Orange County Jail

Mitchell Lee, Alleged Graffiti Vandal, on Hook for $50k Damage to School and Police Vehicle

Here's an important tip to you taggers and graffiti artists: Take "trophy shots" of your illegal work at night. Mitchell Lee, 22, of Cypress, learned the hard way that not only is it not smart to take such a photo in broad daylight at a school he'd allegedly marked up that same morning but that he s ... More >>

6 OC Parents Arrested for Allegedly Ignoring Warnings of Children's Chronic Truancies

Earlier today, I posted on Frank Cabada of Santa Ana's Hector Godinez Fundamental High School being among six Latino high school seniors from around the country honored this morning by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation in Beverly Hills. It's unlikely Cabada, a math and engineering whiz, would have ... More >>

Dr. Phil: "Explosive" Interview Today On Grizzly Costa Mesa-Tied Murders

On today's Dr. Phil show, a 25-year-old Orange County actress accused of being an accessory to a sensational 2010 double murder defends her innocence.But pre-episode publicity hints that the interview with the veteran TV therapist may not have gone too well.In promotional material, a hostile Dr. Phi ... More >>

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 >>

Edder Giovani Nieves-Bera, Once Deported Tattoo Artist, Allegedly Plied 14 y.o. Girl with Drugs, Alcohol, Free Tattoo, Creepy Advances

A tattoo artist who was previously deported after serving time for child annoyance in Murrieta in 2004 was arrested Tuesday at Dana Point Harbor, where he thought he was meeting a 14-year-old girl he'd allegedly lured to his Mission Viejo home with promises of drugs, alcohol and free ink.Waiting ins ... More >>

Orange County Jail Deputies Cleared In Inmate Abuse Lawsuit

Four years ago, an inmate in the Orange County Jail filed a lawsuit alleging that from 2004 to 2006 a group of deputies denied him clean clothes, clean bedding, rooftop exercise, mail, messages, toilets, water, medical attention and access to a complaint system absent retaliation.But this month a fe ... More >>

Tony Angulo Jr., Already Popped for Thefts, Linked to Another Due to 5 y.o.'s Missing Poster

It's a Festivus miracle!A 5-year-old Corona boy has been reunited with his missing bike thanks to some dot connecting by Irvine Police Department investigators.

Feds Indict Orange County Trio For Selling Methamphetamine

A federal grand jury in Southern California has indicted three Orange County residents for allegedly conspiring to sell large quantities of methamphetamine in Garden Grove, Cypress and Buena Park.According to the indictment, government agents arrested 43-year-old Jon Jason Mashburn, Dustin Craig Bos ... More >>

Oscar Zamora Pinedo, Who Met "13 y.o. Girl" with Condoms and Viagra, Gets 18 Months

A prevy stooge who fell for Huntington Beach Police's oft-used and -publicized sting involving a decoy who poses as a 13-year-old girl online cut a plea deal with the judge that will have him spending another three or four months behind bars to go with months he has already spent in jail. Oscar Zamo ... More >>

[UPDATED with DA Charges:] Dennis Scott Durbin, Chiropractor, Accused of Rubbing Lady Patient the Wrong Way

See the update at the end of this post on the charges and possible stiff penalty the chiropractor faces.ORIGINAL POST, SEPT. 5, 3:03 P.M.: An Irvine chiropractor was arrested Tuesday at his Sky Park Chiropractic office Tuesday after the 65-year-old allegedly touched a female patient in a sexual rath ... More >>

Santiago Chamu, OC Thief, Got a Sweetheart Prosecution Deal But Still Isn't Happy

Earlier this year, Santiago Chamu won a generous plea deal from local prosecutors. Represented at taxpayer expense by a public defender, Chamu agreed to serve 150 days in the Orange County Jail and undergo three years of supervised probation in exchange for the government dropping a 2011 felony ... More >>

Kasey Kahl of The Bachelorette Poses for Sad Police Mugshot in OC to Go with "Pretty" One

When Kasey Kahl posed for the booking photo at right in January, it was dubbed the "prettiest mug shot" Fresno Police officers "ever [saw] come into their station."It's doubtful sheriff's deputies working the Orange County Jail beat are saying the same thing about the mug posed for this weekend by t ... More >>

David Whiting's Bootlicking Tongue Polishes His Orange County Register

What can you say about the Orange County Grand Jury?When its members reach down to straighten out wrinkles in their socks they discover they aren't wearing any.At bedtime, their teeth and their mouths don't share the same room.In case you haven't heard, the grand jury is historically comprised of go ... More >>

ATF Busted Yorba Linda Meth Dealer Gets Punished in Federal Court

Not far from the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda in June 2010, federal agents used a confidential informant to trick an Orange County drug dealer into supplying them 111 grams of 99 percent pure methamphetamine for $4,000.This week, Robin Lynn Freiwald learned her punishment fol ... More >>

Louie Melendrez Should Have, Ahem, Acquired a Working Car Before Alleged Theft from Store

