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In December of last year, as John Sales was driving with his children in Orange, a car in front of him stopped on the freeway. Sales stepped on his breaks last minute to avoid a collision with the car in front of him. A car behind him, driven by Owen Kitchen, failed to see that Sales had hit his breaks and crashed right into Sales’ car. Kitchen’s car then caught on fire so Sales and a nearby officer got the kids out of the car as fast as they could. The kids were badly injured from the collision and were taken to the hospital to be checked out. Sophia Sales, Sales’ 2-year-old daughter died from her injuries.

This week, Owen Kitchen was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and possession of marijuana, although he was not under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash. The reason that this charge is just a misdemeanor is because it was done carelessly and negligently. The charge would have been a felony if there was gross negligence in that he knew that acting in this way would cause death. Clearly, this was just an accident and if he is convicted of both charges, he should not face more than 1 year in jail.

Whether you live in Tustin, Aliso Viejo or Anaheim Hills, if you are charged with manslaughter, call an experienced OC criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Paul Gentile Smith was indicted by a grand jury last week on suspicion of nearly decapitating his best friend and then setting his body on fire. Smith and Robert Haugen were best friends, but in October of 1988, Smith stabbed Haugen 18 times, killing him and nearly decapitating him. He then tried to get rid of the body by setting it, and other evidence, on fire. He was not caught after the murder.

In 2007, Smith was arrested for domestic violence and his DNA was linked to some evidence at the murder crime scene 20 years earlier. He was charged with murder, but this week he was charged with the enhancement of torturing the victim. This enhancement could increase the punishment to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Whether you live in Santa Ana, Tustin or Laguna Niguel, if you are charged with murder, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Mark Petrash, a music teacher at Serrano Intermediate School in Lake Forest, was arrested last week on suspicion of flashing a woman. In August, Petrash went to the doctor’s office with a relative. While there, allegedly he pulled his pants down in front of the medical office receptionist. The claim was investigated and he was arrested after there was enough evidence to suspect him of indecent exposure. Comments from readers on the OC Register news article claim that Petrash was not that kind of man and would not have done something like this.

Indecent exposure is when a person exposes himself to a third party and the third party is offended or when the person is trying to get sexually aroused or annoy another party by exposing themseves. If Petrash is convicted of this crime, he will likely have to register as a sex offender and will be fired from his teaching position. Whether you live in Irvine, Santa Ana or Brea, if you are charged with sex crimes, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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In February of 2008, Steven Walter Robinson went to the AMC theater in Fullerton. He tried to bring alcohol into the theater, but was turned away. He then snuck back into the theater and went to see the horror movie “The Signal.” During the movie, two moviegoers came running out of the theater covered in blood. Julio Sanchez said he was watching the movie when Robinson jumped out of his seat and attacked him. He was stabbed three times in the arm, chest, knee and head. Robinson then went after Eloy Uresti by slashing him in the arm and hitting him in the head with a hammer.

Robinson escaped through the side exist of the theater and went to Las Vegas to hide at his brother’s house. He was found in March and then was extradited to Orange County. He was charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of mayhem. His defense attorney said that he did the crimes but he was so intoxicated and under the influence of mushrooms that he had no intent to kill. This week, Robinson was found guilty of those charges and will be sentenced in December. He could potentially face a life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Whether you live in Newport Beach, Laguna Woods or Brea, if you are charged with murder, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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On July 4, 2009, firefighters were called to put out a trash can fire in Fountain Valley. When they arrived, the trash can was against a townhouse belonging to Christopher Ruotolo. Firefighters used heat detectors to see if the fire had spread into the townhouse. They detected heat inside the townhouse, so they went in. Once inside the home, they found three rooms that were equipped with ventilation, irrigation and lighting systems that were being used to cultivate 300-400 marijuana plants.

When firefighters asked Ruotolo about the marijuana plants, Ruotolo claimed he had a prescription for medical marijuana and was growing them to sell to dispensaries. If he had a prescription, he would only be allowed to grow 12 plants. After the incident, he was charged with defrauding the utility company by bypassing the electric meter at his house to avoid a high electricity bill. He was also charged with felony cultivation of marijuana and felony possession for sale.

