Crime Time: No Incidents at Home Plate Before Angel Game

This week's Weekly round-up of local police calls is illustrated with a photo of Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, Anaheim Police Sgt. Greg Palmer, who is president of the Anaheim Police Officers Association, and deputies Gary Lewellyn and Richard Olszynski near home plate an Angel Stadium.

Why?

1)  Lewellyn and Olszynski were honored before June 12's Angels-Padres game for their heroics during a gun battle at Mission Viejo Mall earlier this year that resulted in a serial armed robber being killed.

2) No crime occured anywhere within 10 feet of home plate while the cops hung out there.

On to the calls…
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MONDAY, JUNE 8

That's No Randomly Discarded Item, That's My Wife! During an argument with her husband, Farrah Newell, 31, jumped out of a moving truck
and was banged up. The 2004 Ford
truck driven by Ryan Newell, 29, was traveling about 15 mph east in the
100 block of Adams Avenue in the couple's hometown of Huntington Beach around 2:50 p.m. when the Mrs. made her exit.
She was treated at UCI Medical Center for cuts and bruises to her face
and arms. But the important thing is, she won the argument. They always do.

TUESDAY, JUNE 9

Off-Hours Thieves Nabbed By On-Hour Officers: Five men suspected of belonging to a commercial burglary ring in at
least five states were arrested following an investigation by Orange
and Los Angeles County investigators. Los Angeles Police Department
detectives later said they had received information the crew liked to
strike jewelry stores in off hours and was about to strike again when
they put the Montebello Town Center shopping mall under surveillance.
That's where three of the alleged burglars were popped around 5 a.m.
Their arrest led to search warrants of six other locations and the
arrest of the other two suspects. The five were blamed for the March 24
heist of watches, gold pieces, necklaces and precious stones from a
jewelry store that had not yet opened for the day at The Shops at
Mission Viejo, another job at Santa Ana's Main Place Mall and others in
LA County.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10

Call Security on the Former Security Guard: Retired Marine Tracy Ramon Seward, 39, of Laguna Hills,
used worked as a security guard for the La Mirada School District. Now he
faces life in prison for taking a man hostage and leading police on
a high-speed chase through many South County cities. Seward, who is
being held in lieu of $2 million bail, wore a dark suit and tie with a
white collared shirt into Payday Loan Corp, 23775 El Toro Road, Lake
Forest, around 9 a.m., pulled out a gun, took a 61-year-old customer
hostage and forced him into his blue Mitsubishi Montero. Deputies
chased the car at speeds that reached 100 mph through Lake Forest,
Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods before Seward stopped in the parking lot
of a three-story business building on Mill Creek Drive in Laguna Hills
and surrendered to authorities. His hostage walked away unharmed.
Schools along the chase route had been closed as a precaution.

Something Was Off-Caliber at Caliber Motors: Riverside's Sheryl Lynn Law, 46, and her sister-in-law, Jessica
Louise Newark, 64, of Whittier, were arrested on suspicion of
embezzling more than $1 million from Caliber Motors in Anaheim Hills
over the more than 10 years Law worked there as a contracts clerk in
the financial department. According to the Orange County District
Attorney's Office, Law wrote 144 fraudulent checks from Caliber Motors
to Newark or her now-deceased husband between June 19, 2000, and Aug.
13, 2007. The pair then split the money, prosecutors said. Law is also
accused of cooking the dealership books to hide the thefts, which a
business manager discovered in 2007 before Anaheim Police were
contacted. Held on $1 million bail each, Law and Newark are charged
with grand theft by embezzlement, 80 felony counts of computer access
and fraud, and sentencing enhancement allegations for white collar
crime over $500,000. If convicted on all counts, they could get up to
63 years in the can.

Shooting is a Blooming Mystery: An unidentified, 35-year-old, married father of three was hospitalized
in critical condition after suffering multiple gunshot wounds while
driving out of the Cinnamon Tree Condominiums, 212 Kraemer Blvd.,
Placentia, around 9 p.m. He apparently lost control of the 2005 silver
Pontiac GTO and crossed four traffic lanes and the center divider
before coming to a stop against a eucalyptus tree. Witnesses said a man
jumped into the bullet-riddled GTO after the shooting, but he was no where to be found
when police arrived and had the victim transported to an area hospital.

