After a federal appellate panel overturned his attempted lewd act on a minor conviction, a former high-ranking member of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is arguing that jurors at his new trial should not see intensely graphic internet chats he conducted with individuals he believed to be middle-school girls. Law enforcement officials working with Perverted […]
Crime-iny
Charity For Capistrano Unified School District Sues Former Director For Fraud
The Capistrano Unified School District Foundation (CUSD) is accusing its former executive director of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty for allegedly stealing “in excess of $50,000 for her personal gain.” According to a lawsuit filed inside Orange County Superior Court, Michelle Hart admitted to misappropriating funds in December and immediately resigned. “[Hart] made dozens […]
Sleuth Episode Airs Fight Over What’s Not Appropriate to Say About a Crime Victim
The fourth installment of Sleuth, an iHeartRadio original true-crime podcast exposing controversies in a 2010 Orange County double homicide, begins with Linda Sawyer hosting a mini-debate about whether a crime victim’s own dark past is fair game for journalistic discussion. An indignant Steve Herr, whose son Sam was lost in the crime, did not appreciate […]
Surgeon/Reality TV Dater and Girlfriend Allegedly Drugged and Raped Women
A Newport Beach orthopaedic surgeon, who appeared on the Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, had a dating ritual with his girlfriend that involved finding a second woman and drugging and raping her, according to authorities with fears there may be 1,000 victims. Dr. Grant William Robicheaux, 38, of Newport Beach, is charged […]
Holy Fraud! Ashley Bemis’ Alleged History of Deception Before the Holy Fire
As the Weekly reported last week, many OC residents were shocked to discover that Ashley Bemis swindled $11 thousand from good Samaritans in the wake of the Holy Fire. According to Carrie Braun, a spokesperson for the OC Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), Bemis created a fake husband named Shane Goodman who Bemis claimed was battling the […]
New Pervy Charges for Teacher Suspected of Putting Semen in OC Students’ Flutes
Remember the story from last year about the music teacher accused of possibly giving semen-filled flutes to students in Fountain Valley, the Fullerton, Newport-Mesa and Capistrano Unified school districts as well as elsewhere in Southern California? It was an apparent crime so heinous that the Weekly had dual reports Oct. 2 on our news and […]
Restaurant Tip Jar Thief Complains About 18-Year Prison Sentence
Orange County’s Paul Avila III celebrated July 4, 2014, by stealing the employee’s tip jar off a counter inside a Hong Kong Express restaurant in Fullerton and within minutes committed more crimes that eventually landed him inside a California prison for an 18-year sentence. Avila began formally protesting his case late last year with hopes […]
Feds Detain Glock-Toting OC Man Found with Five Pounds of Coke and Meth
Federal law enforcement officials are detaining an Orange County convicted felon for once again possessing a weapon while selling cocaine and methamphetamine. According to a grand jury indictment, police officers found Doc Huu Nguyen with more than three pounds of cocaine plus two-and-a-half pounds of methamphetamine as well as a 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun and […]
OCDA Cuts Deal to Thwart Public Hearing into Jail Phone Surveillance Scandal
Days after OC Weekly’s August revelation that ethical issues tied to jailhouse telephone surveillance by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) for two years had stalled the severe pending punishment of a defendant, prosecutors quietly gave a sweetheart deal rather than surrender subpoenaed records and undergo public hearings into potential law enforcement perjury. As a result […]
Woman Guilty as Accessory In Fiancé’s Committed Double Orange County Murder
An Orange County jury this afternoon found onetime theater actor Rachel Buffett guilty of two felony counts of accessory after the fact in a bizarre double 2010 homicide that won international attention. Daniel Wozniak, Buffett’s boyfriend she planned to marry days after the gruesome crimes, is already sitting on California’s death row inside San Quentin […]
New Sleuth Podcast Reveals Incredible Journey of Murder Victim’s Father
