William Froeberg

Stall in Montessori Killer/Rapist Sentencing

Superior Court Judge William Froeberg had intended to announce punishment this morning for convicted Montessori killer/rapist Jonathan Phong Khanh Tran, 22. But Tran's mother switched defense lawyers and, through new counsel Al Stokke, asked for a five-month delay. Froeberg granted the request. The ... More >>

White Supremacists Jury Reaches Some Verdicts

White supremacists Michael Lamb and Jason Rump must have sighed in relief this afternoon. Despite a week of deliberations following their nine-week trial, the panel hasn't been able to reach unanimous verdicts on the murder and attempted-murder counts. But at lunchtime today, jurors announced they ... More >>

White Supremacist Gangsters Guilty

An Orange County jury of seven men and five women took nine days after a nine-week trial to convict two Public Enemy Number One Death Squad hoodlums for the 2002 murder of another gangster and the attempted murder of an undercover Anaheim cop. Michael Allan Lamb, 32 (left), and Jacob Anthony Rump, ... More >>

OC White Supremacist Killer Avoids Death Penalty

Just before lunch today, the jury in the Michael Allan Lamb murder case announced itself "hopelessly deadlocked" on whether the Public Enemy Number One (PENI) Death Squad member deserved the death penalty. The vote was nearly tied after almost three days of deliberating. Six jurors wanted death; f ... More >>

PENI Gangster Won't See Freedom Again

This afternoon Superior Court Judge William Froeberg sentenced convicted killer Jacob Rump, a 30-year-old Orange County gangster, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a 2002 ambush murder in Anaheim. Details about the case involving Rump (pictured), who is a member of Public Enem ... More >>

Overheard in the Courtroom

Before a recent Orange County criminal trial of a Vietnamese American defendant, Superior Court Judge William Froeberg asked if any of the prospective jurors could speak Vietnamese. There was silence and then: Juror #126: I know one word of Vietnamese! Froeberg: One word? Juror 126: It's not a ... More >>

Lamb Chopped: White Supremacist Gets Death

White supremacist gangster and killer Michael Lamb (pictured) trotted into a heavily guarded Orange County courtroom this afternoon, chuckled with his lawyers and watched quietly as a court clerk announced the jury's verdict: death. But the proceedings, which took less than two minutes, nearly lef ... More >>

Death Official for PEN1 White Supremacist Killer

Dana Point's Michael Lamb ditched his menacing shaved head look and entered Judge William Froeberg's 10th floor Santa Ana courtroom this morning with a full, messy head of hair that still couldn't cover the white supremacist tattoos doting his scalp, face, throat and neck. It wasn't like Lamb, a v ... More >>

[Moxley Confidential] Politeness Didn't Help Montessori Killer Jonathan Tran at Sentencing

Dana Point's Michael Lamb ditched his menacing shaved head look and entered Judge William Froeberg's 10th floor Santa Ana courtroom this morning with a full, messy head of hair that still couldn't cover the white supremacist tattoos doting his scalp, face, throat and neck. It wasn't like Lamb, a v ... More >>

Author Tells of Her Relationship with Killer Skylar Deleon

"I sat down with a killer the other day," begins Tina Dirmann's feature in the March issue of Orange Coast. "Funny, I thought, how, up close the face of evil often doesn't look so very evil at all."Dirmann's subject is Skylar Deleon, the former Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers actor turned con man, dru ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

"I sat down with a killer the other day," begins Tina Dirmann's feature in the March issue of Orange Coast. "Funny, I thought, how, up close the face of evil often doesn't look so very evil at all."Dirmann's subject is Skylar Deleon, the former Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers actor turned con man, dru ... More >>

[Moxley Confidential] Sheriff Hutchens' Concealed-Weapon Policy Prompts Talk of Homosexual Plot

"I sat down with a killer the other day," begins Tina Dirmann's feature in the March issue of Orange Coast. "Funny, I thought, how, up close the face of evil often doesn't look so very evil at all."Dirmann's subject is Skylar Deleon, the former Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers actor turned con man, dru ... More >>

OC Murderer Escapes Death Row--for Now

Jury deadlocks on ‘ultimate’ punishment for Michael Lamb

White Meat, Please

DA roasts Lamb and Rump, two seasoned white supremacists

'Nicest Killer I've Ever Met'

Jonathan Tran, 22, convicted in Montessori murder and teen prostitute rapes

A Day in the Park With Hitler

One Good Bribery Charge Deserves Another

After grand jury indicts Jaramillo, ex-top cop accuses DA of similar crime

Letters

After grand jury indicts Jaramillo, ex-top cop accuses DA of similar crime

31 Scariest People in OC

After grand jury indicts Jaramillo, ex-top cop accuses DA of similar crime

Shantae Molina is Innocent

Now we begin the search for the guilty

I-Want-The-White-Girl Killer Also Wanted His Conviction Tossed and Gets a Surprise

Hanna Montessori's Killer Gets An Unpleasant Surprise​Jonathan Phong Khanh Tran--dubbed by a homicide detective as "the nicest killer" he'd ever met--has waited 17 months in a California prison in hopes that a state court of appeal would overturn his rape, oral copulation and murder convictions in ... More >>

Why is Brenice Lee Smith Still Behind Bars, Awaiting Trial?