Whether you live in Irvine, Orange or Fullerton, if you are charged with drug charges, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Jose Campoverde, a pastor from Anaheim, was arrested this week and is being held on $500,000 bail on suspicion of lewd conduct with a minor, sexual battery, child annoyance and false imprisonment. Allegedly, on September 11, 2009 Campoverde drove a young girl home from church and molested her in the car. The victim told police, who then started an investigation into Campoverde. A few other teenage girls then admitted to police that they too had been fondled by Campoverde.

Molesting a minor is a serious offense that is punishable by up to 8 years in prison, per count. If he is convicted of these charges, he will have to spend a long period of time in prison and register as a sex offender. Campoverde will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist him in fighting these charges. Possible defenses include child suggestibility or false accusations.

Whether you live in Lake Forest, Fullerton or Irvine, if you are charged with molestation, call an experienced Orange County criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Last week, Marlene Ramirez and Frank Garcia were driving home from a baptism with family members. They stopped to drop off a friend before heading home. While dropping off their friend, two men came up to the family and asked where they were from. One family member (who was a gang member) told them they were from “Barrio Van Nuys” and the men shot at them. They struck Ramirez’s mother, brother and son. Her son, Andrew, was just four months old and was shot in the head so he was immediately air-lifted to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Although Van Nuys is a rather dangerous area, violent crimes had been decreasing over the last two years. Since this is such a tragic crime, police are offering $50,000 for information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of these two gang members who committed this crime. Once found, these suspects will be charged with murder with gang enhancements. Additionally, since a baby was shot and killed, this may qualify for a special circumstances case which could lead to capital punishment. These men will need an experienced defense attorney right away in preparing a defense. Whether you live in Westminster, Brea or San Clemente, if you are charged with murder, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Martin Burt Kuehl of Costa Mesa must stand trial for gross vehicular manslaughter for the death of Martha Ovalle. In August of 2008, Kuehl was driving and texting in Newport Beach. He failed to see a pedestrian, Ovalle, and ran right into her. Although phone records showed no texts at the exact time of the incident, Kuehl had his phone in his hand during the accident and had been texting in a prior intersection. If convicted of this crime, Kuehl will face up to 9 years in state prison.

Possible defenses include that Kuehl was not in fact texting or talking on the phone and instead, was just negligent in failing to see Ovalle. Another defense could be that the pedestrian crossed when she was not supposed to. Lastly, the defense attorney could say that road conditions caused the accident and it was not the fault of Kuehl. Nevertheless, this manslaughter charge is serious and Kuehl will need a good defense attorney to assist him.

Whether you live in Yorba Linda, Laguna Niguel or Aliso Viejo, if you are charged with manslaughter, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Dr. William Moore Thompson, 82, of Orange County plead guilty of sexually assaulting a relative of his and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 330 days of home confinement. In 2003 and 2004, when the victim was under 14 years old, Thompson asked his young female relative to rub his genitals. Sentencing guidelines for 2 counts of lewd acts on a minor should result in between three and eight years in prison. Here, however, since Thompson was so old and sick and he had helped Orange County by setting up free medical clinics in prior years, the judge gave him a light sentence of just 30 days in jail.

In this case, the defense attorney initially likely argued that the assault never occurred. If the judge did not believe that, the defense attorney would then try and mitigate the situation by claiming that this was an isolated event and that the doctor is a good man who has helped this community. Clearly, the judge beleived that Thompson was in fact a good man that did one bad event and his sentence reflects that. Whether you live in Irvine, Santa Ana or Fullerton, if you are charged with child molestation or sexual assault, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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William Shoop, Charlies Durliat and Jodie Brummet were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, hate crime and conspiracy to commit a crime for a fight they had with a black homeless man in Costa Mesa. The three suspects were outside of a bar on Harbor Boulevard, when a homeless man asked Brummet for a cigarette. The two men chased the homeless man two blocks down the street, while they yelled racial slurs and threats at him. When police arrived, Shoop was kicking the homeless man in the head.

A hate crime charge is given to anyone who uses race, sex, religion, etc., as the motivation for committing a crime against someone. The charge carries with it a stigma that the person is not tolerant of other people and comes with serious penalties. Besides jail time, people convicted of hate crimes may have to pay between a $5,000 and $10,000 fine. Additionally, a person convicted of a hate crime may be sued by their victim.

Whether you live in Brea, Laguna Beach or Tustin, if you are charged with assault, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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