Orange County Jail

Accused iPhone 5 Scammer Faces Federal Trial

Orange County's Robert Andrew Paniagua is building an accomplishment-loaded resume that is unrelated to his carpet cleaner career.In 2004, at the age of 19, Paniagua was convicted of DUI. Cops caught him driving under the influence again two years later. In 2007, he was convicted of lying to a cop. ... More >>

Leslie Keane, Laguna Woods City Manager, Follows DUI with Electric Scooter Crash

It was only in December that Laguna Woods City Manager Leslie Keane was cited for allegedly driving under the influence.Now, she's been injured after being seen "wobbling" while driving.Except this time the 64-year-old was on an electric scooter.

Louis Richard Wood, Alleged Drug Dealer, Held for Murder in Emma Wihlborg's Overdose Death

A 35-year-old Mission Viejo man has been arrested on suspicion of murder for the drug overdose death of a woman in a Lake Forest hotel.Way back on Nov. 16, 2011.It took a lengthy investigation to bring Louis Richard Wood to justice, explains the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Kenneth Lance Hendrick Gets Jail and Loses Bail Bonds License for Recruiting Clients in Jail

A bail bonds agent pleaded guilty today to illegally soliciting clients from Orange County Jail.Kenneth Lance Hendrick, 50, of Mission Viejo, was promptly sentenced to a year in jail and three years probation, and the California Department of Insurance will revoke the James Morris Bail Bonds' empl ... More >>

Leslie Keane, Laguna Woods City Manager, Popped for DUI in Laguna Hills

Laguna Woods City Manager Leslie Keane knows very well that the countywide, wintertime, Orange County Sheriff's Department-led enforcement against drunken drivers is working.That's because the 64-year-old was popped by sheriff's deputies late Friday for suspected DUI in Laguna Hills.

[UPDATED with Charges:] Baylor Eldric Maggenti Held After Material to Make IED Bombs, Cache of 34 Guns Found

See the update at the end of this post with the charges and possible sentence facing the suspect.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 18, 5:21 P.M.: A 66-year-old man who was apparently living in a commercial business park in Costa Mesa was arrested Monday for possessing gun powder, fuse material and other materials ... More >>

[VIDEOS:] Fashion Island Shooting Horror Captured; More on Suspect Marcus Gurrola

Marcus Sarinana Gurrola, the Garden Grove 42-year-old accused of firing more than 50 semiautomatic gun rounds into the sky and ground at busy Fashion Island Saturday, was "destitute" and venting his life problems," according to the Newport Beach Police Department.Videos from horrified shoppers with ... More >>

Carmella Bing, Porn Star, Cited for Drug Paraphernalia Possession in Irvine After Being in Car with Auto and I.D. Theft Suspect

Porn star Carmella Bing, who was born Sarah Marie Fass, was apprehended in an Irvine backyard early Wednesday and cited for drug paraphernalia possession by police following a stolen car she was riding in as part of an identity theft ring investigation.The 31-year-old Los Angeles resident was cited, ... More >>

Scales Help Wreck Fullerton Man's Story: I Am Not a Meth Dealer!

Neither Fullerton police nor any other witness saw Samuel Fausto Uribe try to sell illegal narcotics but that didn't stop government officials from charging the 28-year-old Fullerton resident with possession of methamphetamine for sale in the summer of 2011.Though Uribe had been sitting in the drive ... More >>

Soon Keun Kim, Accused Madame, Among 6 Held for Alleged Prostitution Ring in Irvine

Irvine Police say they broke up a prostitution ring Wednesday afternoon, and to illustrate the bust the cop shop released booking photos of everyone who was arrested, including suspected madame Soon Keun Kim shown here.That should read mugs were put out there of everyone busted except the lone male ... More >>

Chan Joon Park, Fullerton Acupuncturist, Poked Lady Patient with More Than a Needle: Cops

