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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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Last week, the FBI released a survey that proved that in 2008, crimes in Orange County went down, especially violent crimes and property crimes. This dip in crimes is a nationwide trend with violent crimes down 1.9% and property crimes down 1%. Property and violent crime dipped in both Santa Ana, Anaheim and Irvine. In Santa Ana, however, murders and non-negligent manslaughters increased. The only crime that increased throughout Orange County was theft, which likely went up because of the tough economic times.

I think it is great that crime is down right now. This shows that people are being more educated on effects of crime and alternatives to crime. Normally, in tough economic times, people get desperate and commit crimes to get what they want. Unfortunately, homicides went up in Santa Ana, likely due to the heavy gang activity in Santa Ana. Now that these statistics are out, the county will know where to focus their attention in providing resources to those that may commit crimes.

Whether you live in Laguna Woods, Tustin or Orange, if you are charged with a crime, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Chidi Benjamin Uzomah, Jr. pled guilty to misdemeanor assault, battery and possession of a switchblade knife. Uzomah was at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) on Tuesday because Ryan Seacrest and other KIISfm radio hosts were there for a fundraiser. Seacrest was about to get in his car to leave when Uzomah tried to get in with him. Seacrest’s body guard stopped Uzomah from entering the car and Uzomah was so mad that he put his arm around the body guard’s neck and started choking him. He was immediately arrested. In court, Uzomah pled guilty to the assault, battery and weapon charges and was sentenced to 15 days in jail, three years of probation and an order to stay away from Ryan Seacrest and CHOC hospital.

Assault is the unlawful attempt, coupled with present ability, to commit a violent injury upon another. Battery is the willful and unlawful use of force against a person. These are both criminal charges that can also be brought against you in a civil suit. Whether you live in Laguna Niguel, Orange or Fullerton, if you are charged with assault or battery, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you fight these charges.

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Cheryle Ann Ross of Garden Grove was charged with elder abuse this week. Ross lived with her mother Doris Ross in a mobile home park in Garden Grove. Ross was supposed to care for her mother, but Doris got so sick she was rushed to the hospital. Once there, doctors claimed that Doris had not been turned in her bed in quite some time and had such bad bed sores that she went into septic shock. Doris also was malnourished, dehydrated and had kidney failure. Cheryle said that she couldn’t help her mom because her mother refused the help.


Elder abuse is the mistreatment of people over the age of 65. The mistreatment could be physical, psychological or sexual. Penalties for committing elder abuse include jail time and monetary penalties. Elder abuse also can be brought as a civil suit. Whether you live in Santa Ana, Yorba Linda or Tustin, if you are charged with elder abuse, you will need an experienced defense attorney to assist you in fighting your charges.

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