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In 2006, Gideon Walter Omondi walked into a Fullerton police station and told officers that he drowned his son in a bath tub. Officers rushed to Omondi’s house and found the 4-year-old’s body lying on his father’s bed. He was in the middle of a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife and claimed he went crazy. Nine months prior to the murder, Omondi allegedly tried to kill his son by dousing his car with gasoline and putting himself and his son in the car. Police arrived before Omondi could light the car on fire.

Omondi was indicted on charges of murder and attempted murder for the two incidents. He pled not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. His trial starts this week and is expected to take about 15 days. If the jury finds him guilty, they have to then decide if he is insane. Most people may not know it, but pleading insane does not free you from criminal liability. Being found insane is a legal, not medical, term that means that a person should be locked up in a mental institution because they are a harm to themselves or others. The time they will be in the institution for is roughly the amount of time they would have to spend in prison if they were guilty.

Whether you live in Brea, San Juan Capistrano or Laguna Beach, if you are charged with murder, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to defend you in court.

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Rodrigo Everado Preciado, calling himself Hector, introduced himself to Jeremy Ho at a gas station in June. They hit it off and became fast friends. Preciado and Ho decided to meet in Westminster to go get drinks with some of Preciado’s friends. When Ho met Preciado up, Rodrigo pulled a gun on him and told him to get out of the car. Ho’s wallet, jewelry, car keys, car and cell phone were stolen and he was told not to call the police or he would be killed. Preciado and his friends tried to use Ho’s credit card at Walgreens in Fullerton and were eventually caught. Preciado is charged with carjacking, robbery and criminal threats.

Carjacking is the taking of someone’s car that is accomplished through fear or force. For that charge alone, Preciado could face up to 9 years in state prison. Besides the carjacking, Preciado also stole from Ho and will face additional prison time for that.

Whether you live in Mission Viejo, Santa Ana or Huntington Beach, if you are charged with carjacking, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

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Jorge Velasquez Fernandez, Luis Rico Humberto, Ignacio Fernandez Mendez, Gabino Rodriguez Perez and Marco Antonio Mendoza will all be arraigned on Thursday in Fullerton for the alleged theft of over 50 Toyota Tacomas in Orange and Los Angeles County. These 5 men, who are residents of Anaheim and Orange, had an auto theft ring which involved stealing the trucks from Los Angeles County, changing license plates and forging new titles and then selling them to unsuspecting Orange County buyers for $5,000-$10,000. After the men were caught, some of the cars were recovered and returned to their rightful owners if the insurance company had not already compensated them.

In 2008, there was a 19% drop in auto thefts in Orange County compared to 2007. In California, the rate dropped about 12% to about 199,766 cars with an estimated value of around 1 billion dollars. About 87% of the cars were found and returned.

These 5 men will likely be charged with receiving stolen property, unlawful taking of a vehicle and grand theft. They will need experienced defense attorneys to assist them in reducing their charges and their sentences.

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Daniel Blas Flores was arrested last week for the alleged rape of a 7-year-old autistic girl. She was playing in the backyard of her apartment complex when, allegedly, Flores abducted the girl and took her to a neighboring apartment where she was assaulted, sodomized and raped. After she was assaulted, she was released and her parents called 911 immediately. Police found Flores, 27, hiding in his apartment and arrested him immediately.

Flores will likely be charged with assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping and rape. Since he raped a child with disabilities, this will likely be a factor that may affect and enhance sentencing. Flores will likely be facing serious jail time. He will need an experienced defense attorney to assist him with his case. Whether you live in Garden Grove, Buena Park or San Clemente, rape is a serious accusation and you will need an experienced attorney to be on your side.

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Manuel Gonzalez Melgoza was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the execution-style murder of Israel Quiros. Melgoza worked at a landscaping company in 2006. He then got demoted and ultimately fired. Quiros was hired to replace Melgoza and he was so upset that he shot Quiros in the shoulder twice and then put the gun to the back of Quiros’ head and fired.

The defense argued that Quiros was actually following and harassing Melgoza so Melgoza shot Quiros in self defense. The jury found Melgoza guilty though, for first degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for using a gun.

This is a horrific crime and is not a way to solve jealousy issues, however, these days, jobs are very hard to come by and it is likely that Melgoza was upset with the loss of his job and unpaid bills and felt that this was a way to get back at the company.

