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An eighteen-year-old Santa Ana gang member, Eduardo Valencia, is being charged with the murder of Jaime Anica Olvera. Allegedly, Valencia tried to rob Olvera during the evening of July 23. Olvera was struggling to fight back, when a second gang member, Fabian Vargas Vega, pulled out a gun and shot Olvera in the upper body. Olvera died immediately at the scene. Vega was killed by police in a gun battle soon after the incident. Valencia fled the scene of the crime and was found hiding in a relative’s garage on Saturday. He is facing charges of murder, attempted robbery, felony street terrorism charges and a sentencing enhancement for allegedly carrying out the murder for the purpose of his street gang.

A criminal street gang is defined as any organization, association or group of 3 or more persons which has 1) continuity of purpose 2) seeks a group identity, and 3) has members who individually or collectively have engaged in criminal activity. Often times, when a gang member commits a crime for himself, the district attorney will want to say he committed the crime for the benefit of a street gang and slap on additional charges and penalties. A good attorney would try and prove that the defendant did not commit the crime in furtherance of the gang and therefore the gang enhancements should be dropped. There are gangs in Irvine, Garden Grove, Westminster and almost every other city in Orange County. If you are charged with gang crimes, the state of California will be very tough on you and you will need an experienced gang attorney on your side.

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Three homemade bombs with timers, two homemade guns, bomb making material, knives, pepper spray and more weapons were found in the home of Ronald Gary Turner during a lawful search of a Costa Mesa home. In April of 2008, Turner was charged with domestic violence and was ordered to go to a treatment program. When he didn’t show up and allegedly threatened his wife, a warrant was issued. During a routine traffic stop a few months later, he was pulled over and then arrested. His house was searched and tons of weapons were found. He was charged with 10 felonies, including two counts of stalking, three counts of possession of a destructive device intended to injure and one count of possession of a handmade deadly weapon. This week he was convicted of those 10 charges and can face up to 15 years in prison.

The Second Amendment of the U.S. constitution grants individuals the right to posses arms. Each state can decide what weapons will be legal, which ones need permits and which ones are illegal. In California, most weapons need a permit and registration. Whether you live in Fullerton, San Clemente or Garden Grove, if you are unsure about the legality of certain weapons, call an experienced California attorney.

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Police are looking for Erin Brooks and Brian Hanson who police think are white supremacists who beat up a Latino man last month. Michael Powell and Bret Hicks are currently in custody for the same incident. Allegedly, all four suspects were circling a Latino neighborhood looking for someone “non-white” to assault. They saw a man come out of the neighborhood so they yelled racial slurs at him, stabbed him three times, kicked him and punched him. Neighbors from the area jumped into the fight and separated the suspects from the victim. They were all arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and Brooks and Hanson were released on bail. Now they are being charged with attempted murder plus hate crime enhancements and police can no longer find Brooks and Hanson. All of the suspects have criminal backgrounds and white supremacy tattoos.

Hate crimes occur when perpetrators attack a member of a certain group because of their race, religion, sexual identity, gender, disability, age, etc. If a crime is carried out for hate purposes, it will be given a sentencing enhancement because it is such a serious crime that can provoke retaliatory crimes, inflict emotional harm and incite community unrest. Regardless of what city you live in, whether it is Fountain Valley, Fullerton or Newport Beach, hate crimes are serious crimes and if you are charged with one, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney.

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If a minor is caught spraying graffiti or tagging property, they will be charged with a misdemeanor. In Santa Ana this week, the city council voted to adopt a law that will also make parents liable for their child’s crimes. Not only will the minor have to pay fines, restitution and do community service, but the parents will also be forced to do community service with their child. If parents do not pay or participate in their child’s punishment, they will be taken to civil court by the city and be forced to pay.

These spray-pay laws were enforced because Santa Ana has been majorly affected by graffiti and tagging by rival gang members. Getting the parents involved may help deter this behavior because children will know that their parents will also have to suffer the consequences of their criminal behavior. These tough laws will likely be followed by other cities plagued by graffiti problems, like Garden Grove, Westminster and Fullerton. If you get charged with graffiti or tagging, you will need an experienced attorney to help lower fines, restitution and community service hours.

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At the Block at Orange and the surrounding areas on Thursday night, police nabbed 29 juveniles who were in violation of city curfew ordinances. The city of Orange has a curfew ordinance that restricts minors from being out without their parents between the hours of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The curfew sweep was conducted by the Orange Police Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Once the minors were found in violation, they were taken to the police station and told to wait until their parents came to pick them up. The consequences of violating a curfew ordinance could be misdemeanor charges and jail time for either the parent or the child. In this sweep, none of the parents or children were charged because the police department wanted to send a warning to the community.

The reason that many cities have curfew ordinances is to help prevent crime, gang association and youth victimization. Whether you live in Irvine, Fullerton, or Foothill Ranch, each city has a curfew ordinance of about 10 p.m. Normally, police will just warn the juvenile and call the juvenile’s parents to come pick them up. Sometimes however, if the police think that juvenile is up to no good, they may request charges to be pressed against the minor for a curfew violation. An experienced attorney will likely be able to fight the charges and make sure the incident is not recorded on the minor’s criminal record.

