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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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After 13-year-old Minh Cong Tran and his family finished eating at a Mexican restaurant in Santa Ana in 2003, they drove away. Jason A. Aguirre, 33, and fellow Dragon Family Junior gang members chased the family into a neighborhood and shot into the car as the family tried to hide. Minh Tran was shot in the heart, liver and shoulder and died soon after the shooting. Other family members in the car were shot, but they all survived. Aguirre fled the scene of the crime and was arrested a few months later. Aguirre was charged with first degree murder with special circumstances of committing the murder for the benefit of the gang. He was sentenced to death last week for his crimes.

This was the fifth death penalty case in Orange County this week. The death penalty can be a punishment only in murder cases that have special circumstances. Murdering for the benefit of a gang is a special circumstance. Other special circumstances include mass murders and felony murders. If you have been charged with murder in Irvine, Santa Ana or Fullerton, you will need an experienced Orange County defense attorney to assist you in the legal process.

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After beating him up and shooting him with a gun and a Taser, the victim was forced into a van, tied up, blindfolded and taken to different hideouts for 5 days. The three suspects, including Costa Mesa man Vagan Adzhemyan, allegedly kidnapped the victim to collect a $1 million ransom. The suspects made the victim call all of his family in the U.S. and Russia and try to collect money. A family member told police about the calls made with a 323 area code and police then narrowed their search to the Los Angeles area. Police followed Adzhemyan’s car to the house where the victim was found. He was in serious medical condition because of the gunshot to his bowels that was left untreated for 5 days. Police then noticed that the victim’s ATM card was being used by the suspects, so they tracked them down and charged them with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Kidnapping is a serious felony and can come with the sentence of life in prison (if the victim was being held for ransom). Some defenses for kidnapping charges include consent, lack of intent, lack of evidence and mistaken identity. Whether you are in Irvine, Santa Ana or Lake Forest, if you are charged with kidnapping, you need an experienced defense attorney on your side.

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Amber Lynn Phelps and co-defendant Julie Catherine Clifford attacked a woman in an Anaheim parking lot and stole her purse in 2008. They said that they would give it back to her if she gave them money. Phelps was mad at the victim because she thought her boyfriend was dating the victim. When Anaheim police tried to arrest Phelps and Clifford, they sped away in a car. After a few minutes of trying to escape, Phelps crashed into another car, seriously injuring the driver. Phelps and Clifford were both arrested and Phelps was charged with conspiracy, evading police while driving recklessly and causing serious bodily injury and second degree robbery. She was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison.

Whether you live in San Clemente, Fountain Valley or Fullerton, once the police are after you, the best thing to do is surrender and cooperate with the police. A chase in the middle of busy streets is very dangerous to the officers, the suspects and innocent bystanders in the area. You will be charged with evading arrest if you try to flee the scene. This adds additional time to your sentence and stays on your criminal record. If you are about to be arrested for a crime, cooperate with the police and then call an experienced criminal defense attorney.

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In Anaheim on Monday, a man entered an unlocked back door of a woman’s house, held her at knifepoint, and sexually assaulted her. He had a bandanna on his head and a cloth over his face to disguise himself. At some point, he put a pillow over her face and threatened to kill her if she called the police. After the assault was over and he was about to leave, he asked her where her purse was and then stole her cash. Police later found the suspect, Dexter Tagudin Villanueva, in his home and arrested him. He is being charged with six felony counts and if convicted on all six counts, will face 91 years to life in prison.

Back in the old days, people would never lock their doors. These days, doors have to be locked at all times. Robbers and rapists are opportunists. When they see an unlocked door or window and a woman inside that is home alone, they will act.

Most rapists threaten their victims and have a weapon nearby to force the woman to let the assault happen and not fight back. Besides just being charged with rape, Villanueva is also likely charged with assault and burglary. Whether he lives in Irvine, Fullerton or Anaheim, he will need an experienced Orange County defense attorney to assist him in the legal process.

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Thong Vinh Le was arrested last week in connection with running a brothel in Garden Grove. He had advertised massage services in a Vietnamese paper and someone got suspicious because the location was a chiropractor’s office. After an investigation, officers found out that people would go into the office, pick the woman they wanted to service them and then pay for sex. Police raided the business, where they found 11 women who they believed were victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Officers say this is the largest brothel they have seen in the area.

Le was running the brothel and acting as a “pimp” for the ladies. Besides prostitution that he will be held liable for, if these women were taken from Vietnam and forced to work in the brothel, he will be facing serious charges. If these women were not forced to work in the brothel and instead did it by choice, these women will be facing prostitution charges themselves.

Whether you live in Irvine, Lake Forest or Cerritos, prostitution is illegal in California. A person convicted of being a prostitute or soliciting a prostitute can face prison/jail time, probation, fines, counseling and community service.

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