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Can the tissue-thin fabric of Homeland Security withstand another tear in it? The Orange County Register reported today that federal authorities arrested Eamon Higgins on charges that he was illegally helping some Arabs take college exams in order to extend their visas in the United States.

Seems Mr. ‘iggins would earn about eleven hundred dollars per test, sometimes even more when he attended class for his “students”. Wow. Can I option this story for my Movie of the Week, entitled, “How to Succeed in Education Without Even Showing Up”?

This reeks of a terrorist plot to me. Bet that the Feds are kicking over all the rocks on this one. Fraud of this nature is apparently rarely discovered. What’s funny is that the kind of fraud discovered here happens every day at the DMV, the heartland of immigrant fraud in California. Fraud can be prosecuted as a felony or a misdemeanor. In simple cases of ID fraud, there is probation and fines. In the more sophisticated cases like this one, jail or prison time is assured.

Fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or damage to another and comes in many different forms. Since these are serious crimes that Higgins has been charged with, he will need an experienced fraud defense attorney to assist him. Whether you live in Irvine, Brea or Santa Ana, if you have been charged with fraud, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Javier Colon, convicted of first-degree murder in the throat-slashing death of his girlfriend, was sentenced to 25 to life last week.

Janelle Peralta was forced into their Irvine, California bathroom after an argument escalated into violence between the two. Colon had dropped their one-year old baby and the victim tried to save their child by running out of the apartment. She was ultimately forced into the bathroom and slashed and choked by Colon, who had slashed his own wrists and body dozens of times. Colon survived his own wounds but Peralta died. He was arrested and charged with Murder.

It is difficult to imagine the powerful grip of mental illness that could cause a person to perform these deeds on another person. I would guess that his lawyer tried to assert a mental defense, such as insanity, though it apparently didn’t sway a jury in his favor.

Colon will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, since only a fraction of people serving 25 to-life ever are actually paroled.

To qualify for the death penalty instead of just life in prison without the possibility of parole, special circumstances need to be present. Some special circumstances include felony murder, murdering a peace officer, prosecutor or judge or multiple murders, among others. If you are convicted of murder with special circumstances, you will be on Death Row for years before being executed. If you are sentenced to murder without special circumstances, you will have to spend your life in prison. Whether you live in Santa Ana, Irvine or Newport Beach, if you are charged with murder, call an experienced murder defense attorney right away to assist you.

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Guaranteed you’re going to hear more about a synthetic spray which imitates the effect of cannabis when smoked.

Apparently, some Asian chemists stumbled upon this some years ago. It was commented on by a Clemson chemistry professor, Dr. John Huffman. He was doing a study on the effects of cannabinoids on humans. His comment on anyone smoking this stuff? “They’re idiots”.

The stuff is called K-2. It has a shorter high, has totally unknown short and long-term side effects and it is totally legal in the United States. Europe, however, has banned it. Don’t worry, we’ll ban it soon enough.

Marijuana, for better or worse, can cause cancer, if you smoke it long enough. If you drive with it in your system, you could be arrested and charged with DUI. If you are high on it and are driving with your child in your car, you could be arrested for child endangerment, since it impairs your judgment and reflexes.

if you are charged with marijuana possession or a related offense, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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An Orange County woman is waging a one-woman campaign to identify the man she says groped her while riding the Tower of Terror ride at Disneyland’s California Adventure.

It seems the Anaheim Police aren’t working quickly enough for this person. She bought a keepsake photo of herself on the ride and has tried to implicate a man seated next to her on the ride. The police don’t say whether they have identified this person or whether he’s given a statement. The alleged groping took place in the dark.

Groping is defined under the law as a form of sexual battery. Sexual battery can be punished as a misdemeanor or a felony under California law, section 243.4. In the event the person is caught and convicted, he would be looking at a probation sentence and counseling. The accused may want to assert mistake as a defense, or consent, as I discussed in a January 13 post to my blog concerning a rape case here in Orange County, or that the woman falsely accused him, in order to gain financial benefit by suing Disneyland for failing to protect her from harm. He may even use her photograph to show that he was not assaulting her in any way.

if you are charged with sexual battery, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you in preparing a defense.

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I am always impressed when the laws of physics are turned on their ear. But when it’s combined with a lot of verbal hoohah, I am doubly so.

Consider this story out of Santa Ana, California. A “special officer” with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department got into an altercationwith another motorist. As the other car was driving away, the “special officer” pulled out his gun and fired at the fleeing vehicle. Where are we? Pecos, Texas? Come on!

So……the Sheriff’s department mouthpiece had the cojones to say that the FLEEING car was firing at the “special officer”. That is special. I look forward to seeing all the casings from the bullets fired at the Sheriff’s deputy. As if Orange County needs another story like this about law enforcement.

The law is clear here (except if you’re a “special officer”. If you shoot a gun at someone after they anger you because you didn’t like their driving style? That’s a felony, folks. Ain’t no doubt about it. Recklessly discharging a firearm is a felony and carries the possibility of state prison time. The District Attorney better investigate this. They’ve filed Attempt Murder charges against people for conduct like this. A possible defense is self defense. If the other person threatened this officer and had displayed weapons, he may argue that he was just defending himself. Gun charges are serious, especially when paired with attempt murder charges.