Chan Joon Park sounds like the name of a Korean movie director, but in this instance he's rolling as a specialist at a Fullerton acupuncture clinic.And, according to a female customer, the La Habra 68-year-old poked her--but not in the way he was supposed to.The woman's accusations have led to Park' ... More >>

Gail Diane Panella-Monestere, Former Parent Teacher Group President, Accused of $22k Theft

The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) president at Sun View Elementary School in Huntington Beach is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on charges of embezzling more than $22,000 from school fundraisers. Gail Diane Panella-Monestere, 52, of Huntington Beach, faces one felony count of grand theft b ... More >>

Jaime Robert Galvez, Sheriff's Community Service Officer, Cops to Threats to Jailed Ex-

An Orange County Sheriff's community service officer pleaded guilty today to violating a domestic violence protective order by making negative and threatening comments over the phone to a female inmate with whom he'd had a romantic relationship. Since she was in jail, all the threatening calls wer ... More >>

Snot Bandit Strikes at Costa Mesa Bar, Forgets Loot

Hear the one about a man who walks into a bar . . .Well, an apparently intoxicated man with snot on his sweatshirt walks into a bar . . .This isn't a joke:An apparently intoxicated, masked man with snot on his sweatshirt and holding a revolver walked into a Costa Mesa bar early this morning and dema ... More >>

School Boy Allegedly Sodomized Inside a Tustin Public Library

​A 23-year-old Anaheim man decided yesterday afternoon to use an Orange County public library for illegal sex, according to Tustin police.The scenario gets more disturbing.A 13-year-old boy had gone to the library after school to study, but ended up a rape victim.Police say Robert Howard Claudio s ... More >>

What We Learned, Feb. 25-March 2

​FEB. 25: I think my house turns up in Mox's "Horrible Homes for Sale." I didn't even know it was for sale. Uh-oh.FEB. 26: A homeless man fights with two Fullerton police officers, but before muttering "don't like where this is going," understand that transient Mark Charbonneaux was later booked i ... More >>

Jose Luis Capacete, Wannabe Cop and Alleged Serial Rapist, Tied to at Least 3 Sex Assaults

​Authorities have linked a Brink's Security guard who went through the police academy and has applied to become a cop to three Orange County rapes.And authorities fear suspected serial rapist Jose Luis Capacete, 39, of Baldwin Park, may have struck others besides the women sexually assaulted befor ... More >>

Ahmad Mabrok Accused of Being Naked Hummer Limo Thief

YouTubeThey call him the streak.​A thief was fully clothed when he stole a Hummer limo at gunpoint in Irvine Saturday night.But, as a helicopter officer informed after the man who led cops on a bi-county chase jumped out of the stretch in Whittier and started running, "He's naked!"

[UPDATED with 2nd Victim, Charges:] David Elifar Verduzco Accused of Molesting 9-Year-Old Girl

​UPDATE, NOV. 16, 3:01 P.M.: An Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) statement on the sexual assault charges against David Elifar Verduzco reveal that the 32-year-old now has an alleged 12-year-old female victim to go along with the 9-year-old girl he is accused of molesting, and that ... More >>

Mom Accused of Locking Daughter in Closet for 6 Hours Locked Up

​A Costa Mesa mom accused of hitting her daughter three times with a stick and locking the 13-year-old in a closet for six hours over bad grades found herself on an extended time out.In Orange County Jail.Someone concerned about the abuse alleged to have happened Oct. 29 reportedly contacted Cost ... More >>

Ruben Tapia Accused of Threatening Girlfriend with Knife, Hitting Her and 1-Month-Old, Trying to Burn Down Home and Generally Acting Like an A-hole

​Officers responding to a domestic violence call in Placentia Thursday morning were told a 32-year-old man struck his girlfriend and her 1-month-old baby, threatened the woman with a knife and then doused their apartment with lighter fluid before turning the gas stove on in an unsuccessful attempt ... More >>

[UPDATED with 17 More Swept Up:] 26 Charged with Carrying Out Mexican Mafia Orders in OC Jail

