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Category Archives: CHP

A Santa Ana woman got a $4.5M settlement after allegedly being sexually assaulted twice by a former CHP officer

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A former CHP officer, Xavier Aguirre, has cost the State of California $4.5M after lawyers settled with an unidentified Santa Ana woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Aguirre, not once but twice!

The victim, a 49-year-old Hispanic woman who barely speaks English was a passenger in a Ford Expedition that Aguirre pulled over at around 5:30 p.m. on April 6, 2018, on the 5 freeway in Santa Ana. Aguirre pulled over the vehicle due to expired license plates.

Aguirre allegedly told the victim to get out of the car and to pull her pants down so he could frisk her. Then he groped her breasts and genitalia on the side of the freeway.

But Aguirre wasn’t done with her yet. He showed up at her apartment, unannounced, three hours later and he accused her of giving him a false address. She then retorted that if the address was false how did he find her?

Aguirre then had her follow him to his patrol car. He opened the front and rear passenger doors of his patrol car and told her to stand between them and then he frisked her again and the victim said she noticed he was physically aroused.

Aguirre continued to grope the victim’s breasts and genitalia but finally stopped after he saw someone in the area. The officer then loudly said “No problem, the ticket can be paid in Santa Ana or Westminster.”

However Aguirre did not issue her a citation but he did ask if he could come back on Saturday or Sunday and of course she said no.

The victim called the SAPD three says later to report the sexual assault.

Aguirre denied the assaults. He admitted that he ran into the woman during the traffic stop and that he went to her apartment and frisked her both times.

The victim’s lawyer, Neda Lofti, told the court that Aguirre was caught on surveillance video at the home and that he turned off his body-worn camera during both incidents.

Aguirre is no longer a CHP officer. He left the department in September of 2019 after being employed for less than two years.

Aguirre was never arrested by the SAPD as the OCDA rejected the case. The OCDA’s spokeswoman said there was not enough evidence for them to file charges against Aguirre in a criminal court.

Lofti claims the victim is suffering from PTSD related stress due to the repeated sexual assaults.

The victim got her settlement check this week. However the CHP is still on the hook for another lawsuit involving another woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Aguirre on the same day that he went after the Santa Ana woman.

The second victim was involved in a car crash on the 55 Freeway that same day. Aguirre showed up at the crash and had her sit in the backseat of his patrol car to wait for a tow truck. But then he proceeded to frisk her before she could get into the vehicle and he allegedly groped her breasts, buttocks, waist and thighs.

While the CHP paid up Aguirre, as noted, did not pay a price for his alleged actions. His Linkedin Page says he is now a student at CSU San Bernardino. His pay and benefits at the CHP approached $200K according to Transparent California.

A Garden Grove man is under investigation for DUI driving after a fatal crash on the 405 Freeway

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Two people in a Honda died on the 405 Freeway, in the Seal Beach area, when their vehicle was struck by a vehicle driven by Oscar Anguiano, a 39-year-old Garden Grove man.

CHP investigators believe that Anguiano may have been impaired while he was driving a 2014 Volkswagen that collided with a 2000 Honda on the southbound 405 near Seal Beach Boulevard just before 11:51 p.m. on Saturday.

Anguiano was reportedly driving the Volkswagen at a high rate of speed when he slammed into the Honda, which immediately burst into flames on impact.

Anguiano was taken to the UCI Medical Center with major injuries after the crash. He remains under investigation for driving under the influence. However it is not known at this time if he is in police custody yet.

The names of the victims have not been released yet.

The horrific crash resulted in the shut down of the southbound 405 late on Saturday all the way into Sunday morning.

The lanes were cleared of debris and reopened by around 3:30 a.m. Sunday.

Veteran gets help after a homeless camp cleanup in Garden Grove

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Garden Grove Police Department patrol and SRT officers collaborated with the CHP – Westminster, City of Stanton Outreach, Westminster Police Department, CA and Caltrans Orange County District 12 to remove the encampments along the SR-22 freeway on November 4, 2021.

During the clean-up, an individual expressed interest in outreach services. While speaking to him, SRT officers discovered he was a former U.S. Marine, suffering from a Fentanyl addiction. Be Well OC was requested, responded, and transported him to their Be Well campus.