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David Brent, a high-profile prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney’s office, was arrested on Christmas Day for punching his wife in the face.

Roshawn Brent, 27, called 911 while standing next to the couple’s parked car in the city of Huntington Beach. It appears Mr. Brent decided discretion was the better part of valor and beat a retreat, taking the car keys with him.

What makes this story interesting is that the Orange County District Attorney appears to have waited several days before putting out a press release. Past history suggests they are quick to triumph following a high-profile arrest or conviction. So why the delay? It couldn’t be to avoid embarrassment. The arrest was noted in the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register. Also, did Huntington Beach Police sit on the story? Don’t they have press releases? If they did wait to tell, why so?

Domestic Violence is a common crime, cutting across all demographics. When a high official in the Prosecutor’s office is arrested for such a crime, it becomes doubly important to notify the public so that the public accurately perceives the DA’s office as being fair and impartial.

Whether you live in Tustin, Santa Ana or Huntington Beach, if you are charged with domestic assault, call an experienced Orange County criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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It takes an odd and disturbing commitment to flash your privates to nearly 100 south Orange County women while they are by themselves in isolated areas, like parks and hiking trails.

Christopher Holden Fenn was arrested on Feb, 2, 2008 by Tustin police after a 911 caller told them she’d been flashed through the bedroom window of her apartment.

On Sept. 25, 2009 Fenn pleaded guilty to 27 felony counts of indecent exposure with a prior conviction from 1981 and one felony count of aggravated assault.

The crimes ranged in location from Dana Point, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, Tustin, and Rancho Santa Margarita.

Most troubling? It’s hard to say, but the fact that the defendant was married and had four children of his own has to rank up there. Imagine his children having to explain where their father is for the next ten years. The fact that Fenn covered his face while committing the crimes didn’t help him in court and won’t help him with his family, either.

Indecent Exposure is a very serious crime that will frequently come with prison time. If the exposure is repeated, and the defendant has a criminal history of the same or similar conduct, California law permits introduction of those prior acts under certain circumstances. Whether you live in Orange, Mission Viejo or Irvine, if you are charged with flashing or indecent exposure, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you in preparing a defense.

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Jaime Ramirez is looking at life in prison. As a registered violent sex predator. He’s not going to see the light of day if he is convicted of two aggravated rapes.

In the first one, Ramirez allegedly knocked on the door of a neighbor he knew, went inside and had a beer. Then he came back and raped her.

In the other case, Ramirez duped a co-worker into sending a new employee to his house to supposedly pick up some paperwork for her delivery route from Fountain Valley. He raped her, then threatened her with immigration if she spoke up. Nice.

The facts are the driving force in these cases. Without witnesses, the jury will rely on DNA evidence, corroborating evidence of force, such as bruising or other clinical evidence discovered by doctors and any statements made by the defendant. If a jury decides he did these crimes, he’ll be branded a Sexually Violent Predator and sent to prison for life.

Rape is a very serious crime that will always come with prison time. If the rape is with someone who is kidnapped, or moved from the original area of assault, the sentence will be increased due to their inability to fight back. A major defense to rape charges is consent. Consent has to be freely given though and can not be influenced by the threat of force. Whether you live in Orange, Mission Viejo or Fullerton, if you are charged with rape, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you in preparing a defense.

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You can’t say he wasn’t creative. Adolfo Aparicio, a documented Santa Ana gang member misidentified himself as an illegal alien so that he could avoid capture for an attempted murder charge for which he was being sought.

Turns out Aparicio got into a domestic dispute with his wife and mother in law. When the cops came, he took off but soon returned and took some shots at his wife, who fortunately, wasn’t hurt. Aparicio fled the area again and was arrested in Arizona, where he gave a fake name. But his fingerprints did him in: they matched a wanted out of Santa Ana for the attempted murder of his wife.

Aparicio is getting deported….to Santa Ana. He’ll face the criminal charges. It will be interesting to see if the District Attorney tries to charge it as a gang offense, which this incident doesn’t smack of. In either event, Mr. Aparicio is going to need good legal representation, because like it or not, his gang background will come up and may work against him.

Whether you live in Newport Beach, Fullerton or San Clemente, if you are charged with domestic assault or battery, call an experienced defense attorney right away to assist you.

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The crimes seemed simple. A person would buy something from the Apple store at the Mission Viejo Mall, or maybe at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, or at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California. A thief would break into the car after the owner left to do other shopping, and get away with new computer equipment.

But detectives began to notice a pattern based upon the type of items stolen, particularly the desirable Apple products. They set up a sting after Christmas in Mission Viejo, where eight similar burglaries had been reported. Authorities said three men followed an undercover Sheriff’s deputy after he bought a printer and computer and broke into his car after he drove off, parked and shopped elsewhere.

The detectives from three counties, Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles, are sharing the information in hopes of capturing others believed to be associated with the ring. Shoppers often have to leave their purchases in their cars because they cannot take them with them which makes them easy targets.

Burglary is serious but the scale and number of the crimes makes it an even more serious situation. They will get jail time for their crimes. Whether you live in Tustin, Aliso Viejo or Brea, if you are charged with burglary, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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