Stanton

Leticia and Noel Carrasco, Mother and Son Robber-Murderers, Draw Life Sentences

Mother and son tag-teamers Leticia and Noel Carrasco received life sentences today for robbing and murdering a man in a Buena Park motel room after momma picked the fellow up in a Stanton bar with promises of sex.Leticia Carrasco, the stunner at right, can apply for parole from prison in 25 years wh ... More >>

Orange County Child Molester: Shouldn't I Get Credit For Assaulting 11YO-Girl Quickly?

In August 2009, a Stanton laundromat janitor lured an 11-year-old girl into a closet with the promise of free perfume, locked the door and sexually molested her. At his 2011 trial in Orange County Superior Court, Nereo Del Valle won three convictions: kidnapping for child molestation, and two felon ... More >>

Eat This Now: Beans, Rice, Salsa, and Fried Cheese at El Fortin

I've been so happy to see El Fortín grow up ever since first reviewing the Oaxacan restaurant in 2002. When I first went there, the dive was a bare-bones room with a small menu, scruffy floors, and a mostly Oaxacan clientele. Nowadays, this original location (the second is in Stanton, and a third i ... More >>

Tortilla Tuesdays: La Tortilla Factory

I am a gabacho. While I have many non-gabacho food-shopping habits (markets in Tijuana, an intimate familiarity with my local Northgate, a love for nopales, etc.), when time is of the essence, I resort to the dreaded White Folks Supermarket--you know, Vons, Albertsons, Ralphs, et al.The problem is t ... More >>

[UPDATED with Insanity Plea:] A Tale of Two Sonias: One Mom Welcomes OC's 1st Baby of 2013, Other Allegedly Murdered Boy

See the update at the end of this post on Sonia Hermosillo's insanity plea today.ORIGINAL POST, JAN. 2, 9:38 A.M.: Two Orange County mothers named Sonia enter 2013 in very different places. At 12:03 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 1, at Western Medical Center Anaheim, Sonia Gonzalez delivered Pamela Cristal Belt ... More >>

Juana Perez Valencia Gets 15 Years to Life for Murdering and Dumping Her Newborn

Juana Perez Valencia was sentenced today to 15 years to life in state prison for murdering her infant girl right after giving birth and tossing the corpse into a dumpster. After a first jury could not reach a unanimous verdict in January, a second one last September found the Anaheim 21-year-old gu ... More >>

Dave Reviews OC Yelp Reviews, Part 1

I have bad news for all of you power-tripping, I'm-a-real-food-critic-now Elite Yelpoids out there: your little tales of woe are totally and completely useless. All those complaints--when I do look at them I read them aloud in a neo-Valley Girl accent--don't actually mean a damn thing, because nobod ... More >>

Went to a Crime Scene and a Lap Dance Broke Out: 7 Examples of OC Strip Club Mayhem

Daniel Vidal Santana pleaded guilty Monday to kidnapping, assault producing great bodily injury, two counts of sexual assault and auto theft for an early morning crime wave that included beating up a stripper he met at an Anaheim Club. As the Stanton resident awaits an Oct. 26 Superior Court senten ... More >>

OC Killer Capured After America's Most Wanted Broadcast Says He is Innocent

An Orange County killer captured in Arizona after featured on America's Most Wanted and convicted of a brutal murder has been begging officials to reopen his case.Cuong Viet Nguyen, 31, maintains that he killed Tri Bui in self defense following a ridiculously stupid 2005 spat outside the All Star Ca ... More >>

Osiel Ruvalocaba-Azpeitia, Subject of Utah's Biggest Meth Bust, Wins Ugly Police Mugshot of the Week (But It Was Damn Close!)

