Crime Time: Rapers! Robbers! Wife Killer! Bad Cops! And a Real Bozo!

It's the Weekly's weekly round-up of local police calls–a day late and many dollars short of paying off the creditors who won't stop calling!

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MONDAY, OCT. 12

​Quick Publication of Photos, Quicker Arrest Police released the two images at the top from a gas station's surveillance video of a man who they say later sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman who'd been waiting for a bus at Hewes Street and Chapman Avenue in Orange around 11 a.m. That led to the arrest of David Julian Stieglitz, 32, of Anaheim, who is charged with forcibly raping two women. If convicted, he could get life in prison. He is accused of pulling up to the bus stop in his Saturn sedan and offering the 18-year-old a ride before taking her to a nearby restaurant parking lot where he allegedly digitally penetrated and forcibly raped her before dropping her off at Santiago Canyon College and driving away. News reports caused a second woman to come forward. The 22-year-old reported a similar crime involving the suspect occurred on March 19. Supervising District Attorney Investigator Randy Litwin is seeking other possible victims. Got info? Call him at (714) 347-8794.

TUESDAY, OCT. 13

Stop and Rob A man pretended to be a customer as he walked up to the counter at Stanton Liquor Jr. Market in the 9000 block of Katella Avenue in unincorporated Anaheim just before 7 a.m. But instead of producing Cool Ranch Doritos, a can of Mountain Dew or turkey jerky, he whipped out a handgun and demanded the clerk open the register. After getting some cash, the gunman ordered the clerk to the ground, frisked him and split. He was described as 20-21, 5 feet 11, clean shaven with black hair and wearing a light brown jacket and blue jeans.

Covering His Ow-ies? A man with Band-Aids covering his earlobes walked into the Wachovia bank at 13962 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach, just before noon and handed a teller a note stating he had a gun. He left with some cash and was further described as 30-35, 5 feet 6, 160 pounds, unshaven, with short brown hair and wearing a tan baseball cap, a long-sleeve, blue plaid shirt over a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Stolen Goods R Us A grand theft and identity theft investigation launched by Costa Mesa police after being contacted by representatives from the Loss Prevention and Fraud sections of Sephora, an international retail chain specializing in products including fragrance and skin care, resulted in the 9 a.m. arrest of Jason Le Tran, 23, of Fountain Valley. Local detectives worked with the Secret Service to determine credit information belonging to unknowing victims across the United States was used for purchases shipped via UPS to three particular apartment complexes in Costa Mesa. It was discovered vacant apartments in the 1000 block of South Coast Drive were scheduled to receive UPS deliveries today, so a detective posing as a driver completed the scheduled deliveries, leaving the packages outside the door. Police say Tran was then seen picking up a package at one of the apartments within 15 minutes. He was followed and stopped by detectives and Secret Service agents who arrested him and confiscated shipping receipts and maps of apartments related to other similar fraudulent purchases in his vehicle. Police say additional evidence linking Tran to the crimes, including opened and unopened Sephora products, were found in his home. So far, he has been linked to fraudulent transactions totaling more than $11,000 in merchandise loss. He is suspected of using his job as a Domino's Pizza delivery driver to locate the vacant apartments used as drop-off spots, and police say many stolen items were shipped by Tran to a crime partner in Vietnam for resale. Tran allegedly posted items for sale on eBay under the user name “AndyHo2008.”

She's Lucky Those Guys Didn't See Saw A 29-year-old woman walking in the 2200 block of West First Street in Santa Ana was approached by three to five men around 10 p.m. when someone placed a rag over her face and spirited her away. She later awoke in a bed at an Anaheim home, and she was lying next to a man she didn't know. She believes she was raped before the men dropped her off at Chapman Avenue and the 5 freeway. After contacting police, she was taken to Anaheim Memorial Medical Center. She could provide no descriptions of her abductors nor the vehicle used to cart her around. Anyone with information is asked to call Santa Ana police at (714) 245-8351.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 14

Shell Game With Envelopes and Purses A woman walking home from a bank in the area of Third Street and Broadway in Santa Ana was approached by another woman who asked for directions around 7 p.m. The second woman then took the first woman's purse, which had an envelope with $2,000 inside, and climbed into an SUV with a man inside. The victim says she saw the female thief put the envelope in her own purse and hand the victim's purse to the man, who put a different envelope inside, got out of the SUV and threw the victim's purse on the ground. They both then drove off. The victim retrieved her purse, opened the new envelope and found strips of newspaper inside.

THURSDAY, OCT. 15

Neighborhood Tranquility Shattered A resident in the 21400 block of Calle de Oro in Lake Forest called 9-1-1 around 3:30 a.m. to report her car's back window had been broken. Sheriff's deputies arrived to discover four other vehicles in the neighborhood suffered similar fates. A wider search found at least 15 cars with window damage along Via del Rio and Calle de Oro. One neighbor provided a description of the glass breaker that led to the arrest of Lake Forest 19-year-old Michael Scaminaci, who was found on Trabuco Road allegedly carrying three portable GPS units, a camera, a cordless drill, cash and a BB gun believed to have been used for smash and grabs.