THURSDAY, JUNE 11

One Pill Makes You Nervous, and One Pill Makes You Crash Your Minivan: Prescription drugs may have been involved in a spinout crash in which a
red minivan went off the right shoulder of the northbound 405 freeway
at Springdale Street in Westminster around 8:30 a.m. The driver seemed
to be unresponsive when rescuers arrived, but the blackout was no
believed to be related to the spinout. Blood test allegedly indicated
the driver might have been doped up in the incident that made the
morning a commute a bitch for other drivers.

Wonder If They Met at 4:20? A 37-year-old math teacher at Corona del Mar High
School, Chad Edward Smith, was arrested after the parent of a 16-year-old discovered text
messages about the teen smoking marijuana with Smith. The teen, a
Newport Harbor High School, apparently met Smith outside of the school
system. The teacher was held on $50,000 bail and placed on paid
administrative leave from his job.

FRIDAY, JUNE 12

Oh, That Narrows It Down: A man described as Hispanic or Middle Eastern, in his early to late
40s, about 5'8″ to 5'10″ tall and 180 pounds, walked into Wells Fargo
Bank, 441 West Whittier Blvd., La Habra, just after 1 p.m., said he had
a gun and demanded cash. He fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of
cash.

At Least the Floor Under His Knees Was Now Clean: The Flame Broiler at 1000 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, was closed
around 10 p.m., but a man wielding a gun opened the back door, got down
on his knees and crawled to the front counter, where he ordered one of
three employees cleaning the restaurant to place all of the cash from
the register in a bag before fleeing on foot. No one was injured.

He'd Be the One Without the Marching High Heels: A man and woman walking south on Harbor Boulevard in Fullerton around
midnight were approached by a man who started a conversation. Later he
grabbed the woman's purse and fought off her Prince Charming before
running west on Truslow Avenue, purse still in hand.

SATURDAY, JUNE 13

Another Good Reason to Be Penniless: A 19-year-old was walking near Harvard Square Park in Irvine as part of
his regular fitness routine just after 1 a.m. Saturday when three men
carrying baseball bats demanded money from him. He explained he was
traveling light, and the would-be robbers seemed satisfied after on ran
his bat over the would-be victim's pockets to ensure he wasn't carrying
anything. Described as men in their 20s, they let him go and then fled.
Police say it's the third recent case of groups of young men targeting
Irvine residents walking alone.

Blockhead at the Block: Four off-duty
Orange County Sheriff's deputies who'd just enjoyed a meal at TGI
Friday's at the Block at Orange around 1:30 a.m. say they came upon Miguel Angeles, 25, in the parking lot allegedly abusing his wife and wielding a knife while she was pinned to
the ground. Instead of turning away because they weren't on the clock, the foursome gallantly arrested Angeles on suspicion of spousal abuse, assault
with a deadly weapon and exhibiting a deadly weapon. The deputies, who were only identified
as working in the jail system, reportedly told the man to back off, at
which point he is said to have pulled a knife on them. One deputy then
pulled out his gun and demanded the suspect drop the knife. When he
refused, another deputy tackled, disarmed and handcuffed Angeles before
Orange Police arrived to cart him off to the pokey. Guess who he'll get
to see there? He's just lucky they didn't shoot his ass.

SUNDAY, JUNE 14

Can You Hear Me–HEY! A thin, barefoot man in his mid-30s wearing a blue t-shirt ripped a
woman's cell phone out of her hand near Timeout Tavern, 27822 Aliso
Creek Roa, Aliso Viejo, before fleeing south around 7:15 p.m.

MONDAY, JUNE 15

Someone's in a World of Trouble: Menifee's Oscar Javier De La Torre Villalobos, 22, was in serious
condition at UCI Medical Center in Orange after being the driver in a
three-car pileup Monday night that left another man dead and three
other people injured. Villalobos was also arrested on suspicion of
felony manslaughter, felony DUI and felony evading and battery. Anaheim
Police, who received a call around 7:30 p.m. about an assault and
battery in the parking lot of an auto parts store at La Palma Avenue
and Brookhurst Street, arrived to find two men leaving the scene in a
red truck. A chase that reached speeds of 80-100 mph ensued but it only
lasted about a minute before the driver of the truck ran through a red
light at Crescent and Magnolia avenues and collidied with a Toyota
Camry and a gray Toyota truck. The driver of the gray truck, Orlando
Botello, 49, of Chino Hills, died as a result of his injuries. The
unidentified driver of the Camry was in critical condition. Villalobos
was indentified as the driver of the red truck, but his passenger was
not named. Police were unsure what led to their original confrontation
with a man who was having trouble with his motorcycle at the auto parts
store.