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Two sale-hungry women took power shopping to a new level this weekend when eight people were arrested at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance after a crowd of 300 to 400 people gathered outside a movie theater to watch the women fight over clothes. The L.A. Times reports that six adults and two juveniles were arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest after the fight.

According to reports, when police arrived to break up the brawl at about 9:15 p.m. Saturday, friends of the combatants began fighting with officers and because of the size of the crowd, all available Torrance units were called. They had to also had to call for backup from units in Hawthorne, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Gardena, El Camino College and El Segundo.

Two Torrance officers were injured, Anderson said. One was hit in the face, and the other hurt his knee. Assaulting a police officer is a felony and if convicted, could subject a person to prison time.

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A Pasadena woman was raped this week and Los Angeles Police are still looking for her attacker. The Daily News reports that the victim was picked up by a motorist in a Ford F150 from a bus stop on Colorado Boulevard early Friday morning. After getting into the truck, the suspect drove the woman to an isolated location where he beat and sexually assaulted her.
According to police, after the rape, the attacker bound the victim’s hands and dropped her off at a secluded spot near La Tuna Canyon Road. The suspect was described as a 40ish, 5-foot, 10-inch white male — possibly of Hispanic descent – weighing 285 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes and wearing a Dodgers’ baseball hat. Police asked anyone with any information regarding the attack to call the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4522.
There are few crimes more repulsive to the public than sex offenses- which is why a person charged with these crimes cannot afford to do anything but fight hard to get the best possible result. Fighting hard means challenging every part of the case, from identification, to scientific evidence to prior acts and witness statements. Do not attempt to handle this matter by yourself. If you have been charged with a sex crime, Orange County Sexual Assault Attorney William Weinberg can help you fight your charges. Please call (714) 834-1400 to discuss your case.

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A 15-year-old boy was arrested on a Metrolink train bound for Santa Clarita for carrying an automatic rifle. The Antelope Valley boy, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, was released from custody a week ago before being picked up on the gun charges. The Daily News reports that a train rider overheard the boy bragging about the gun and notified the conductor, who called sheriff’s deputies.

Under California law, juvenile offenders do not commit crimes–they commit “delinquent acts”– and some of these actions would constitute crimes if committed by an adult. The trial phase of a youth offender case is a “jurisdictional” hearing. This means that the judge hears the evidence and determines whether the child is delinquent. The court may then take whatever action it deems to be in the child’s best interest. This can range from community service to spending time at the California Youth Authority, which is essentially juvenile prison. The theoretical purpose of the juvenile penal code is to rehabilitate, not punish.

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If you or a friend or family member has been arrested in Orange County, the following are a few things you need to know to get out of jail:
(1) Posting bail. The usual way to get released from jail is to “post bail.” Bail is cash or a cash equivalent that an arrested person gives to a court to ensure that he will appear in court when ordered to do so. If the defendant appears in court at the proper time, the court refunds the bail. But if the defendant doesn’t show up, the court keeps the bail and issues a warrant for the defendant’s arrest.

(2) Bail Payment. Bail can take any of the following forms: cash or check for the full amount of the bail , property worth the full amount of the bail, a bond (that is, a guaranteed payment of the full bail amount), or a waiver of payment on the condition that the defendant appear in court at the required time– usually called “release on one’s own recognizance.”

(3) Getting Out of Jail Free. As motioned, sometimes people are released “on their own recognizance,” or “O.R.” A defendant released O.R. must simply sign a promise to show up in court. He doesn’t have to post bail. In general, defendants who are released O.R. have strong ties to a community, making them unlikely to flee. Factors that may convince a judge to grant an O.R. release include the following: family and community ties, employment, past criminal record and past history of appearing in court.

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The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a festive Christmas Eve party took a terrible turn for a Covina family. The Times reports that a man dressed in a Santa suit opened fire at his ex-wife’s Christmas Eve party and then set the house ablaze. Authorities believe that eight people are dead as well as the alleged shooter, who was later found dead of a gunshot wound.

The alleged shooter’s former wife and her parents are believed to be among the dead. Authorities said that the bodies found in the house were so badly burned that dental records would be needed for identification. It was thought to be the worst single killing spree in the county this year. Overall, homicides have remained at relatively low levels compared to previous years.

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According to the L.A. Daily News, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox said his agency neglected to pursue allegations of wrongdoing by Bernard L. Madoff, the alleged perpetrator of a $50 billion Ponzi scheme for the last ten years. As a result, Cox ordered a probe by the SEC’s inspector general, saying the agency’s staff had never brought the Madoff matter to the attention of commissioners.

