know Nothings out is news that the gabacho population shrank in size in Orange County, while wabs increased (as always) and Asians increased even more as a percentage. But the only figure that truly interested me was the number of people iden ... More >>

[UPDATED] Robert Rizzo, Ex-Bell Administrator, Leaves Hospital and is Due Back in Court Monday

​UPDATE, FEB. 25, 1:31 P.M.: Huntington Beach resident and ex-Bell city administrator Robert Rizzo was released from Good Samaritan Hospital late Thursday and is expected back at his public-corruption trial in Los Angeles Monday morning.Rizzo was wheeled out of LA County Superior Court with chest ... More >>

[UPDATED] Federal Government Will No Longer Defend Defense of Marriage Act

​UPDATE, FEB. 23, 4:18 P.M.: The couple who filed the first marriage equality case in California and later became petitioners to overturn Prop 8, Diane Olson and Robin Tyler, said today's decision by the Obama administration to stop defending the federal government's anti-gay marriage law is "a hu ... More >>

Michael Jackson's Ghost Spooks Propofol Maker Teva

​The worldwide scorn directed at those closest to Michael Jackson in his final days may have extended to the drug Propofol and its Irvine-based maker, which announced it is laying off 200 employees this year after having already let go 70 workers.Teva Pharmaceuticals maintains it already discontin ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Husband Found Guilty of Suffocating His Wife in Anaheim Gets 25 Years to Life in Prison

Gaby Herrera​Update, December 20, 5:29 p.m.: 31-year-old Angel Duarte Cerna was sentenced today to 25 years to life in state prison for suffocating and murdering his wife in Anaheim before dumping her body on the side of a freeway in Los Angeles County in 2006. "At the sentencing today, five fam ... More >>

Long Beach Medical-Marijuana Activists Sue the City

Anthony Gayle and Ryan Pack hope to make the city dismantle its cannabis-collective law

Long Beach Next to Ban Plastic Bags?

​Could Long Beach be the next city to ban plastic bags? According to the Long Beach Post, the Long Beach City Council approved during a meeting last night the drafting of an ordinance that could very well mean a citywide ban on all single-use plastic bags at grocery stores, drug stores and conveni ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Gay Cameraman Sues Sacha Baron Cohen Over Prop 8 Riot in Bruno

​Update, November 26, 3:51 p.m.: A cameraman has dropped his lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen over an alleged assault at a Prop 8 rally in West Hollywood.Mike Skiff, who is openly gay, cited his own "emotional well being" as being the reason for ending the legal claim filed last month in Los Ange ... More >>

Just Like Starting Over

Pilar Diaz's solo stint has been a helluva ride

BREAKING: Arrest Made in Case of Missing Placentia Woman

Lynsie Ekelund​UPDATE, 8:45 P.M.: OCDA ISSUED A PRESS RELEASE ON THE CASE TODAY. SEE BOTTOM OF POST FOR DETAILS.After nine years of investigation and fears the case had been forgotten, an arrest has been made in the disappearance of Placentia resident and Fullerton College student Lynsie Ekelund. ... More >>

Battle: New School Gourmet Sausages

ProfessorSalt.comBerkeley Dog's bratwurst with chili and cheese​Gourmet hot doggeries have opened in the Southland in recent years despite a shabby economy, because gussied-up sausage sandwiches give good value for your dining-out dollar. Faced with newish restaurants as varied as Wurstküche, S ... More >>

Poche and Newport Bay Stink, But OC Beaches Get Overall Excellent Heal the Bay Scores

​Heal the Bay's End of Summer Beach Report Card shows water quality at Orange County beaches was slightly worse this summer compared to summer '09, but 97 percent of OC beaches still received excellent A or B grades. By comparison, 79 percent of Los Angeles County beaches received A's or B's.Poch ... More >>

Fear and Longing In Karaoke

The contestants in KaraokeFest battle stage fright, self-doubt and one another

Gettin' Made: Calling All Crafters!

The Orange County Fair is coming up, and with it comes a slew of opportunities for crafters all over California to get involved! ​ After the jump, all the details on how to get your work seen at the fair!

Crime Time: Creepy Toys, Slick Bank Robbers, Egged On Victims, Dog-Beating Dipshits and At Least [Alleged] Criminals Still Read Newspapers

It's the Weekly's weekly roundup of local police calls and assorted mayhem.MONDAY, NOV. 2". . . and I don't like you!" ​"I'm Talking Tina . . . and Things Are Going to Be Different Around Here" A woman called 9-1-1 around 3:45 in the morning to say she heard a baby toy go off downstairs in her hom ... More >>

Republican Assemblyman Republicans Are Targeting for Recall Blames Orange County Republicans, Newport Beach Insiders

Local Republicans are gunning for Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia). Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia), who has been targeted for a recall election because he voted for a state budget that included billions of dollars in new taxes, swung back at his opponents today, b ... More >>

NRDC: Clean OC Beaches Buck Dirty U.S., California Trend

Sunset Beach: pretty clean​The Natural Resources Defense Council's annual survey of water quality and public notification at U.S. beaches contains plenty of bad news for anyone into wading into surf around the country without getting sick. Beach closings and advisories hit their fourth-highest lev ... More >>

Map Tracks How OC, Other Counties Fare With HIV/AIDS Rates

The National Minority Quality Forum created an online map to coincide with last month's National HIV Testing Day that shows what areas of the country have the most cases of HIV/AIDS. It's available here. You first have to register, free of charge, to use the map. You can then punch in a state, coun ... More >>

Dana Point: Not As Disgusting As It Used To Be

Santa Monica's Heal the Bay has issued its 16th annual Beach Report Card, documenting the water quality at Southern California's beaches-- though "quality" may not be exactly the right word, since the report card lists SoCal's top ten beaches in terms of water pollution. This year, Los Angeles Count ... More >>

Architecturally Sound

Orange County can match LA County building for building

Letters

Diary of a Mad County

Jujubeating your meat

LA? No Way?

College district blocks student trips to Los Angeles

100 Things that Four Years of College will Teach You

Out of Sight