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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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James Detory Shipp, Jr. was found guilty of murdering a woman in 1998 who tried to stop him from sexually assaulting one of her co-workers. Shipp was a former football player and aspiring Boxer who claims that he had neurological problems and faced domestic violence while growing up that changed him. Between 1997 and 2001, Shipp had also raped 5 women and had kidnapping and robbery charges on his record. For the murder/rape he received life in prison and for the crimes between 1997 and 2001, he faces 119 years and another life term.

Sometimes troubled pasts make people want to turn to crime. Here, Shipp witnessed domestic violence, associated with gangs and had neurological problems. These experiences all affected him adversely and caused him to commit these heinous crimes. For his actions, Shipp will spend the rest of his life in prison, contemplating what he did. He received so much time in prison so that it could never be a possibility that he be released. If you are charged with murder or rape, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Michael Alexander Clemmons and John Paul Foster II pled guilty this week to sexually assaulting an unconscious 18-year-old acquaintance in Tustin, which was recorded on videotape. A third party found the tape and turned it over to the police. The tape shows the heavily intoxicated victim laying on the bed and the men taking turns raping her. The men both pleaded guilty to eight felony sexual assault counts and are expected to be sentenced in November. A third co-defendant, Luster Mitchel Lewis, is expected to stand trial in November for similar charges.

Drinking alcohol can set you up to be the victim of rape. These men were supposed to take care of the victim (or so she thought), but instead they took advantage of her and she did not even know it happened. If there was no video recording of this incident, she likely would not have even known she was raped and the boys would have never been charged. Please remember that when you are drinking, have someone around you that you trust. Whether you live in Lake Forest, Anaheim or Laguna Beach, if you are charged with rape, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Chrystina Rene Bock was arrested this week for allegedly stealing $200,000 from her Aliso Viejo church. She worked at the church as someone who collected donations. She told congregates to just write “CB” on the checks instead of the full church’s name, Compass Bible Church. The letters “CB” were also her initials, so she would take the checks and deposit them into her own account. Officers got notice of the incident about a year ago and started investigating the books and her account. Once they realized she was likely stealing, they arrested her on suspicion of grand theft.


Stealing is a serious crime and can be looked at as immoral. Stealing from a church is at another level and it makes people cringe at the thought of doing. In these tough economic times though, people are getting desperate and will do whatever it takes to have money. Since grand theft is such a serious charge, Bock will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist her in court. Whether you live in Irvine, Trabuco Hills or Buena Park, if you are charged with theft, you will need an experienced Orange County attorney to assist you.

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Dr. James Clyde Fish, a 90-year-old retired physician, shot and killed his 88 year-old-wife and tried to shoot himself on Sunday in Laguna Woods, California. Allegedly, he gave his wife morphine and then attempted to shoot her in the head, but the gun did not fire. A caretaker rushed in and took the gun away. She called the couple’s son who told the caregiver to call 911. Meanwhile, Fish had a second gun that he used to shoot and kill his wife and then shoot himself in the head. He was immediately taken to the hospital and has been charged with manslaughter.

It is likely that Fish tried to kill his wife because she was suffering and under hospice care. He likely tried to kill himself because he did not want to live life without his wife. In California, euthanasia is against the law. You may not kill someone to relieve their suffering without being charged with murder or manslaughter. Although Fish was charged with manslaughter, it is unclear whether he will have to spend time in prison for his actions, because of his old age.

Whether you live in Anaheim Hills, Santa Ana or Coto De Caza, if you are charged with manslaughter, you will need an experienced Orange County defense attorney to assist you in court.

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George Joseph England spent 29 years as a fugitive after he was convicted of multiple child molestations in Costa Mesa in the 1970’s. In the 70’s, England was a contractor in Vietnam, where he met a woman who had a 5-year-old daughter and bought the young girl from the woman. They moved to Orange County, where he repeatedly molested her. He also molested her young friends, who told police and it eventually led to molestation convictions against England. Before being sentenced, while out on bail, England took his daughter from protective services and absconded. He was captured in Florida in 2006 and has been serving time since.

Since the crime was committed in the 70’s, the laws during the 70’s were not harsh on molesters. After just three years in prison, England is up for parole. District Attorney’s are trying to prevent his release by claiming he is not remorseful and could do it again since he has not been to counseling yet. Even if he is not released soon, the maximum time he can serve is 6 years for his crimes, so he will be released in 2013. If he was convicted of those molestation charges today, he would be facing 45 years to life in prison.

Whether you live in Irvine, Buena Park or Lake Forest, if you are charged with a sex crime, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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