Following the recent debut of Sleuth—an iHeartRadio original true crime investigation into ongoing mysteries in one of Orange County’s most bizarre double murder cases, journalist Linda Sawyer returns this week to explore how Steve Herr, the father of a victim, probed the crime, interviewed the killer and made key discoveries. Daniel Wozniak, 34, sits today […]
Second Suspect Charged in Possible Hate Crime Murder of Iranian American Student
On the eve of statute of limitations, the Orange County district attorney’s office (OCDA) is charging a second person in the 2015 stabbing murder of 22-year-old college student Shayan Mazroei at a Laguna Niguel bar. Elizabeth Anne Thornburg, a 38-year-old Mission Viejo resident, now faces a felony “accessory after the fact” charge for allegedly aiding […]
Irvine Cocaine Deal Turned Murder Case Gets Re-Examined
A California Court of Appeal in Santa Ana this week granted rare habeas corpus relief to a prison inmate incarcerated for a special-circumstances homicide, this one the 2006 Super Bowl Sunday robbery and murder of an Irvine cocaine dealer. For 47-year-old Stephen Joseph Bennett, the ruling means his sentence will go from spending the remainder […]
Todd Spitzer’s New TV Ad Campaign Blasts DA Tony Rackauckas
Two months before November’s general election, Supervisor Todd Spitzer announced the launch of a “seven-figure” television advertising campaign in his effort to unseat 75-year-old Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. Spitzer’s campaign highlighted one ad that focuses on the supervisor’s “work to keep kids out of crime and homeless off the streets.” A second ad […]
Lawsuit by Man Incarcerated Six Years for Civil Contempt Gets Postponed
A man jailed for six years solely on a civil contempt charge will have to wait longer for a federal jury to hear his $25 million constitutional rights lawsuit against the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD). With the agreement of both parties, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew J. Guilford has moved Zulmai Nazarzai’s scheduled November […]
Prosecutors Grab Guilty Pleas in Synthetic Fentanyl and Counterfeit Oxycodone Scam
Nearly five months after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged three Orange County men with operating a scam selling the synthetic opioid fentanyl and counterfeit oxycodone pills, two of the defendants this week made plea deals. According to records inside the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse, Duc Cao of Orange and Isaiah Suarez of […]
73-year-old Allegedly Slayed Stepdaughter, 11, and Shot and Stabbed 36-year-old Wife
Garden Grove homicide detectives are dealing with one very messed up case: A 73-year-old man is accused of stabbing his 11-year-old stepdaughter to death as well as shooting and stabbing his 36-year-old wife multiple times. Tanh Thien Tran, who resides in Garden Grove, also stabbed himself before officers took him into custody, says Garden Grove […]
Orange Countians Accused of Spying or Bucking Sanctions for Iran
This region has suddenly become a hotbed for spies for the Islamic Republic of Iran. A hearing is set for Sept. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where Ahmadreza Doostdar, 38, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen born in Long Beach, and Majid Ghorbani, 59, who has lived and worked in Costa […]
New Podcast Sleuth Highlights Mysteries in Bizarre Orange County Double Murder
While digging into one of Southern California’s most bizarre double-murder case, investigative journalist Linda Sawyer answered her phone in 2015 to hear the voice of Daniel Wozniak, the killer. A veteran of ABC, MTV, CBS, FOX, PBS and HBO as a producer/writer, Sawyer—as most crime reporters would—felt a mix of apprehension and excitement. Wozniak’s gruesome […]
Devil’s Weed was Sold Unlawfully at the Church of Peace and Glory, Sayeth the Law
California’s new Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) participated in the arrest of a Newport Beach man accused of operating an unlawful marijuana dispensary in Costa Mesa. Omid Delkash, 47, was charged Monday with four misdemeanor counts of unlawful transportation, sale and furnishing marijuana, according to a joint statement from the BCC, the Orange County District […]
The Real Inmates of Orange County Jail, Starring Alexa Curtin
Alexa Curtin is known for three things: 1) Being the daughter of ex-Real Housewives of Orange County cast member and certified hot mess Lynne Curtin. 2) Once being a “barely legal” porn star (under the name Jayden Taylors). 3) Being awarded $2.25 million in a lawsuit against the County of Orange and sheriff’s deputy Nicholas […]
