Santa Ana Police Department

Santa Ana Police Seek Radio Shack and Home Depot Gunman Who Claims Wife is Sick

Earlier we had the Santa Ana Police Department releasing images from surveillance video of three men stealing a church safe. Someone's got the photo bug over at the PD because they have also publicized shots of a reluctant robber of a Home Depot and Radio Shack in town.

Trio Believed to Have Taken Forty Martyrs Armenian Church Safe in Santa Ana

Images pulled from surveillance video of men believed to have stolen safes containing thousands of dollars from a church and four other locations were released by the Santa Ana Police Department Tuesday.

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 >>

[UPDATED with 1 Arrest, 2 Fugitives:] Paul Anthony Garcia Dies in Santa Ana Stabbing

See the Update No. 2 on page 2 about the arrest of one suspect and the I.D.'s of two more being sought. See Update No. 1 on the next page with screen shots from surveillance video that Santa Ana Police believes show Garcia's killers. ORIGINAL POST, MARCH 11, 1:56 P.M.: A 26-year-old Irvine man was f ... More >>

Santa Ana Police Killing Of 18-Year-Old Man Prompts Pre-Jury Trial Settlement

The family of an 18-year-old man shot and killed by Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officers under questionable circumstances in January 2011 has won a financial settlement claim, according to court records.Lawyers for the estate of Martin Ruiz asserted in a federal civil rights lawsuit that ... More >>

Santa Ana Hoodlum Admits Mexican Mafia Membership & Role in Heroin Distribution

A 34-year-old hoodlum nicknamed "Fat Ass" is admitting he is a member of the OC Mexican Mafia and conspired to thwart the Santa Ana Police Department while participating in the expected 2009 sale of more than 100 grams of heroin in Orange County.Kinney Stephen Uribe* signed a guilty plea in mid ... More >>

Dr. Pete Thomas, Santa Ana Podiatrist, Accused of Possessing Tons of Kiddie Porn

It turns out a Santa Ana podiatrist has been looking at more than feet, according to police.Dr. Pete Thomas was arrested Tuesday for allegedly possessing more than 1,000 images of child pornography on his computer at Coastline Podiatry.

Did Alfredo Landaverde Flash His Junk at You?

The word has been put out in Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley about Alfredo Landaverde.That word? "Did this guy flash you?"Teen girls headed to school seemed to be a particularly frequent target of the 47-year-old's alleged junk show.

Jeamy Beatriz Melendez, Issac Angel Martinez, Ricardo Alcala Held in Edgar Omar Sura Killing

Three people have been arrested for the Oct. 19 murder in Santa Ana of Edgar Omar Sura, 20, of Anaheim.That's not all: Jeamy Beatriz Melendez, 23, Ricardo Alcala, 23, and Issac Angel Martinez, 25, are also accused of shooting at undercover Garden Grove police officers on Nov. 13, when no one was hit ... More >>

[UPDATED with Ex-Boyfriend Sought:] Maris Isabelle Cerrillo, OC Homicide No. 46: Found Stabbed in Alley

See the update at the end of this post about police seeking the deceased woman's ex-boyfriend as a "person of interest" in the case.ORIGINAL POST, NOV. 14, 8:35 A.M.: Santa Ana residents contacted police Tuesday evening after a woman's body was found in an alley between the 200 blocks of North Laure ... More >>

[UPDATED with I.D.:] Edgar Omar Sura, OC Homicide No. 41: Gang Shooting Suspected

See the update at the end of this identifying the dead young man.ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 19, 11:20 A.M.: Calls of yelling and a man down at the Old Stonegate condominium complex in the 4800 block of Westminster Avenue in Santa Ana early today led police to the discovery of a dead man in his 20s who had ... More >>

Daniel Alvarez Wanted for the Bumping Off of Another Santa Ana 18 y.o., Bruno Lopez Ugalde

Have you seen the man at right? According to the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), Daniel Alvarez murdered another 18-year-old on May 8, Bruno Lopez Ugalde, who was remembered at the "Walk for Peace" Latino Health Access and Santa Ana Building a Healthy Community staged near Santa Ana High School ... More >>

[UPDATED with "Sniffing" Alleged:] Victor Joseph Espinoza, the Ugliest Police Mugshot of the Week, Nay, Year, Nay, EVER!