Nick SchouBrenice Lee Smith at his first court hearing​A man accused of of membership in the so-called "Hippie Mafia"--and who has spent the past three decades living a peaceful, possession-free life in a Nepalese monastery--has now been languishing in jail for more than a month.Brenice Lee Smith ... More >>

Capo Unified's Fleming Delays His Day in Court, Again

Anna, James, Maya: All reminders of a simpler time.​Remember 2007? M.I.A. released a really good album, the surge in Iraq was all the talk, Anna Nicole Smith laid to rest her gentle head and everyone assumed Hillary Clinton was going to be the next President.It was also the year in which James Fle ... More >>

Fugitive Buddhist Monk Pleads Guilty, Goes Free Tonight, Brotherhood Case Finally Closed!

Lorey JamesBrenice Lee Smith and his family in Kathmandu, circa 2000Brenice Lee Smith, the last remaining fugitive from the once-infamous 1972 Brotherhood of Eternal Love case, will be set free from Theo Lacy Prison tonight, having pleaded guilty this morning to transporting hashish from Afghanistan ... More >>

Distant Karma Catches Up With the Brotherhood's Brenice Lee Smith

Lorey JamesBrenice Lee Smith and his family in Kathmandu, circa 2000Brenice Lee Smith, the last remaining fugitive from the once-infamous 1972 Brotherhood of Eternal Love case, will be set free from Theo Lacy Prison tonight, having pleaded guilty this morning to transporting hashish from Afghanistan ... More >>

Arthur Carmona's Killer Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

Courtesy of the Orange County District Attorney's OfficeFelix Abreu's 2008 booking photo​Early in the morning of February 17, 2008, a fight broke out at a house party in Santa Ana. As bystanders raced out of the house, trying to flee the scene, a gray pickup truck careened around the nearest stree ... More >>

Court: Ex-South Vietnam Soldier Can't Blame PTSD in Double Murder

Le: The latest victim of the Vietnam War​As a soldier, Peter Nong Le defended South Vietnam in battles with the communists from 1960 to 1975. In 1971, Le became a brutalized prisoner of war (POW) forced to march the Ho Chi Minh trail. Victorious North Vietnamese forces sent him to a post-war conce ... More >>

Defense In Murder Case Against Ex-NFL Player Cries 'Illegal Procedure!'

[Moxley Confidential] Was the cold-case homicide of William McLaughlin cold for so long that exculpatory evidence disappeared?

Eric Naposki, Ex-NFL Player, Will Face Jury For Murder

Naposki: Suit up, boy. It's game time!​One-time linebacker for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, Eric Naposki had been hoping that an Orange County judge would dismiss the murder case against him and an ex-girlfriend in the gun slaying of a wealthy Newport Beach businessman.Defense ... More >>

Eric Naposki Killed Bill, DA Tells OC Jury

H. Lorren Au Jr. / Orange County RegisterLosing first quarter for Eric Naposki?​Eric Naposki, a onetime star professional football player, couldn't hide his contempt this afternoon during the prosecution's opening statement that ended with a confident prediction that jurors will hold him "accounta ... More >>

Eric Naposki Murder Trial Wins Laughter in Day 2

OC Register pool photoA tame second quarter for Eric Naposki​I wish I could have yesterday back in the case of the People of California versus Eric Naposki, and not just because of mid-morning indigestion from a rubbery courthouse cafeteria blueberry muffin.On Monday, the trial's opening day, Napo ... More >>

Key Fact May Doom Eric Naposki in Newport Beach Murder Trial

Oops. The killer left this key at the crime scene​In Day 3 of Eric Naposki's murder trial, jurors learned several damning, pro-prosecution facts, but the ex-NFL player still managed to deliver a big, confident wink at his girlfriend who was in the public seating section of Judge William Froeberg's ... More >>

Accused Killer Eric Naposki Finally Gets a Positive Plug in Day 4 of his Murder Trial

OC Register pool photoNaposki​It took four days of trial, but a witness finally made positive comments about accused killer Eric Naposki, the former professional football player, who is charged with gunning down a Newport Beach businessman in a 1994 plot to steal part of the man's estimate $15 mil ... More >>

Eric Naposki Defense Hints At Better Shooter Suspects

Johnston and Naposki at the time of the murder​In his best chance so far to dominate Judge William Froeberg's Santa Ana courtroom on behalf of murder defendant Eric Naposki, New York-based defense lawyer Angelo MacDonald spent nearly five hours today working diligently to undermine the prosecution ... More >>

Eric Naposki Murder Trial Gets Brutal and Then A Funny Man Takes The Witness Stand

Angelo MacDonald​You've probably never heard of Kevin Ross Johnston, but this guy should be a witness in every murder trial.Why?Not because Johnston--a tall, natty, silver-bearded fellow with a quick, hearty laugh--has any known criminal expertise. Well, sure, there are those speeding tickets and ... More >>