​UPDATE, JULY 14, 5:01 P.M.: Besides the 26 Mexican Mafia members the District Attorney's office is prosecuting as a result of the Orange County Jail crimes uncovered through "Operation Black Flag," 17 Costa Mesa gang members were swept up by federal indictments related to the investigation.The in ... More >>

[BREAKING:] Plum Crazy Fool Takes Deputy's Gun from Holster at John Wayne Airport

​This afternoon at John Wayne Airport, a man managed to come up on a uniformed sheriff's deputy from behind and remove his gun from his holster.The deputy and a second sheriff's department employee managed to recover the gun and take the man into custody without any shots being fired. The employee ... More >>

Cody Charles Johnson, Garden Grove School Bus Driver, Accused of Molesting Girl Over 7-Year Span

​A 14-year veteran worker of the Garden Grove Unified School District was arrested at his home Wednesday for allegedly molesting a girl known to his family from the time she was 5 to 12 years old. Cody Charles Johnson, 47, of Garden Grove, was taken to the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana and held ... More >>

Bradley Stewart Wagner, Dirty Anaheim Cop, Avoids Serving His Prison Sentence For Sex Crimes

Wagner: I'm guilty. Wait, I'm not guilty if it means prison time.​Bradley Stewart Wagner--the prize embarrassment of the Anaheim Police Department for using his badge to violently sexually assault three women he believed were illegal immigrants near Disneyland--is baaaaaaack.Well, to be precise, W ... More >>

Felicia Marie Moberly Allegedly Punches Security Guard and Spits on Deputy at Pot Clinic

Talk about smoke monsters!​A woman who became increasingly agitated while failing to obtain marijuana from several dispensaries in Lake Forest Tuesday evening was confronted by a security guard--who she promptly punched in the face, according to sheriff's deputies.And, after deputies responded to ... More >>

[UPDATED] James Arroyo, Orange County Jail Cook, Charged for Allegedly Groping Two Female Inmates

​UPDATE, MARCH 4, 10:02 A.M.: Fifty-four-year-old James Arroyo of Fullerton could go from being an Orange County jail cook to inmate for allegedly getting touchy-feely with two women behind bars.In a statement on Arroyo's charges (after the jump), the Orange County District Attorney's office annou ... More >>

Steven Griego Booked for Alleged Sex Assault of 13-Year-Old Boy . . . Three Years Ago

"Hey, what's going on on this side?"​According to the charges, Steven Griego, 40, of Lancaster, sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy three times during the summer in Cypress and Garden Grove.That's the summer of 2007.Now 16, the unidentified boy just told his parents about the uninvited attacks b ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Inmate Dies at Orange County Jail

​Update, December 2, 12:38 p.m.: The inmate who was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead in his Orange County Jail cell has been identified as Keith Eric Files, 28, of Costa Mesa.Files was serving three years of probation for a 2009 burglary and identity theft conviction, according to cour ... More >>

Taylor Hart, 19, an OC Jail Suicide: Coroner

​The county coroner says a 19-year-old found dead at the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana early today committed suicide.Taylor Hart, who'd been arrested Aug. 7 for allegedly robbing the Nordstrom's store in Mission Viejo, was discovered by deputies on routine rounds in ... More >>

William Robert Wedgeworth Reported to Have Hanged Himself in Newport Beach Jail

​We recently told you about the in-custody death of an Orange County Jail inmate.Now, another man has died in a different OC jail.

[UPDATED:] Gregorio Torres, Jail Inmate, Dies

​UPDATE: Why the deceased was in custody (see end of post) . . .An Orange County Jail inmate died while under a hospital's care, according to a very brief statement from the Orange County Sheriff's Department that follows after the jump. Gregorio Torres was 43.