See Update No. 2 at the end of this post on the accused pleading not guilty, and police claiming he "sniffed" the boy. See Update No. 1 on the charges against the suspect.The question is not whether 425-pound Victor Joseph Espinoza tried to snatch a 10-year-old boy from soccer practice in Santa Ana ... More >>

Police Release Image Believed to be of Santa Ana Child Rapist's Car

As part of the investigation into last month's child rape that has rocked Santa Ana, the police department released an artist rendering of the attacker and later a generic photograph of the type of vehicle he was seen driving. Now, the Santa Ana Police Department has released an image of what detect ... More >>

Jason Garcia, Santa Ana Cop, Shot Unarmed Man in Back of Head, Got an Award and Now You Are Paying For His Excessive Force

There's no dispute that Joseph Anthony Galarza pissed off gang cops in the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD).During numerous vehicle stops as a passenger, Galarza--a low-level marijuana distributor--fled on foot, easily outran less fit officers and won the label "a runner"--in other words, someone ... More >>

[PHOTO: Perv's Vehicle:] Did You See the Douche Who Sexually Attacked Little Girl, 6?

Update at the end of this post includes a photo of the type of car the attacker drove.ORIGINAL POST, JULY 17, 8:09 A.M.: The Santa Ana Police Department has released a sketch of a man who abducted a 6-year-old girl outside an apartment complex Sunday evening, drove her to a parking lot where he sexu ... More >>

[UPDATED with State Worker Troll Called Out:] Cop Watch Activists Alert Santa Ana Drivers About DUI/No License Checkpoint

See below about the anonymous state worker troll who may just work for the Office of Traffic Safety!ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 12, 8:30 A.M.: About a dozen residents alerted drivers about the Santa Ana Police Department sobriety/license checkpoint off of Main and 17th streets on Friday night. The ... More >>

[UPDATED w/ Venue Response] Man Stabbed Last Night During Show at the Observatory

UPDATE MAY 23 4:23 P.M.: The Observatory's Jon Reiser contacted the Weekly about the incident at the venue last night and offered what he deems a less dramatic retelling of events."What actually happened is two people in front of the stage got into a fight. One of the two had 5 inch spiked / plug ty ... More >>

Scientology's Two-step Shuffle: Get Drug Prevention Booklet Inside SAPD; When People Call Number, Direct Them to Narconon

Why, looky here. My Pultizer-winning photo shows the back of a pamphlet picked up at the Santa Ana Police Department, advertising the Foundation For a Drug-Free World, which, lo and behold, is sponsored by the Church of Scientology.I called the number and asked where one should go to get help f ... More >>

Is The Santa Ana Police Department Collaborating With Scientology? Yes, Says The OC Org's Executive Director; No, Says SAPD

A recent YouTube video features Ed Dearborn, executive director of the Orange County Scientology "org", touting the merits of the organization's Narconon program. Dearborn says Scientology has been "collaborating with the Santa Ana Police Department on our anti-drug education program, which has bee ... More >>

OC Prosecutors, Cops To Host 2012 Crime Victims' Rights March & Rally on April 27

In honor of the upcoming National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the Orange County District Attorney's office and other area law enforcement agencies will host the region's 4th Annual Victims' Rights March & Rally on April 27.The Santa Ana event will begin at a 9:30 a.m. reception with District Att ... More >>

Santa Ana River Trail Safer for Cyclists With Bike Robbery Busts

​You're used to reading (and we're used to writing) about crimes on the mean streets of Santa Ana. Who knew baddies prey on unsuspecting cyclists plying the Santa Ana River Trail? Cyclists know, as does the Santa Ana Police Department, which posted some good news on various bicycling forums recent ... More >>

[UPDATED with Fairview Checkpoint:] Beach Blvd. & Stanton Ave. DUI Stop Tonight

​UPDATE, FEB. 10, 2:10 P.M.: The Santa Ana Police Department is also holding a DUI/unlicensed driver checkpoint near the 400 block of North Fairview Street from 7:30 p.m. Saturday through 1:30 a.m. Sunday.ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 10, 7:09 A.M.: Citing research that shows sobriety checkpoints are effect ... More >>

Smile for the 10 Ugliest Police Mugshots of 2011

​On several Fridays this year, we've presented the Ugliest Police Mugshot of the Week.But what about the Ugliest Police Mugshots of the Year?Glad you asked.After the jump are the 10 ugliest of the ugliest, which were mostly culled from our semi-weekly selection, although we also tossed in some oth ... 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 >>

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 >>

Suspicious Packages Found Near Public Defender Office

​The sheriff's department bomb squad examined two suspicious packages discovered near the Orange County Public Defender's downtown Santa Ana office this morning but nothing inside goes "Boom!"Officials did not use those exact words, of course.Inside the containers were boxes of plastic tools.