An important tip to all you drugstore cowboys out there: If you are going to grab a bunch of items from pharmacy shelves before darting out to your car for your getaway, make sure you're current on vehicle maintenance.Otherwise, you might winds up like happy-go-luckless Louie Melendrez over here at ... More >>

[UPDATED with Blood Spilled:] Chapman and Fullerton Undies Runs are Sights for Sore Eyes (and Fingers)

UPDATE, MAY 21, 3:35 P.M.: It's been pointed out that since this blog mentioned the hospitalization of two young women in their 20s--one for "alcohol-related" complications and the other for an arm injury suffered after falling down--following Chapman University's 2012 Spring Undies Run, we should a ... More >>

Alexa Antonella Polar, Robin Johzen Pabello: Large Living Wannabes Cop to $285k Theft

Remember the case of Alexa Antonella Polar and Robin Johzen Pabello, the Garden Grove genius roommates who decided to forge checks so they and their friends could take a $285,000 trip to New York City that included private jet travel, multiple hotel rooms and a luxury shopping spree? Back home, wit ... More >>

Milanya Mundell Accused of Shooting Drugs While 3-year-old Daughter Roamed Parking Lot

A 29-year-old mom is accused of having been under the influence of drugs in her Mission Viejo apartment recently while her 3-year-old daughter roamed a parking lot after 10 p.m. unattended and crying for her mother.Milanya Mundell was later booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of child endang ... More >>

OC's Ebrahim Baytieh Named California's Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year

The California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) has named Orange County's Ebrahim Baytieh as the state's "Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year."The honor is not surprising. During his career, Baytieh--a tireless Senior Deputy District Attorney with a photographic memory and a gentlemanly courtroo ... More >>

Crean Lutheran High School Teacher Arrested For Sexually Explicit Messages

The Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force arrested a private Irvine high school English teacher/coach late last week on charges involving sexually explicit text messages and photos he allegedly sent a female student.The task force--including officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I ... More >>

Friday's Dateline NBC Targets Newport Beach Murder By Ex-NFL Linebacker

The good folks at Dateline NBC have announced plans to air their "mystery" Friday night about the ex-National Football League (NFL) player convicted last year for the cold-case ambush murder of an ultra-wealthy businessman in Newport Beach.I covered the trials of Eric Naposki--the big mouth, former ... More >>

Lewis Gordon, OC Jail Inmate, Latest In-Custody Death

​The Orange County Sheriff's Department issued a press release yesterday announcing the death of Lewis Gordon, a 64-year-old Orange County Jail inmate. Lewis, who was arrested last May by police in Santa Ana, died at Anaheim's Western Medical Center on Nov. 26 of an unspecified "serious illness." ... More >>

[UPDATED with Lawsuit:] William Robert Wedgeworth Hangs Himself in Newport Beach Jail

​UPDATE, AUG. 9, 7:20 A.M.: Last year I brought you the sad story of William Robert Wedgeworth, a 43-year-old Newport Beach man who hanged himself in the city jail.My colleague Nick Schou included the incident in the greater context of OC jail suicides and strange deaths in his Jan. 20 cover story ... More >>

[UPDATED with More Victims Sought:] Steven Neil Paff, Registered and Monitored Sex Offender, Locked Up Due to a Mom's Tenacity

​UPDATE, JULY 27, 9:31 A.M.: Convicted sex offender Steven Neil Paff pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday to annoying a 13-year-old girl inside a Foothill Ranch supermarket July 5.But the 46-year-old transient may have more court pleadings in his future as a police agency in Los Angeles C ... More >>

[UPDATED with Arraignment Continued to Sept.:] Catherine Kieu Becker Cut Off Hubby's Pecker and Tossed It in Garbage Disposal (Allegedly)

​UPDATED, JULY 22, 4:22 P.M.: Orange County Superior Court Judge Debra Carrillo in Westminster agreed to continue Catherine Kieu Becker's arraignment until Sept. 23.The 48-year-old Garden Grove resident's public defender, Frank Bittar, asked Carrillo to bar the media from covering the proceedings ... More >>

Charolette Engle, Jailed July 1 on DUI Offense, Dies in Custody 2 Days Later

​Newport Beach police arrested Charlotte Engle on suspicion of a DUI-related offense July 1 and took the 54-year-old Huntington Beach resident to Orange County Jail. During booking, jail officials determined Engle suffered from high-blood pressure and took her to Western Medical Center in Santa An ... More >>

Bong Soo Kim, Korea Times Ad Rep, Busted for Allegedly Embezzling $140,000

​Garden Grove police today arrested a Korea Times advertising representative for allegedly having businesses write checks in his name that were deposited into his personal account--to the tune of more than $140,000 over the past two years. Bong Soo Kim, 52, was booked into Orange County Jail on su ... More >>

Rosa Mojica, Career Criminal Granny, 2 of Her Kids and Grandson Accused of Running Counterfeit Ring

​A grandmother, her two adult children and her 16-year-old grandson, all from Santa Ana, were picked up Wednesday night in Laguna Beach for allegedly spreading counterfeit money around fast-food joints and mom-and-pop stores in town.Arrests came down after a teen boy and adult male tried to make a ... More >>