Task Force Raids La Habra Grow Room, Arrests 3, Seizes 60 Marijuana Plants

View Larger Map A group a group that included La Habra police, Placentia police, Orange County and Anaheim SWAT and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raided a La Habra warehouse Thursday and seized 60 plants from a marijuana grow room. Three were arrested.

[UPDATED:] Santa Ana Police Kill Robbery Suspect

UPDATE: Police identified the man killed by officers (details below) . . . flickr user rikroseBang!​Armed men walked into El Metate Market near Bristol Street and Edinger Avenue in Santa Ana before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and snatched the purse of a woman shopping with her husband.The hubby tussled wit ... More >>

78-Year-Old Man Arrested for Kicking Cop in the Nuts (Twice)

​What began as a routine traffic stop Wednesday ended with the arrest of a 78-year-old Garden Grove man for allegedly battering a much younger police officer--an attack the cops say included grandpa kicking the patrolman in the nuts. Twice!

Just Another Orange County Murder: Rebecca Benedict

View Larger MapUC Irvine graduate student Brian Hughes Benedict, 35, shot his 30-year-old ex-wife Rebecca Benedict during a custody exchange of the couple's 4-year-old son around 7 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot outside graduate student apartments at 4200 Verano Place, Irvine, police say. The woman ... More >>

White Supremacist Party Made in Garden Grove

Jaimee Lynn Fletcher has a fascinating piece in today's Orange County Register about a pro-white (as in Caucasian) political group forming in Garden Grove. Supporters of the Golden State Party notified the Secretary of State in May they would try to qualify as a political party for 2010, electi ... More >>

It's a Quick Read 21

Orange County Register: It's not the happiest place on Earth today, as Disneyland begins laying off back-office employees and telling employees of a Paradise Pier Hotel restaurant it will close. . . . Motivational speaker Gary Shawkey was booked into Orange County Jail on murder charges after s ... More >>

Ex-LAPD Cop Admits Guilt in OC Kiddie Picture Arousal Case

A visibly nervous Ralph Cameron Lakin II (pictured) stood out this morning in Superior Court Judge Steven Bromberg's courtroom not just because he wore a natty suit (tan slacks, green coat and floral-patterned tie), but also because the other criminal defendants awaiting attention were hoodlums or ... More >>

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson goes on a . . .

. . . rampage. Of course he does. In what assorted Internet pundits are already calling the stupidest hit-and-run ever, Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar (and Irvine resident) Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who was the subject of this 2007 Weekly cover story, was arrested yesterday in Balboa aft ... More >>

One Less Haidl in Prison

Sometime on Saturday, according to the OC Register, Greg Haidl will be released from prison. He is being released early because he was given automatic credit for good time and work time while in prison and for the time he served in the Orange County Jail before his sentencing, according to Bill Ses ... More >>

The Biggest Losers: Cops or Deputies?

Ten Santa Ana police officers and ten Orange County Sheriff's deputies are facing off to see who can drop ten percent of their total weight first. There's really not a lot else I feel I need to say about this one. I'm also laughing too hard to type. "Maureen Albrecht, 55, a senior deputy coroner's ... More >>

Al Gore III - What a dope

Al Gore's 24-year-old son graced our fair county with his presence earlier today - allegedly with an ounce of marijuana and other controlled substances (Vicodin, Valium, Xanax and Adderall) he didn't have a prescription for. He was stopped by the OC sheriff's department when they caught him going 10 ... More >>

God Bless the Wabs of SanTana

"I bet you someone's going to be playing that music," my girlfriend said with resignation as we saw the KTLA-TV Channel 5 News at 10. The music: "Dos Locos," the klezmer mestizaje masterpiece by pasito durangüense icons Los Horóscopos de Durango. The occasion: a man escaped from the Ora ... More >>

Diary of a Mad County

'I Really Like the One on VD'

Justice Takes a Beating

OC court greenlights torture in local jails

Parting Shots

WEB EXCLUSIVE! Footage shows Haidl II closing arguments, jurors struggle to reach verdict

Beach Fuzz

Diary of a Mad County