[UPDATED with Sentence:] Rebeca Nivarez Found Guilty of Murdering Jeweler Despite No Victim Body

​UPDATE, MAY 3, 4:35 P.M.: 46-year-old Rebeca Nivarez of Garden Grove has been sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for robbing and murdering Mario Hernandez, a 78-year-old Santa Ana jewelry salesman whose body was never found.A Santa Ana jury on Feb. 1 agreed the mother plotted the crime ... More >>

Luis Epifano, Bloodied and Half-Naked Parolee, Allegedly Leads Cops on Chase That Ends on Preschool Roof and Our Ugly Police Mugshot Roll

​At least you can say this about Luis Epifano, this week's ugliest police mugshot "winner":He posed while wearing clothing.Unfortunately for Santa Ana police officers, that's not how they found him . . . on the roof of a preschool.

[UPDATED:] Lawrence Joseph Brown: District Attorney and Co. Want Him Committed as 'Sexually Violent Predator' and Locked Away for Good

OCDALawrence Joseph Brown's booking photo​UPDATE, APRIL 11, 3:46 P.M.: The Orange County District Attorney's office continues to work toward keeping convicted child rapist Lawrence Joseph Brown off the streets indefinitely, filing a new petition to have him committed to a mental institution as a s ... More >>

[UPDATED with Conviction:] Milorad Teodor Olic to Represent Self at Trial for Attempted Murder of His 80-Year-Old Father

​UPDATE, APRIL 8, 9:17 A.M.: Representing himself at his trial on attempted murder charges, Milorad Teodor Olic employed a novel defense strategy.The Santa Ana resident tried to prove his 80-year-old father stabbed himself repeatedly in the face and mouth.Needless to say, the jury in Santa Ana di ... More >>

[UPDATED WITH CHARGES] Esteban Navarrete, OC Homicide No. 4: Shot in Parking Lot Where Fight Erupted Over Whose Mexican State is Better

Courtesy of SAPDMaria Rocha​UPDATE, FEB. 23, 2:06 P.M.: The Orange County district attorney's office (OCDA) today announced charges against the third defendant in the senseless slaying of Esteban Navarrete.Maria Isabel Rocha's 17-year-old brother, who is also a suspect, is also identified by the O ... More >>

Rebeca Nivarez Murder Trial Begins Today, With Her Son Ricardo Dagoberto Diaz-Nivarez's Soon to Follow

​CLICK HERE FOR UPDATED POST DETAILING REBECA NIVAREZ'S CONVICTION.Rebeca Nivarez, 46, of Garden Grove, is expected in a Santa Ana courtroom this morning for the start of her murder trial. She and her 25-year-old son allegedly plotted to rob and murder a Santa Ana jewelry salesman whose body was n ... More >>

Lawrence Joseph Brown: District Attorney and Co. Want Him Committed as 'Sexually Violent Predator' and Locked Away for Good

OCDALawrence Joseph Brown's booking photo​Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas held a press conference this afternoon to lay out what he and fellow OC authorities have planned to keep a violent rapist out of the community.The DA called out the Department of Mental Health (DMH) for faili ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Alejandro David Sanchez, OC Homicide No. 50: Gunned Down in Bakery

SAPDFrankie Giraldo​Update, December 9, 3:36 p.m.: A second man has been arrested in the murder of a Santa Ana man who was pouring himself a coffee in a local bakery.After Santa Ana police detectives served a search warrant of a residence in the 1500 block of South Diamond Street in Santa Ana Wed ... More >>

Juan Humberto Avila, Linked to Cold-Case Rape of Teen, Faces 355 Years if Convicted on All Counts

​Juan Humberto Avila may have thought he got away with it--if he is indeed guilty of the "it": raping a 16-year-old girl who was walking home from In-and-Out Burger in Santa Ana the afternoon of Jan. 21, 2008. A DNA match was made between evidence collected from the girl who was raped and Avila ... More >>

Gilberto Cruz Silva Guilty of Raping Prostitute, Trying to Rape Another at Knife Point

​A 30-year-old Corona man was found guilty by a jury today of forcibly raping one prostitute and attempting to rape another at knife point. Gilberto Cruz Silva faces a maximum sentence of 36 years to life in state prison at his Jan. 21 sentencing in Westminster.