Ahead of Veterans Day, this vet will receive the rehabilitation services he needs. His information will also be forwarded to Veteran Affairs for housing assistance.

The big rig theft suspect in a police standoff at the 55 Freeway is finally under arrest

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The long standoff on the Southbound 55 Freeway finally has come to an end! The standoff was the result of a stolen big rig pursuit that began in Sun Valley on Wednesday night and concluded in Orange County as the suspect refused to leave the rig while surrounded by CHP and Irvine police officers.

The male suspect was finally arrested at about 8:30 a.m. today.

The big rig was stolen at about 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday night from a food service lot in East Los Angeles.

CHP patrol vehicles and a helicopter pursued the stolen big rig as it snaked through freeways in Los Angeles, Ventura and eventually Orange counties.

The police officers tried several times to stop the big rig with spike strips but while they succeeded in blowing up some of the truck tires the suspect kept going.

The pursuit ended in Orange County near Dyer Road early this morning. The CHP closed down the freeway causing a commuting nightmare for residents trying to get to work.

The SAPD provided their SWAT team to try to help convince the suspect to get out of the truck.

The suspect kept trying to get the truck to move and finally gave up and exited the vehicle at around 8:30 a.m.

The suspect has not yet been identified but he appeared to be a male in his early 20s.

The bad news is the freeway will remain closed for at least a few more hours due to the ongoing investigation continues.

Commuters are urged to avoid the area. If they are trying to get to Irvine or the coastal cities they will have to take the streets or stay on the 5 South to the 405 Freeway.

The South 55 Freeway is shut down near MacArthur due to police activity

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Whatever you do, don’t take the 55 Freeway south this morning.

A high speed police pursuit of a stolen big rig stalled near the MacArthur exit of the siythbound 55 Freeway this morning at about 7 a.m.

The CHP and Irvine Police SWAT team are trying to negotiate the suspect’s surrender.

it is not known if the suspect is armed or on drugs.

the stolen truck is badly damaged as spike strips were deployed several times.

The chase began on the 5 Freeway in East Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

DUI driver who caused a fatal chain reaction crash on the 5 Freeway found guilty

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SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Las Vegas man was convicted today of second-degree murder for initiating a chain reaction crash while driving under the influence in 2018 that killed a 25-year-old woman, fractured her infant’s skull, and seriously injured four others.

Irving Abel Aguilar-Calixto, 25, of Las Vegas, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of second-degree murder, one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, and five felony enhancements of inflicting great bodily injury.

He is scheduled to be sentenced December 17, 2021 in Department C36 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life plus 10 years in state prison.

On August 23, 2018, at approximately 1:24 a.m., Aguilar-Calixto was driving his Dodge Challenger more than 100 mph on the I-5 freeway after a night of heavy drinking with friends in Anaheim when he crashed into a Prius just north of Lake Forest Drive. Aguilar-Calixto had driven to Anaheim from Las Vegas to spend the evening with friends, but decided to leave the Anaheim property they had rented and drive home to Nevada.

Following the initial crash, the Prius and the Challenger both became disabled, with Aguilar’s Challenger blocking the HOV and #1 lane and the Prius moving to the right shoulder.

A tow truck driver stopped to assist and warn other drivers of the disabled vehicle. Ten minutes after the initial collision, the driver of a Dodge van slammed into the center divider while attempting to avoid the disabled Challenger. The van’s driver left his vehicle partially blocking the HOV lane.

Less than a minute later, another vehicle slammed into the disabled Charger, causing that vehicle to come to a rest on its roof. Two more drivers then slammed into the pile-up.

Less than a minute after those collisions, three more drivers crashed into the wreckage, including 25-year-old Maria Osuna who was driving with her 6-month-old son in her car. Osuna took off her seatbelt to check on her infant son who was strapped in his car seat in the back seat. While Osuna was tending to her injured son, another vehicle crashed into her car, killing the mother of three.

Osuna’s son suffered a neck and skull fracture and four others were seriously injured, including suffering fractured vertebrae, a broken ankle, and a concussion.

Aguilar-Calixto had a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit at the time of the initial collision.

“The lives destroyed by the selfish actions of one driver to get behind the wheel drunk is unconscionable,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “That young mother did what any mother would do – rush to care for her injured child – and it cost that mother her life. That little boy will grow up without having a single memory of his mother, but he will always know that her last act on this earth was to protect him at all costs. While we cannot bring that young woman back, we will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is done and that the individual responsible for setting off this tragic chain of events is held accountable for his actions.”