If you are charged with a murder in Orange County, Los Angeles County or Riverside County, call an experienced California defense attorney to assist you with your case.

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On Wednesday at a T.J. Maxx store in Brea, Steven Eugene Roman was arrested for taking pictures up the skirt of a 51-year-old woman. The store security guard recognized Roman as someone who had come into the store a few days back and thought he looked suspicious. He then realized he recognized Roman from the security video from a few days prior when another up-skirt photo was taken. The guard saw Roman put a camera under a woman’s skirt and quickly called police. When police came and looked through Roman’s pictures, they realized that he had several pictures of a similar nature. He was arrested and then released.

If Roman is charged, he will likely be charged for some sort of sex crime and disorderly conduct. Taking a picture of a person in public is allowed. Taking a picture up someone’s skirt is clearly NOT allowed. Whether you live in Lake Forest, Fountain Valley or Anaheim Hills, sex crimes are illegal and will stay on your record forever. If you get charged with a sex crime, call an experienced defense attorney to assist you.

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Last week in Buena Park, the body of a missing woman was found stuffed in a suitcase in a trash bin. The body was later identified as that of a swimsuit model named Jasmine Fiore. The woman’s neck was strangled and she was missing teeth and fingers. A suspect from the beginning of the investigation was her husband, Ryan Alexander Jenkins. Jenkins, a former reality TV star, went missing soon after the body was found. Police think he is hiding in his hometown in Canada.

Jenkins and Fiore met in Vegas earlier this year and only knew each other for a few days before deciding to get married. Their relationship was rocky however. Jenkins was arrested in April for allegedly hitting Fiore. He was charged with domestic violence.

Even though it seems that Jenkins would be the most likely suspect, a good defense attorney would properly investigate the crime scene and all possible suspects. Jenkins could have an alibi that would prove that he could not have committed the crime. There could be DNA evidence of someone else on the victim’s body. An experienced attorney would investigate these things to ensure the defendant is not wrongfully accused.

Whether you live in Mission Viejo, Garden Grove or Huntington Beach, if you are charged with murder, you need an experienced Orange County Criminal Defense attorney on your side.

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Alfredo Granados Canchola of Artesia was arrested on Monday for the alleged kidnapping of a 10-year-old girl in Anaheim. Last weekend, Canchola drove by the 10-year-old girl, who was taking out the trash, and asked if she knew where some woman lived. When she said no, the man offered her money to get into his car. She said no and drove off on her scooter. As soon as she got home, she told her dad who got the partial license plate of Canchola’s Lexus. After a few days of investigation, officers found the suspect and think he may be linked to other attempted kidnappings.

Luckily, the girl was smart enough to run away and tell her parents what happened before Canchola could actually kidnap her. Canchola will need an experienced defense attorney to help him fight these kidnapping charges. A defense attorney may be able to lessen the charges or the sentence that Canchola will face.

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In October of 2008, Orlando Mendez, an off duty Long Beach officer, saw his girlfriend in the passenger side of a car with two friends at 3:30 in the morning in Anaheim. He got extremely upset so he followed them, pointed a gun at the car and ordered them to pull over, all while driving on the wrong side of the road. Once they pulled over, he physically assaulted all three of them and shot his gun into the air. Today, he pleaded guilty to felony assault with a firearm, misdemeanor assault with a firearm, misdemeanor discharging of a firearm with gross negligence, misdemeanor domestic violence battery, plus a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to six months in jail, three years of probation and was ordered to enroll in a 52-week treatment program.

Domestic violence is often thought to be just between a husband and a wife, however, it can also occur between girlfriend and boyfriend or between cohabitants. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual or emotional. Whether you live in Fountain Valley, Orange or Tustin, if you are charged with domestic violence, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Around 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon, officers responded to a call about a bank robbery at the Bank of America on Irvine Boulevard and Jamboree Road. Jeffrey Hudson was inside the bank, trying to rob it. Once he exited the bank with his backpack full of money, he realized that officers had surrounded the building. Officers asked Hudson to surrender, but instead, Hudson shot himself in the head one time. He was taken to the hospital and died a few hours later.

Robbery is the taking of property of another with force or intimidation, with the intent to keep the item. With the economy the way it is these days, it is not hard to understand why he would rob a bank, however I do not condone this type of behavior. If he would have survived the shooting, he would have been facing serious prison time for his actions. He would have needed an experienced Orange County defense attorney to assist him in his legal matters.

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