Tony Diep, Feces-on-Library-Spreading, Death-to-Cops-Threatening Bum, Gets 2 Years

​If you can say one thing about Tony Diep it is this: the 47-year-old transient really had a bug up his ass over the Santa Ana police officer who provided security at the city's central library downtown.On the morning of July 30, 2008, feces were found spread on the outside wall of the library on ... More >>

Tony Diep Faces Charges of Issuing Death Threats Against Santa Ana Police Officers

​In case you ever wondered if it is illegal to smear shit on the outside wall of the Santa Ana Public Library and drop into the book-drop box a letter addressed to the person in charge of the letter and the Santa Ana Police Department that threatened 50 times worse vandalism if the officer in char ... More >>

[UPDATED] Grrl Fair Shut Down!

​The day before the Ninth Annual Grrl Fair was set to happen March 6 in Santa Ana, organizers learned their event would be shut down by code enforcement and the threat of the Santa Ana Police Department."Grrl Fair has been running since 2002 and in Santa Ana since 2004," says a Grrl Fair orga ... More >>

Here's a Real Sharp Exchange Between Father and Son

Santa Ana Police Dept.Milorad Teodor Olic​Milorad Teodor Olic and his 80-year-old father were driving along Monday afternoon, looking for an apartment for the 43-year-old Santa Ana man, when an argument broke out."Son," Pops essentially said, "I'm cutting you off."Olic did not take the news well, ... More >>

DA Objects to Gang-Assault Sentences

​The Orange County District Attorney's office objected today to a judge striking the "strikes" for a third-striker gang member who was on parole when he and two other men assaulted a fourth man who told the trio to stop tagging a wall in Santa Ana with graffiti last summer.At least the judge was c ... More >>

Crime Time: Ho' Attacker, Hammer Head, Bushman Packing Heat, Monkey Off the Market and Ryan Seacrest

It's the Weekly's weekly round-up of local police calls--now with more ho' attackers, hammer heads, short robbers, skateboarding nazis, bloody bandagers, bushmen packing heat, baseball bat-wielding robbers, monkeys that are not for sale and Ryan Seacrest.Center photo by Melinda Nagy/Dreamstime.comBE ... More >>

Forty Years Later, the Clash Between the Black Panthers and Santa Ana P.D. Still Influences OC Life

Santa Ana Police to be Honored by a Biden

TheWhiteHouse.govDr. Jill Biden is scheduled to honor the Santa Ana Police Department and 14 other employers.​Santa Ana Police Department honorees will be praised in Washington, D.C., by a Biden.But it won't be Joe Biden.It'll be the vice president's wife, Dr. Jill Biden, who will do the honors, t ... More >>

Crime Time: Methed Mom, Nitrous Oxide, a Full Moon, a Gutted Black Cat and a Skateboarding Giant Ax Carrier

It's our weekly Weekly roundup of Orange County police calls--with suspect mugs!TUESDAY, JULY 7Courtesy of Cypress Police DepartmentAlison Le Anne EbertAt Least She Left the TV On Officers responding to an anonymous, 4:45 a.m. report of child abuse in a home in the 8500 block of La Homa Street in Cy ... More >>

Fun with Brackets, Mexican Style!

The following message was left on a Weekling answering machine. But as you read this, keep in mind that a more competent and diligent and unbigoted school administrator than Frances Claire you'll never know. We just could not resist the urge to mischievously insert phrases in [BRACKETS] throughout h ... More >>

Oops! They Did It Again

Mass slaughter reveals a litany of problems at OCs least-loved pound

Welcome to Orange County, Now Go Home

Cops say they want to bail on INS duty

October-December