Senior Deputy District Attorney Dan Feldman of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.

CHP officer based in Santa Ana charged with filing bogus time cards

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SANTA ANA, Calif. – A veteran California Highway Patrol officer has been charged with 27 felonies for stealing more than $4,000 by submitting time cards falsely claiming he worked regular shifts and overtime that he never worked.

Scott Helberg, 47, of Corona, has been charged with 27 felony counts of presenting a false claim and one felony count of grand theft by an employee.

Helberg, who spent 22 years as a California Highway Patrol Officer, resigned June 14, 2021.

Helberg is scheduled to be arraigned on October 22, 2021 in Department C55 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. He faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in state prison if convicted on all counts.

As the Tow Officer for the CHP’s Santa Ana Area Office, Helberg was responsible for coordinating and assigning overtime, did not have to attend roll call briefings, and often worked off-site inspecting tow trucks.

Between July 1 and October 16, 2020, Helberg filed 27 timecards requesting pay for regular hours and overtime shifts that he never worked.

The California Highway Patrol initiated an internal investigation in October 2020 after inconsistencies in Helberg’s work activity failed to match the hours he reported on his time card. As part of the investigation, the CHP discovered that on multiple occasions when he claimed to have been working Helberg was actually at his home in Corona in Riverside County instead of within the jurisdiction of the CHP’s Santa Ana Area Office. The CHP referred the case to the District Attorney’s Office for further investigation and prosecution.

“Stealing precious taxpayer dollars while pretending to protect and serve the residents of Orange County is not only a disservice to the taxpaying public it is a disservice to all of the hardworking men and women of law enforcement who are actually doing the job they are sworn to do,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Thank you to the California Highway Patrol for identifying and thoroughly investigating this theft of taxpayer dollars so that we can hold this individual accountable.”

Deputy District Attorney Nathaniel Barrett of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.

Four O.C. suspects arrested for allegedly stealing nearly $2 million worth of products from retailers

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Anaheim residents Jaime Mendoza, 36, and Maritza Guerrero, 31, and two others were arrested by California Highway Patrol officers on Aug. 31, on charges of stealing nearly $2 million worth of retail products from 43 different stores. They allegedly stored the products inside mobile home in Midway City and in multiple storage units.

They were seen, by CHP investigators, committing at least one theft and they then took the stolen merchandise to their mobile home

Investigators from TJX Companies Inc., which owns TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores, also identified the suspects. The CHP’s Organized Retail Crime unit, which works with retailers across the state to combat sophisticated crews who steal merchandise, was engaged by the investigators to track down the suspects.

The other two suspects, Yolanda De la Rosa, 48, and Jaime De la Rosa, 55, were arrested after CHP investigators obtained a search warrant and then found merchandise from “floor to ceiling” inside the mobile home.

The CHP investigators found even more merchandise at four self-storage units that are also connected to the suspects. The investigators needed multiple trucks to haul off all the stolen goods. The investigators also found more than $65,000 in cash. The merchandise still had store tags and several had security sensors.

The CHP did not indicate how they identified the suspects but did say that the suspects targeted stores throughout Southern California.

Mendoza was already released from jail, on Sep. 1. Guerrero and both Jaime and Yolanda De la Rosa remained in jail on no bail. They are supposed to make their next court appearance on Sept. 16.

A Costa Mesa couple has been arrested for the road rage killing of Aiden Leos

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The CHP has confirmed the arrest of the two suspects believed responsible for the shooting death of 6-year-old Aiden Leos.

Marcus Anthony Eriz, 24, and Wynne Lee, 23, were arrested at their home in Costa Mesa.

They are expected to be charged with murder. Both suspects are being held at the Orange County Jail on $1 million bond each.

California Highway Patrol investigators had been watching the couple and followed them home from a restaurant before arresting them outside their Costa Mesa home.

Marcus Eriz

On Monday, CHP officials said they received a tip and worked to enhance an image of the license plate on the vehicle, which led them to identify the couple. They then began to investigate the couple’s backgrounds and determined that they commuted along the 91 corridor to two workplaces in the Inland Empire, according to the L.A. Times.