James Harry Fluch Accused of Embezzling $822,000 From Buddy's Business to Fund Lavish Lifestyle

​A former Rancho Santa Margarita accounting consultant is scheduled to be arraigned in Santa Ana today for allegedly embezzling $822,000 from a longtime friend's company, using the ill-gotten money to pay off seven credit cards that racked up charges for gasoline, bar tabs, restaurant bills, cable ... More >>

[UPDATED with More and Scarier Details:] Young Man Wades Nude, Then Eats Beach Sand

​UPDATE, APRIL 6, 3:34 P.M.: California State Parks confirmed that the naked man arrested after coming out of the San Clemente surf Tuesday morning was Jesse William Sauder, 18, of San Clemente.And, according to district supervisor Ken Kramer, the incident was more dangerous than might be indicate ... More >>

UPDATED: Machete Used In Sunday 'Ninja' Attack at South Coast Plaza

Bring your wallet, not your machete​A 19-year-old plumber with blond hair and blue eyes is sitting in Orange County Jail this morning after police say he used a 25-inch machete to attack a man Sunday night in the parking lot of Orange County's most internationally acclaimed shopping center: South ... More >>

James Arroyo, Orange County Jail Cook, Popped for Allegedly Copping Feel of Female Inmate's Boobs

​Orange County Jail cook James Arroyo was arrested for allegedly touching the breasts of a female inmate.The woman, whom 54-year-old Arroyo was supervising in the Intake/Release Center kitchen Monday, reached up for something on a top pantry shelf when the cook is said to have moved in for a feel.

Kim Rebar Henry, 56-Year-Old From Fullerton, Accused of Being Hate Graffiti Tagger

​Anaheim Police just announced they have made an arrest in the incidents of racially and religiously hateful graffiti that was sprayed in January in Brea, Irvine, Anaheim and Santa Ana, including on the walls of two Catholic churches and the Orange County Housing Authority.Kim Rebar Henry, 56, of ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

Who'll Stop the Pain?

A recent spate of suicides and strange deaths inside Orange County's jails has jail staff and activists alike clamoring for reform

[UPDATED:] Another OC Jail Inmate Apparently Hangs Self

​UPDATE: The man who is said to have hanged himself at Orange County Jail has been identified as Stephen Clevenger.Does it seem as if there have been more in-custody deaths at Orange County Jail lately?The latest is a 29-year-old Mission Viejo man who apparently hung himself in his Santa Ana jail ... More >>

James Neal, Ex-NASCAR Racer Moves Farther Into Loser's Circle With Attempted Rape Charge

James Neal's booking photo​Two hours after former NASCAR driver James Neal was released from Orange County Jail to complete his sentence for having led officers on a high-speed, 50-mile chase two weeks ago, he arrived at the home of a woman he met once and allegedly tried to rape her.The 56-year-o ... More >>

Man Suspected of Following and Firing at Car Caught

Westminster Police DepartmentRobert Daniel Ojeda's booking photo.​On Wednesday, a SWAT team surrounded a home in Westminster and then entered it. The man they had expected to find barricaded inside, though, wasn't there.Yesterday, they found him.

Top DA Arrested

According to sources at the Orange County Sheriff's Department, David L. Brent--the veteran prosecutor who runs the district attorney's acclaimed homicide unit--was arrested with his wife on Christmas Day following a domestic dispute.No other information was available officially, except that Brent w ... More >>

Crime Time: Double the Fun Starring [Alleged] Skeevy Teachers, Fake Cop Robbers and Ryan Seacrest's Strange Stalker

It's the Weekly's weekly round-up of local police calls--actually the Weekly's TWO weekly round-up as an attempt is made to make up for lost vacation time.Left courtesy of E! Entertainment, right courtesy of Orange Police DepartmentRyan Seacrest (left) gets paid another visit from his No. 1 Army spe ... More >>

Hold Your Mother of the Year Ballots: Here's the Woman Who Allegedly Stabbed Her Little Girls

Courtesy of Westminster Police DepartmentThuy Le's booking photo.​This photo was taken today of Thuy Le, 38, of Garden Grove, after she was booked for allegedly trying to stab to death her 3- and 5-year-old daughters before turning the knife on herself in Westminster Wednesday morning.

Crime Time: Ninja! Gang-y! Homeless! Unappreciative! Dead!

Friday: Paging Chuck Norris!​It's the Weekly's weekly round-up of local police calls--now with more unappreciative homeless men, alleged Ecstasy pushers and Ninjas, Ninjas, Ninjas! MONDAY, AUG. 3Wrong-Way Minivan After clocking a green minivan at 80 mph south on Beach Boulevard near the 405 freewa ... More >>

Diary of a Mad County

Feb. 21-Feb. 27

Monster's Ball

Feds, Aryan Brotherhood come to paint the OC courthouse white

Diary of a Mad County

Diary of a Mad County

Aug. 10 - Aug. 16

Diary of a Mad County

2002: Diary of a Mad Year

Big and Greasy

The breakfast of patriots

It Takes a Village Idiot