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Clifford Polston, the former head of the Boys and Girls Club of Tustin for 30 years, pleaded guilty to stealing around $114,000 from the Club, taking over $6,000 in unauthorized car allowances and creating a fictitious job for his wife that paid her $75,000 a year. Polston has to pay back all the money that he took and also faces prison time for his acts. Friends and people who knew him were shocked that Polston could have done such a thing and thought he was really helping out the community.

Grand theft in California is the taking of another’s property valued above $400. If you take something that has a value of more than $50,000, you will receive a sentencing enhancement as well. The only defenses for grand theft are consent or claim of right. Just because you return the money, that does not mean you will not be charged. Whether you live in Laguna Beach, Santa Ana or Yorba Linda, if you are charged with theft, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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Lori Christina Armstrong was charged with a misdemeanor count of falsely reporting a crime to officers. Last month, Armstrong claimed that she had been kidnapped from a bus stop in Santa Ana after the suspects put a rag on her face that made her unconscious. She said that she kept waking up and blacking out in an apartment and at one point thought she had been raped. She claimed that later that day the men put her in the car and dumped her in Anaheim. She went to the police station and reported the crime. During follow up interviews she admitted to officers that she had made up the story. The motive behind the lie is unknown.

Lying to officers is a crime, whether it be about your name, where you live, what you are doing or about a crime. The problem with falsely reporting a crime is that police put a lot of their time and effort into finding the alleged suspects of the “crime.” They also may arrest people that have not committed any crime.

The motive behind lying varies on the person. Sometimes people do not say their true name because they have a past that they do not want officers to know about. Others may make up stories to the police in order to cover up their own misdeeds. I have come across a few people that have lied about being raped or kidnapped to cover up an affair. If they claim they have been raped or kidnapped instead of being unfaithful, their husband or boyfriend will likely not leave them. There are many other reasons why people lie to officers, but they almost always get caught. Do not lie to police officers.

Whether you live in Santa Ana, Laguna Niguel or Villa Park, if you are charged with lying to officers, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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On Wednesday of this week, Mike Tyson was at LAX airport and was being followed by paparazzi. He exchanged words with one of the photographers, Tony Echevarria. The two men got into an altercation and both claimed the other one hit them first. Eventually, both men got into a physical fight and Echevarria was punched in the face four times. Tyson claims he was defending his family who was being swarmed by the paparazzi. They were both arrested on suspicion of battery and want to press charges.

Battery can be either a misdemeanor or felony offense, depending on the severity of the incident and if weapons were used. Here, there were no weapons used, but Tyson, a former boxer, clearly had an advantage over the photographer. Often, photographers get too close to celebrities and their families or they say something that the celebrity finds offensive and the celebrity will get physical with the photographer. A similar incident to this one involved rapper Kanye West and another photographer at LAX airport. It is likely that Tyson and the photographer will have to take anger management classes as part of their punishment.

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

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Arthur Leroy Shoot was returning home from a trip to the Philippines in September of 2008, when custom officials at Los Angeles International Airport decided to search his luggage. While searching through Shoot’s phone, officials discovered four sexually explicit pictures of a young girl. After further investigation, investigators determined that the child in the photographs was his 7-year-old niece and that Shoot had taken these pictures for his own sexual gratification. He was arrested and charged with a sex crime and was just recently sentenced to 17 years in prison. In his past, Shoot was charged with three counts of child molestation, two of which were against his daughters. He received jail times for those offenses as well.

Sex crimes can range from possession of child pornography to rape. Sentences may range from probation to decades in prison. California is very strict on suspects of rape and child molestation and will ensure that the defendant gets the highest penalties possible. Whether you live in Irvine, Fullerton or Santa Ana, if you are charged with sex crimes, you will need an experienced defense attorney to assist you. The defense attorney will fully investigate the claims and evidence against you in order to prepare a successful defense.

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Last weekend, over $10,000 of copper cable was stolen from two Southern California Edison power stations. The thieves stole over 1,000 feet of the cables that were being used to ground towers at substations. Edison officials estimate that the cost to fix these cables is $50,000.

Copper is often stolen to sell to others since the value of copper is increasing nationwide. Other valuable precious metals that are being stolen more in this rough economy include: silver, gold, platinum and palladium. In these tough times, people will do anything to make a few dollars. Once these thieves are caught they will likely be charged with grand theft and vandalism and may face prison time and have to pay restitution.