The Volkswagen was registered to an address where Lee had lived with her parents, but it was recovered from an address in Whittier where Eriz’s father lived in the mid-1990s, according to public records. The owner of the home may be one of Eriz’s relatives.

The gun used to kill Leos was found in a location other than the home in Costa Mesa where the two suspects live.

The reward for information leading to the arrest of the  suspects has surpassed $500,000. However it is not known at this time if anyone will be eligible to get the reward.

Leos was in a booster seat in the back of his mother’s Chevrolet Sonic, on his way to kindergarten in Yorba Linda, on the morning of May 21, when the shooting incident occurred on the northbound 55 Freeway in the city of Orange.

The suspects were involved in a road rage incident with Aiden’s mother, Joanna Cloonan, over a perceived unsafe lane change, according to the CHP.

Detectives believe a woman was driving and a man, who was in the front passenger seat, committed the shooting itself.

Anaheim BB gun freeway shooter facing several murder charges

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RIVERSIDE – Three counts of attempted murder have been filed against an Anaheim man in connection with firing a BB gun at a moving vehicle, District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced today, May 28, 2021.

“Shooting at moving vehicles with a BB gun or pellet gun while traveling at high speed on our roads or freeways is incredibly dangerous,” Hestrin said. “Shooting out windows of cars could easily startle drivers in traffic and cause a major accident. We are all relieved that no one was seriously injured by these crimes.”

Jesse Leal Rodriguez, DOB: 12-27-86, has been charged by the DA’s Office in case RIF2102128 with three counts of attempted murder and three counts of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. The counts involve three occupants in a vehicle shot at on May 25, 2021.

Rodriguez is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, as Monday is a holiday. This will be a video arraignment and the defendant will not be in the courtroom. If convicted as currently charged, Rodriguez faces a potential maximum sentence of 15 years plus 42 years to life in prison.

Around 1:30 p.m. on May 25, a Tesla was shot at with a BB gun in the area of Hamner Avenue and Hidden Valley Parkway in Norco. Captured on the vehicle’s video system at the time the vehicle’s window was shot out was a maroon Chevrolet Trailblazer. The incident was reported to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department which then notified CHP. There were two passengers with the driver of the Tesla, with all three being victims in this case.

Based on the vehicle description provided by witnesses, CHP officers, assisted by Riverside police, pulled over a maroon Chevrolet Trailblazer about 9:30 p.m. in a shopping center parking lot in the area of Magnolia and Tyler avenues.

The driver, Rodriguez, was arrested and a BB gun, BBs, and other related items were found in his vehicle.

There have been at least 50 incidents reported to law enforcement of vehicles shot at by a BB or pellet gun along the Highway 91 corridor in Riverside County since the middle of April. There also have been several dozen more incidents reported in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

While the DA’s Office has filed charges related to this May 25 BB gun shooting, there are dozens more incidents still being investigated. The DA’s Office anticipates more charges could be filed in the future.

CHP officers and investigators with the DA’s Bureau of Investigation are still investigating this case which includes the review of many videos from freeway cameras and other cameras.

If anyone has additional information about these incidents or may have been a victim and not yet reported it to law enforcement, you are asked to call the CHP tip line at (714) 288-6336.

The CHP has identified the vehicle used in the road rage killing of Adrian Leos

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The CHP is seeking to identity and locate the pictured vehicle and occupants. On May 21, 2021, at approximately 8:04 a.m., a homicide of a six-year-old child, Adrian Leos, occurred on the Northbound 55 Freeway at Chapman Ave., in the City of Orange. The suspect vehicle was occupied by a female driver and a male passenger.

The vehicle appears to be a Volkswagen Golf Sportwagon with non-tinted windows. The vehicle appears to be either a 2018 or 2019 model and the license plate number is unknown.

After the shooting the suspect vehicle continued northbound on the 55 Freeway to the Eastbound 91 Freeway towards the City of Riverside.

If you have any information about the identity of the suspects and/or the vehicle please contact the CHP Santa Ana office at 714-567-7000 or email santaaanachptipline@chp.ca.gov with any information.

Reward offered for info about the road rage suspect who killed Adrian Leos

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On Friday morning, 6-year old Aiden Leos was on his way to Kindergarten classes with his Mom. The boy was buckled in a booster seat in the back of the car as the pair traveled northbound on the 55 freeway in Orange County, California.