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FRIDAY, OCT. 16

He Put the “Jerk” in “John” (Allegedly) An investigation by Garden Grove police led to the 7:30 a.m. arrest of Oscar David Duenas, 27, of Santa Ana, on suspicion of forcibly raping three prostitutes and threatening them with a gun (a felony times three), two felony counts of forcible oral copulation and one felony count each of criminal threats, false imprisonment by violence, and second degree robbery. If convicted, he could get life in prison. The Orange County District Attorney's Office says that on three separate dates between Sept. 20 and Oct. 2, Duenas raped three women ages 18 to 30 while they were working as prostitutes. He is accused of having picked up each victim in Garden Grove, driven them in his Lexus sedan to a bank to withdraw cash, taken them to a residential area to have sex and then, once parked, threatened the women by showing a gun and forcibly raping all three, forcing two to give him blow jobs and stealing one's money.

 

Courtesy of Orange County District Attorney

Richard Ernest Caselli

For Whom the Toll Road Tolls A Volvo sedan was hitting speeds over 100 mph on the 73 toll road just before 6:30 p.m. when the driver lost control north of Laguna Canyon Road and crashed into a Nissan sport utility vehicle driven by 51-year-old Brook Boynton, who was immediately ejected as he car spun uncontrollably onto the right shoulder, where he died. The Volvo eventually came to a stop, and police say the driver showed signs of intoxication, including bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech and omitting an odor of alcohol. Richard Ernest Caselli, 37, of Ladera Ranch, has been charged with one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison if convicted.

 

He Wasn't There For Pilates A man walked into a health club in the 8600 block of Irvine Center Drive in Irvine some time before 10 p.m. and headed for the men's locker room, where he broke into two lockers and rummaged through a third one that was unlocked. When he was confronted by a club member, the man bolted for the exit and then a vehicle in the lot. Witnesses got the license plate number and called police. The address tied to the plate did not lead to a suspect because the car has apparently changed ownership several times. More follow up by detectives eventually led them to Vista, where 50-year-old Dan Berrey Harkey was arrested on suspicion of burglary and possession of burglary tools, including bolt-cutters police believe was used to pry open locked lockers. Detectives say Harkey used someone else's club membership to enter the facility, and they wonder if that, too, was stolen. The total loss in the case was tabbed at $180.

SATURDAY, OCT. 17

That Afternoon, the Irish Would Take On USC: Coincidence? Police received a call just after 12:30 a.m. about someone using some kind of gun to shoot a potato onto the front door of a home in the 16100 block of Littler Drive in Huntington Beach. The Littler home's entry way was, ahem, littered with potato debris.

SUNDAY, OCT. 18

He Wasn't There to Blow Out Candles A crowd was gathered in the street outside a birthday party in the 1200 block of Deerpark Drive in Fullertonat around 12:30 a.m. when a black Bentley approached. Thinking the driver was his cousin, a celebrant approached the passenger side of the luxury car. When males partygoers realized the two weren't related, words were exchanged and a passenger got out of the vehicle, showed off a handgun, got back into the car and fired four shots into the air. No one was hit, but they were surely mighty scared. The shooter was described as a 25-year-old Latino, 5 feet 10, 170 pounds with a shaved head.

This Is Why You Don't Move Next Door to the Sopranos Sheriff's deputies received a call around 9:15 a.m. from a woman living in the 25100 block of Via Piedra Roja in Aliso Viejo who said a neighbor threw into her yard.

Anyone Seen Grandma? Elaine Williams reportedly went out to run some errands around noon, and when the 68-year-old did did not return by 6 p.m. to her home near Culver Drive and the 5 freeway in Irvine, police were called. Her family reported she is easily disoriented and occasionally loses her way. Police could not find her at first and appealed to the public for help. Fortunately, she was located in good condition the following morning. She had evidently run out of gas on the freeway in the Los Angeles area and was assisted by the California Highway Patrol, which reunited her with her family.

Shoobie Doobie Down to Ruby's Kids who'd duct-taped another kid to a chair were seen rolling him down the Huntington Beach Pier toward Ruby's Diner just after 8 p.m.

MONDAY, OCT. 19

This Should Warrant a Note From the Nurse's Office A 16-year-old boy was arguing with one or more other students in a restroom at Saddleback High School, 2802 S. Flower St., Santa Ana, just after noon when someone pulled out a knife and stabbed the first boy numerous times. His injuries were not life-threatening, but he was hospitalized. No arrests were reported at press time, a weapon was confiscated and police were still trying to sort out whether the incident was gang-related.

The New Apple i-Gone Men were sitting in the garage of a home on Rockinghorse Road just south of Garden Grove Boulevard around 10:15 p.m. when a man walked up not to join the sausage party but to rob them, He pulled out a chrome and black semiautomatic handgun, took their wallets and a laptop belonging to a 20-year-old victim before darting off. The robber was wearing a black baseball cap, black hoodie, and black jeans.