Whether you live in Santa Ana, Villa Park or Yorba Linda, if you have been charged with theft, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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Riverside prosecutors claim that in 2001, Jason Hann killed his daughter, put her body in a trash bag and drove around the country with her body in an RV with the child’s mother for nine months and then left the body in a storage facility. Last week, he plead not guilty to these charges after being extradited from Kentucky, where he was serving time for doing the same thing to his son 10 years ago. The children’s mother, Krissy Lynn Werntz was also charged with these crimes and also plead not guilty. If they are convicted of these crimes, they face life life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The facts listed above are just part of the story. To read the whole story, click here. Although I have been a criminal defense attorney for years, it still shocks me how people can kill their own children. What I have found is that often times people who do these crimes have mental disorders or just snap one day and make a terrible decision. Nevertheless, all people need an attorney to ensure that they are not falsely accused, that their due process rights are protected and that they are not presumed guilty without a fair trial. Whether you live in Irvine, Laguna Beach or Villa Park, if you are charged with murder, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Jose Guillermo Hernandez Luna was arrested last week, after he allegedly attempted to stick up an off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy at an ATM machine in Newport Beach. The deputy tried to shoot at the suspect but he got away. A few days later, Luna was arrested for drug possession. Before being taken to jail, officers found an article relating to the ATM incident in his possession. They found it odd that he had that article and then realized he may have been the ATM suspect that they had been looking for. Luna had also been the suspect of an auto and cell phone theft. After being questioned, they booked him on suspicion of armed robbery, drug possession and auto theft.

Luna will likely be charged with at least two felonies and a misdemeanor and will likely spend a few years in prison. An attorney can argue that just because he carried the article relating to the robbery, that does not mean he is the robber. Prosecutors will need a lot more evidence in order to prove that Luna committed these crimes. Whether you live in Santa Ana, Fullerton or Stanton, if you are charged with robbery, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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A woman in Lake Forest called officers to her house this weekend, claiming that her long time boyfriend had assaulted her. When officers arrived, the suspect was no longer at the home. Since officers thought there was clear and present danger, they called his cell phone company to assist them in finding the suspect. Jesse Tuomi was located in Mission Viejo and was arrested on suspicion of spousal abuse and assault with force to produce great bodily harm.

Normally, police officers need a search warrant to look through your house or any personal records. However, there is an exception when officers do not need to get a search warrant and that is in the case of clear and present danger. Officers feared that Tuomi was a dangerous man on the loose and therefore got to bypass the warrant requirement in order to obtain phone records. Cases in which officers bypass requirements are helpful to a defense attorney in arguing for their clients. A good attorney may be able to argue that a man that allegedly assaulted his girlfriend does not present a clear and present danger to the public and therefore, the warrant requirement should not have been bypassed.

Whether you live in Tustin, Santa Ana or Garden Grove, if you are charged with assault, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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Earlier this week, U.S. Border Patrol Agents stopped a suspicious car that was driving in San Clemente. Agents suspected that the driver was carrying drugs, so after the driver allowed agents to look inside, a K-9 team alerted them to something inside the car. Agents found a black duffel bag containing 12 bundles of crystal methamphetamine weighing over 15 pounds. This amount of meth could have been sold on the street for $356,000. The drugs were seized and the man was arrested.

Border officials claim that crystal meth and other drug seizures have increased this year. Besides the tough economy that is driving people to get money any way they can, border patrol has also stepped up its patrol and caught more people carrying drugs. It is likely that the driver will be charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell. This charge comes with serious prison time. A good attorney may argue that the driver was not intending to sell the drugs. Often times, a driver is hired just to transport drugs from one location to another. These drivers will face less prison time than the person who is selling the drugs.

Whether you live in Westminster, Lake Forest or Villa Park, if you are charged with drug crimes, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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On November 18, 2000, Edward Ayache and five other gang members went to a house party in Garden Grove. While there, they saw rival gang members and a physical altercation ensued. Members of Ayache’s gang shot at the other gang, killing one and injuring two or three people. The men were all charged with murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang and two attempted murders as well as many gang charges. Ayache was convicted of all counts and faces sentencing next year. It is likely that he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Any crime committed for the gang or in furtherance of the gang will receive additional charges and steeper sentences. In certain cases, a defense attorney can argue that the crime was not for the benefit of the street gang. Here, since there was a fight between two gangs, it is likely that one gang was trying to assert their dominance over a certain territory and the fight erupted to benefit the gang. An additional defense is self defense. If the other gang threatened Ayache’s gang or had weapons, Ayache and his gang may argue that they were just defending themselves. Gang charges are serious, especially when paired with murder charges.

Whether you live in Irvine, Fullerton or Santa Ana, if you are charged with gang crimes or murder, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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