Before Anaheim's Osiel Ruvalcaba-Azpeitia was indicted in what's reportedly Utah's biggest-ever methamphetamine bust--and considering the tweakers in desolate trailers out there, that's saying something--he is said to have told investigators a Mexican man named "Juan" paid him $500 for every pound o ... 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 >>

Five Gas Stations In Orange County That You Don't Want to Fill Up On

​It used to be said that everything was more expensive in California. And until our housing market crashed, it might have been true. But at least one thing remains ridiculously overpriced here--gasoline. California's average cost of gas is now $4.34 for regular gas, while the national average is c ... More >>

Luis Rosales Rivera, Looks Like Machete But Used Sledgehammer, Gets 26 Years for Killing

​Gardener and potential Machete II stand-in Luis Rosales Rivera was sentenced today to 26 years to life in state prison for murdering his sleeping roommate not with a machete but a sledgehammer.A Santa Ana jury in October had found the Stanton 59-year-old guilty of one felony count of murder with ... More >>

Super King Market Fined Over Half-a-Million Dollars for Selling Fake Halal Meat

​I've long shopped at Super King Market in that part of Anaheim that bleeds into Stanton, not just for their super-cheap produce but also to see my Orange County: the waves of Latinos, Muslims, Eastern Europeans, Asians, and plain ol' 'mericans shopping in peace, and even learning from each other- ... More >>

[UPDATED with Conviction:] Luis Rosales Rivera Guilty of Murdering Roommate With Sledgehammer

​UPDATED, OCT. 12, 1:21 P.M.: Gardener and potential Machete II stand-in Luis Rosales Rivera was convicted today of murdering his sleeping 63-year-old roommate with a sledgehammer.A jury in Santa Ana found Rivera, 59, of Stanton, guilty of one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement f ... More >>

Carlos Bustamante, Santa Ana Councilmember, Resigns from County Job Over Sexytime Allegations

​The big political news of the day happened yesterday: SanTana councilmember Busty "Carlos" Bustamante resigned from his job at the county while it investigates allegations that Busty had mucho sexytime explosions on the job with multiple colleagues. There are already calls for Busty to resign his ... More >>

[UPDATED with Not Guilty Plea:] Jaime Arturo Garcia, Accused of Slitting His Dog's Throat, Brings to Mind 5 Other Pooch-Abuse Cases

​UPDATE, AUG. 4, 8:37 A.M.: At Orange County Superior Court in Westminster Wednesday, Jaime Arturo Garcia pleaded not guilty to slitting his dog's throat and setting fires in the Stanton home he shares with his sister.ORIGINAL POST, AUG. 3, 8:44 A.M.: Jaime Arturo Garcia is scheduled to be arraig ... More >>

Five Ways to Discover Great Ethnic Restaurants in Suburbia

ProfessorSalt.comPizza e Vino, hidden down a staircase from its shopping center, is easy to miss​As a writer who competes with other news outlets' food bloggers, I probably shouldn't share my restaurant-scouting strategies with the interwebs. I'm going to because it's important that you, dear read ... More >>

Little Saigon Might Be Lumped With, Dominated By Long Beach In New Congressional Redistricting Plan

​In the ongoing struggle over which congressional district to put Little Saigon in, the latest proposal may end up lumping it in with Long Beach. The OC Register's political reporter Martin Wisckol reports that the recently revealed map puts Little Saigon and other parts of Orange County in a ... More >>

Martin Blanco Trujillo's Family Joins Sheriff's Department in Stepped-up Search for His Killer

​Eight months after Martin Blanco Trujillo was shot to death outside a home in Stanton, his family is joining the Orange County Sheriff's Department in stepping up the search for the 30-year-old's killer.A new $5,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer or murderers ... More >>

Lazy-Deputy Cases Keep Stalling

[Moxley Confidential] Two mistrials save a sheriff's deputy from charges she falsified official reports

Dennis Wayne Terry, Convicted Sex Offender on the Move, Poses for Ugly Police Mugshot of the Week

​Dennis Wayne Terry was convicted in 2002 for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age.Already out of custody (!?!), the 63-year-old had been ordered to register as a sex offender in his place of residence--Huntington Beach--as part of his parole.But Huntington Beach detective ... More >>