Eric Naposki Lawyer Slams Police For Arresting an Innocent Man

OC Register media pool photoMacDonald blames shoddy police work for his client's arrest​In a 64-minute opening statement, Eric Naposki's defense lawyer told an Orange County jury that "common sense" proves the former NFL player could not have gunned down a Newport Beach millionaire because evidenc ... More >>

Eric Naposki Defense Puts Gun in Co-Conspirator's Hands

OC Register media pool photoAngelo MacDonald​To divert juror attention away from their client as a cold-blooded murderer, Eric Naposki's defense team today summoned a witness who testified that he saw Naposki's alleged co-conspirator, Nanette Johnston, practice shooting firearms in the months befo ... More >>

Eric Naposki's Murder Prosecutor Slams Defense Lawyer Tactics

OC Register media pool photoNaposki: Thinks the case against him is laughable​"He's got the suit. He's got the hair. He's got the watch and the shoes. He's a master in his style . . . [He] sounds great but there's absolutely no substance . . . Maybe that works in New York."That was Matt Murphy, a ... More >>

Eric Naposki's Murder Defense Botched Chance Today To Exonerate The Ex-NFL Linebacker

OC Register media pool photoDefense lawyer Gary Pohlson has one last chance to explain away Naposki lies​On the same day that a prosecutor questioned why a supposedly innocent murder suspect decided to engage in "mind f-ing the police" who were attempting to solve the crime, a defense lawyer for t ... More >>

[BREAKING with More Coverage:] Eric Naposki GUILTY of Murder!

​UPDATE, JULY 14, 6:25 P.M.: The Weekly's R. Scott Moxley was in the courtroom this afternoon as the guilty verdict was read in former NFL player Eric Naposki's special circumstances murder trial.Check back for Moxley's latest trial coverage. In the meantime, take a look at his story, "Eric, Get Y ... More >>

[GUILTY!] Eric Naposki's Verdict Shines Spotlight on Newport Beach Police Department Heroics

OC Register media pool photoProsecutor Matt Murphy nabs another murderer​In most respects, today was a typical day in Orange County: Surfers hit Pacific Ocean waves under a cloudless sky. Shoppers crammed into South Coast Plaza. The notorious 55 freeway wrecked people's schedules. Excited tourists ... More >>

Eric Naposki's Rocky Murder Picture Show

[Moxley Confidential] Ex-NFL player hoped a crime-scene photo would save him from a homicide conviction

OC's Scariest People 2011

Celebrating the Day of the Dead with some of the county's worst offenders

Andrew Cervantes, Charged at 14 with 2010 Murder of 17-Year-Old, Gets 40 years to Life

Glenda's Bail BondsAndrew Cervantes​Andrew Cervantes, who at 14 was believed last year to be the youngest person charged as an adult for murder in Orange County, today received what is likely the stiffest sentence handed to a 15-year-old here: 40 years to life in state prison.Cervantes was convict ... More >>

Jason Russell Richardson Barks "I'm Innocent" Before Getting Death for Killing Tustin Home Depot Manager

​"I didn't kill anybody, I'm innocent!" Jason Russell Richardson blurted out in court Monday.Tell it to the judge.Actually, Richardson did, and Orange County Superior Court Judge William Froeberg responded by sentencing the Oceanside 41-year-old to die for the 2007 murder of a Tustin Home Depot ma ... More >>

Vincent Valdez's MySpace Stupidity Cost Him 10 Years in Prison

Yums​Vincent Julian Valdez's stupidity on MySpace cost him 10 years in a California prison.In 2007, the trigger-happy Santa Ana hoodlum with the Thug Family Life (T.F.L.) gang obviously didn't get the memo concerning stealth.Valdez attempted to reduce his potential prison exposure after committing ... More >>

OC Courthouse Boneheaded Move of the Day!

Samer Mouwakeh: Defeated by a lazy courthouse elevator​Everyone knows traffic in Orange County is often horrible, but the biggest jams aren't always on the streets. At times, the pedestrian traffic congestion at the elevators inside the county's Central Justice Center in Santa Ana seems worse.But ... More >>

Eric Naposki Murder Sentencing Delayed

Naposki: Delay of game​Former New England Patriot's linebacker Eric Naposki, now a convicted murderer, took a break from his seemingly continual jailhouse network TV interviews to appear today in court, where he asked that his punishment be delayed until May 18.Naposki entered Superior Court Judge ... More >>

Little Saigon Wah Ching Gangster Anh Duoc Nguyen Learns His Fate

Wah Ching!​In less than 15 seconds in the middle of the night on June 2, 2007 in Orange County's Little Saigon, gun-happy Vietnamese immigrant Anh Duoc Nguyen, though just 17 years old, forever lost his youth and his freedom.Until Jan. 20, Nguyen--a onetime Garden Grove High School student and mem ... More >>

Garden Grove Prostitute Killer Learns His Punishment

Gomez​A Los Angeles gangster, undocumented alien and pimp who beat and then strangled a 24-year-old prostitute to death in her Garden Grove hotel room in 2009 tilted his head to the right and then to the left but said nothing when Judge William Froeberg pronounced punishment this afternoon: life i ... More >>