Madoff, the former chairman of the NASDAQ Stock Market, was arrested December 11th and charged with a single count of securities fraud, which if proved, may rank among the biggest frauds ever—totaling $50 billion of fraudulent losses. A Ponzi scheme—sometimes called a pyramid scheme—is a fraudulent investment operation where investors receive abnormally high returns out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from the profit from any real business.

Many of the investors allegedly swindled by the Wall Street money manager are Jewish philanthropists and non-profit organizations. The Daily News article states that the effect of the loss to Jewish philanthropic world is nothing less than “catastrophic,” however at this time it doesn’t appear the fraud has had any effect on Los Angeles organizations.

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Westminster police responded to a typical disturbing the peace call last week–but instead of finding disgruntled family members, they fell upon a herd of wicker reindeer in the living room, yards of Christmas lights, faux Christmas trees, several snowmen and many inflatable Santa Claus figures. According to the L.A. Times, it all seemed just a little much to police, even for the most devoted holiday fanatic.

Then police remembered the theft reports. For weeks, residents of a Westminster neighborhood had been making reports of missing holiday decorations to police. Westminster police found a stockpile of holiday decorations in the home, on the roof and in the backyard. Police had to use two city trucks and a police truck to take all the property to the police station.

The Grinch, aka Vuong Pham, faces felony charges for grand theft and possession of stolen property.

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Earlier this week I posted a blog about the effectiveness of gun control and it seems that gun control is also on the minds of Los Angeles City Council.

Yesterday, the L.A. Times reported that the Public Safety Committee of the Los Angeles City Council approved a package of gun control measures that would make it easier for landlords to evict tenants with illegal firearms and place new permitting requirements on ammunition vendors. The committee approved an ordinance banning the sale of .50-caliber ammunition and, under one of the proposed ordinances, employees handling ammunition would now be subject to a background check.

The measures were introduced as part of the Mayor’s anti-gang initiative.

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The media has spent much of the past ten days covering the arrest of New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress on gun charges and the tragedy in India where 125 people lost their lives at the hands of terrorists. (A recent L.A. Times article can be found here) Both bring the discussion of gun control to the forefront of public discourse.

India has a ban on guns, yet terrorists were able to smuggle machine guns into the Taj Hotel while the victims of the attacks, helpless and unarmed, found themselves hostage. Many of the police who manned the hotel’s metal detectors weren’t even armed because of India’s strict licensing requirements. And, there have been extensive reports of frustration over Indian authorities’ decision to sit for hours outside the buildings the terrorists occupied, instead of ambushing the building with a SWAT team to try to save civilian lives.

“Concerned for his safety” Burress allegedly violated New York City’s gun regulations by carrying a concealed handgun and in the process managed to shoot himself in a crowded club last weekend. Would Burress really have been safer trusting the police to protect him? Or, is his arrest significant because he represents an arrogant culture that thinks that they can take the law into their own hands?

Both of these incidents bring to light problems with gun control. But I think embedded in this debate are issues of self defense, the police’s role of protecting citizens, and what the ramifications are when they don’t effectively do their job. Academic research has shown that the police are the most important factor in reducing crime—but, as in the case of the terrorist attack in India, the police can’t always be depended on to act quickly enough.

This country’s foundation was built on notions of a civil society, i.e. that citizens relinquish the right to take aggressive actions to protect themselves to the government and in return, government will step protect their members – such as forming a protective police force and a penal system that punishes those who don’t abide by this social contract. The theory of course is that people cannot be taking matters into their own hands or we would be living in utter chaos. The right to bear arms is arguably the second most important freedom that the founding fathers solidified via the second amendment. When police can’t promise to protect law-abiding citizens like the victims in India, should we be allowing people the right to protect themselves like Burress did? Or are we asking for chaos?

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For most misdemeanor offenses in California, a police officer can only make an arrest of a suspect without a warrant if the offense was committed in the officer’s presence. If a felony is suspected, officers can arrest people based upon witness statements, or where a warrant for the person’s arrest has been issued.

IF I AM ARRESTED, CAN THE POLICE SEARCH ME? The police have the authority to perform a search of a suspect and his immediate surroundings, “incident” to the arrest of the suspect. For example, if the police arrest a person in Irvine who was driving a car, they generally have the authority to search the entire passenger compartment of the car – and will usually also be able to search other passengers for weapons. The constitutional justification for this is found in the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Then, if the car is impounded, the police may perform an “inventory search” of the entire car– including the contents of the trunk.

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