Dueling Dishes: Korean Fried Chicken

Edwin GoeiBBQ Chicken's chicken​This week on Dueling Dishes, we compare and contrast the golden fried birds from BBQ Chicken versus that from Pizza & Chicken Love Letter, the two preeminent Korean fried chicken chains in Orange County. Why these two? Well because they're also the only the tw ... More >>

Drunk After Work: Park Avenue, Stanton

Dave Lieberman​The Place: Park Avenue, 11200 Beach Blvd., Stanton; (714) 901-4400.The Hours: 4-6 p.m., Monday through Friday.The Deal: $4 well drinks, beer and wine specials, half-price appetizers.

As Killers and Suspects Clog OC Courts, Rackauckas Unveils Rally for Victims

bos.ocgov.comBoard of Supervisors Chairwoman Pat Bates speaks at last year's inaugural victims' rights rally in front of the Old Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana.​According to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, a lot of people with blood on their hands have been passing through San ... More >>

Did 22-Year-Old Force You to Give Him Oral?

​What is it with guys in their early 20s forcing their dicks on young women around here?The Orange County District Attorney's office reached out to the public Dec. 10 to determine if there are other victims of Jason Ara Erpinar, a Yorba Linda 20-year-old charged with raping three women, two of who ... More >>

[Hole in the Wall] Goat Love, Zacatecas-Style, at Birriería Nochistlán

Eat Local, Recycle Your Food Waste Miles and Miles Away

​Not to be outdone by their North County counterparts, who recycle sewage into drinking water through the revolutionary Groundwater Replenishment System, South County communities are banding together to turn food waste into compost.While the regional pilot program sounds meritorious, one thing abo ... More >>

[Hole in the Wall] Tacos On the Hard Shell at Tom's Tacos

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 >>

Crime Time: Beer Bandits, Blood Drippers, Ripped-Off Stripper Drivers, Bowling Alley Knife Fights, Men With No Pants Roaming San Clemente

It's the Weekly's weekly round-up of local police calls--now with more beer bandits, wild chases, ripped-off stripper drivers, bowling alley knife fights and men without pants.TUESDAY, SEPT. 8Strippers' Backup Needs Backup A man who told police he was hired to be a driver for strippers met with anot ... More >>

Update on Thai Nakorn Garden Grove

Edwin Goei There was some chatter on the Chowhound boards today about the progress of the Thai Nakorn in Garden Grove, and it reminded me that the last time I wrote about it here, I reported that March was the target opening date. Would you look at the time!  It's almost freakin' Jul ... More >>

The Naranjero Blues

Emilio Martinez could have been Orange County's Woody Guthrie (and he still might be)

Saturday's Headlines & Surprises: Carona Blame Game!

Your Tax Dollars Wasted: The Daily Pilot says that Costa Mesa officials admit they’ve spent at least $127,000 in public funds to prosecute Benito Acosta, an Orange Coast College student who had the audacity last year to demand the right to address the city council for the same three-minute period ... More >>

Flame and Misfortune

Orange County Fire Authority Pipes and Drums honor fallen heroes

Grub Guide

Tasty morsels from the county's best damn dining guide

Grub Guide

Tasty morsels from the county's best damn dining guide

Commie Girl

You Know Whos Not a Criminal? Paul Lucas is everywhere but jail

Grub Guide

Tasty morsels from the county's best damn dining guide

Grub Guide

Orange County's best damn dining guide

Grub Guide

This week in bringing back a bigger dining guide

Mars Barred

Diary of a Mad County

Always Sweating

Natural Afrodisiacs mission to funk

Diary of a Mad County

Flame Thrower

The awful truth about kimchee

Methamphetamines and Killing

Rock, Roll, & Tumble

Guilty Pleasures

101-200

Buddy Blue

Dinner With Friends puts friendship on trial