After an apparent road rage incident, a white sedan pulled behind her vehicle and one of the occupants fired a single shot at the rear of the car. The bullet ripped through the trunk and struck Aiden in his back. His mother was unaware the boy was even shot until he cried out to her “Mommy, my tummy hurts”. After pulling over and cradling her gravely wounded child in her arms, an off-duty police officer who was driving by performed CPR on Aiden until an ambulance was able to rush him to a nearby hospital. He passed away shortly after arrival.

Aiden Leos was remembered as a kind, loving soul who just celebrated his 6th birthday last week. The friendly, well-mannered boy loved to talk, and would always make it a point to compliment everyone he encountered. As of today, Aiden’s killer still remains on the loose.

A memorial has been growing at a bridge overlooking the site of the shooting, where people have left balloons, flowers, stuffed animals and expressions of sympathy for Aiden’s family, according to ABC News.

You can donate to the Leos’ family GoFundMe here. They have already raised over $188K. They would like to continue to raise money that will go towards a reward in hopes of finding the individuals that took Aiden’s life. They are already offering a $50K reward for information about Aiden’s killer.

It is believed the shooting was triggered by a road-rage incident. A man and a woman were in the suspect vehicle. The suspects remain outstanding. If you have any information regarding the incident (dash cam or cell phone video), please contact the CHP Santa Ana office at 714-567-6000, or email Officer Futrell at kfutrell@chp.ca.gov.

O.C. CHP officer charged with using confidential police records to help a friend

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SANTA ANA, Calif. – A California Highway Patrol officer has been charged with using a department computer to illegally access a confidential law enforcement database to provide vehicle information to a friend who owned a car registration service.

Todd Steaffens, 43, has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of computer access and fraud and three misdemeanor counts of disclosing Department of Motor Vehicle information without authorization.

He faces a maximum sentence of three years in the Orange County Jail if convicted on all charges.

Steaffens has worked for the California Highway Patrol since 2007.

Between February 2020 and July 2020, Steaffens is accused of using a CHP computer at the Westminster office to unlawfully access the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), which provides law enforcement access to national databases maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and others. Any information obtained from the system can be used for official use only.

Between February 2020 and July 2020, Steaffens is accused of accessing CLETS after receiving text messages from a friend who owns Pacific Automotive Services in Los Angeles asking the officer to run the vehicle identification numbers of different vehicles he was interested in buying. Steaffens is accused of providing that information to the owner of Pacific Automotive Services.

“This conduct of misuse of an official confidential law enforcement database to run a friend’s prospective car purchase has to be about the dumbest thing an officer can do to jeopardize his career and criminal record ,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Even minor transgressions such as these must be prosecuted because they are unlawful and still rises to the level of abuse of power.”

Steaffens is scheduled to be arraigned on April 21, 2021 at the Central Justice Center in Department C54.

Deputy District Attorney Dustin Chupurdy of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.

A man was struck and killed on the 55 Fwy. on Thursday morning

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An unidentified pedestrian was struck by a car and killed early on Thursday morning on the northbound 55 Freeway in Costa Mesa near the 405 Freeway at 3:20 a.m., according to the CHP.

The vehicle that struck the pedestrian was a white Ford Fusion, according to the CHP. The crash happened on the freeway’s right shoulder.

The O.C. Coroner responded to the accident at 3:36 a.m.

The driver in question was not identified.

A police pursuit started in Santa Ana and ended fatally in San Diego County

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A police pursuit that started with a traffic stop in Santa Ana, just before midnight last night, ended with the fatal shooting of the suspect by CHP officers in San Diego.

The incident began with SAPD police officers pulling the suspect over near 1st and Fairview for a traffic violation. But the driver refused to stop and instead got onto the 5 Freeway and headed south.

As the chase entered San Diego County, local authorities took over the pursuit which ended on the 805 Freeway in Chula Vista, according to ABC.

The pursuit ended in Chula Vista on southbound Interstate 805, just north of Orange Avenue, according to NBC.

CHP officers could be seen taking cover behind their vehicles and pointing their weapons toward the stopped car. Police gave commands to the driver over a loudspeaker, according to Fox News.

At some point, CHP says officers opened fire on the suspect, who was later pronounced dead at the hospital, according to ABC 10 News.

The suspect has not yet been identified.