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A week ago, the beaten body of a 6-year-old boy was found in his Los Angeles home. Dae’von Bailey was living with his mother’s ex-boyfriend, Marcas Fisher, who has an extensive criminal past. Bailey had reported being abused twice by Fisher in the months prior to his death. Social workers had come by the house to investigate, but no action was taken. Bailey had even told his teachers at school that he was being abused. He had tried to get attention and help from everyone he could, however no one helped him until it was too late. There is currently a murder arrest warrant out for Fisher, who police believe may have beaten the boy to death.

During the child abuse investigation, Fisher kept claiming that the injuries Bailey was complaining about were accidents he caused himself. If in fact Fisher did not cause these injuries, an experienced attorney needs to prove how these injuries were caused. Luckily for Fisher, he has a doctor on his side who said that the injuries did not look like child abuse. Also, social services came by the house twice but still allowed Bailey to stay with Fisher, which means that they did not find anything wrong. These are all key pieces of evidence that will help in Fisher’s defense.

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In 1992, Shaun Kareem Burney, a 19-year-old from Tustin placed a gun against the skull of Joseph Andrew Kondrath, a 23-year-old Anaheim college student. He robbed him of $1 and then put him in the trunk of a stolen car. A few minutes later, Burney opened the trunk and fired two shots into Kondrath’s head, killing him. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Kondrath was killed so he would not be a witness to the carjacking and robbery. In 1994, Burney was charged with murder and sentenced to death. His co-defendants were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burney appealed his conviction and sentence and on Thursday of this week, the Supreme Court of California affirmed his conviction and his sentence.

The death penalty is a sentence given only to murders that possess special circumstances besides just a murder. This case involved a carjacking, a robbery and a murder. Those three crimes make it a special circumstances case that is eligible for capital punishment. Capital punishment is a controversial form of punishment. Proponents of the death penalty claim that it is useful for retribution, general deterrence and incapacitation. Opponents of the death penalty claim that it is too strict of a penalty and wrongfully accused people can be wrongfully executed. Regardless if you live in Irvine, Fullerton or Newport Beach, if you are charged with capital murder, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney.

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Jonathan Allen Gamond pled no contest to four counts of sexual assault against a 14-year-old girl and was sentenced to 30 years in state prison this week. Gamond, a martial arts instructor, picked up the girl in Lakewood, drove her to Seal Beach where he assaulted her, and then released her in Cerritos. The prosecution says that he may have impersonated a cop when he stopped the girl and her friend in order to gain their trust. His defense attorney denies that Gamond ever impersonated a cop and claims that he was very remorseful for the assault and decided to plead no contest to avoid putting the girl through any more pain by having to testify at trial. Gamond is only 32 years old and now faces the majority of the rest of his life in prison.

A plea of no contest means that the defendant doesn’t refute the charges, but also does not admit his guilt. He likely pled no contest because he was getting a plea bargain deal and knew that if he went to trial, a jury would likely not give him such a short sentence.

No matter if you are in Los Angeles County, Orange County or Riverside County, if you have been charged with sexual assault, you need a qualified and experienced attorney to help you. Sexual assault is a serious charge that comes with major prison time so you need the best possible defense attorney you can get.

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Denis Lyons of Seal Beach, a former Roman Catholic priest, has been arrested for an alleged molestation of a young boy that he committed in the 1990s. Lyons is being charged with four felony counts of molesting a child under the age of 14 between 1992 and 1995. He had previously been charged with child molestation but the charges were dropped because there was a statute of limitations issue, since the crime had been 20 years old. Earlier this year, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange announced a settlement with a man who said that Lyons also molested him when he was a student at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa. In 2002, Lyons was removed from the ministry and “was committed to a life of prayer and penance”. If convicted for the most recent charges, Lyons may face up to 14 years in state prison.

Lately, in the media there has been a lot of news coverage regarding Catholic priests and molestations of young boys. The media has stereotyped all priests as sexual predators, which is completely unfair. No matter what city you live in, whether Fullerton, Newport Beach or Anaheim, if you are charged with a crime as serious as molestation or rape, you need to call an experienced attorney right away to assist you. It will be interesting to see how the trial of Mr. Lyons goes.

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An Orange County Register writer reported finding a dog locked in a car with the windows shut on a hot summer day in the city of Orange. The writer knew that the dog was very uncomfortable since he kept barking, so she called the police. She then went into the store and told the store manager to page all of the customers and tell them that there was a dog locked in a hot car. The writer later found out that the pet owner had just received a warning from the police, since the dog was not in distress. If the animal had been in distress, the pet owner would have been charged with animal cruelty under California Penal Code Section 597a.

Like kids, pets should not be left in the car whether you live in Newport Beach, Anaheim or Garden Grove. We forget that dogs and cats have a thick fur coat that keeps them very warm at all times. With a closed car and 90 degree heat, animals are very uncomfortable and can become extremely ill or even die. Even if you are running a quick errand, take your pet out of the car or leave it at home. If you do accidentally leave your pet in the car and get charged with animal cruelty, an experienced criminal defense attorney can help you.

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