Jose Esteban Zuniga
A jury on Thursday convicted Jose Esteban Cardenas Zuniga, a 41-year-old Mammoth Lakes man, of first-degree murder for the killing of a 25-year-old prostitute, Yacshicka Watts, whose body was dumped a decade ago in a Santa Ana parking lot, according to the O.C. Register.
Ten years later and prostitutes are still getting killed in Santa Ana! Some things never change. Continue reading
On Friday, July 21, 2017, at 3:38 AM, Santa Ana PD Officers responded to a family disturbance at a single-family residence at the 2400 block of Olive Street at around 3:47 a.m., according to the SAPD.
Initial reports indicated a resident at the location had been assaulted by a family member. Upon arrival, Officers encountered a Hispanic male in his early 20’s. An officer involved shooting occurred and the subject sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: SANTA ANA POLICE STEP UP DUI EDUCATION
On Sunday, July 23rd, the Santa Ana Police Department will be displaying their “Choose your ride” vehicle at Chapter One located at 227 N. Broadway St. in Santa Ana from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m..
The “Choose your ride” vehicle is a car with half of it painted to resemble a yellow taxi, and the other half a police car. The message is simple and it implores patrons and a passerby to “Choose your ride” and Don’t Drink and Drive. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
On Wednesday, 07/19/2017 at approximately 2:30 p.m., SAPD police officers responded to a fight near the intersection of Bristol and Warner. By the time the officers arrived, the suspect, Stephen Allan Edwards, 28-years old, had committed two batteries, a robbery and an assault with a deadly weapon.
The assault with a deadly weapon was against a Santa Ana Code Enforcement officer who had intervened in the robbery. The suspect tried to stab her with a knife through her car window. The code enforcement officer was not injured. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
July 19, 2017
Case # 16NF0460
*Man also charged with forcible sexual assaults on 15-year-old victim
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A San Jose felon was sentenced to 31 years and six months in state prison yesterday for human trafficking, pimping, and pandering two minors and six additional women using a firearm, intimidation, and drugs.
Defendant: Ariel Cuellar Guizar, 36, San Jose
Pleaded guilty on July 18, 2017, to felony: Continue reading
Remember when the gentrifiers promised that DTSA would be so much better and safer without all those Mexican bars? Well today Juan Angel Rivera, a 23-year old Santa Ana man who stabbed Nathan Alfaro, a fellow concert-goer, to death during a punk show at the Underground DTSA, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, according to the O.C. Register.
Rivera could have been sentenced to either probation or the minimum term of three years in prison. Instead Orange County Superior Court Judge Patrick H. Donahue gave him a far more severe sentence. Donahue noted in his comments that Rivera had an abnormal fascination with knives. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 00SF0657
Date: July 14, 2017
*Defendant fled to Mexico and was extradited 10 years later
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man who was extradited to Orange County from Mexico was sentenced today to 35 years to life in state prison for murdering a 19-year-old woman in 1992.
Defendant: Leonardo Pimentel Sanchez, 59, Mexico City, Mexico
Found guilty by a jury on May 22, 2017, of one felony count of: Continue reading
Do you remember when former SAPD Police Chief Carlos Rojas quit the SAPD to go be the Chief at BART (the Bay Area Rapid Transit System in San Francisco and Oakland)? At the time Rojas said his new job was a “fun” challenge. “I’m excited and humbled to have been selected to lead such a progressive police department,” he said.
Well it did not take Rojas long to anger his new employers!
“Not long after Rojas started work in late May, he made the decision to stop issuing daily curated email reports on police calls at BART, which described in short paragraphs the reported crime and the department’s response, and instead, to send BART crime information to the free online tool, CrimeMapping.com,” according to the Mercury News. Continue reading
Five juveniles were injured after an underage, unlicensed driver suspected of driving under the influence struck two pedestrians in Santa Ana on Thursday, according to ABC News.
The driver, who was not licensed, was speeding along the 1600 block of South Greenville Street at about 11 a.m. when he lost control of the silver Honda Accord, striking two juvenile pedestrians then crashing into a pole, according to the OC Register.
The crash occurred nearby several schools including Godinez High School, Carl Harvey Elementary School, and Carr Intermediate School. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: SANTA ANA POLICE IMPLEMENTS PLAN FOR INCREASED 7-DAY A WEEK GANG SUPPRESSION STRATEGY
Santa Ana, CA – JULY 13, 2017. Working to combat gang violence in Santa Ana, today Acting Chief David Valentin released a gang suppression plan. This plan is a coordinated suppression strategy in response to the City’s seven gang-related homicides and other documented gang related crimes, thus far in 2017, that targets gang related offenders and the most violent gangs. The core of the Department’s strategy will include the redeployment of officers from throughout the department to field gang activity suppression. Officers deployed to the department’s anti-gang units, will provide seven day a week coverage, enhancing the current strategy of four days a week coverage. Continue reading
Tustin police are investigating a possible suspect barricaded inside a home Wednesday morning, July 12, at the 13000th block of North Yorba, according to the O.C. Register.
The incident began this morning at around 9 a.m. when a disagreement between two unidentified people led to one of them calling the Tustin Police to report that the other person was armed, according to the Tustin Police. Continue reading
Contact: Deidra Powell, Chief Communications Officer, (714) 558-5555 Office, (714) 673-4995 Mobile
Santa Ana Unified School District’s Statement on the Arrest of Tracey Steven Fulford
SANTA ANA, CA (July 10, 2017) – Santa Ana Unified School District was notified, July 9, 2017 that Tracy Steven Fulford, a walk-on Basketball Coach at Segerstrom High School, was arrested and booked for allegations of sexual misconduct with a former student. These allegations are being taken seriously and are in direct conflict of the District’s zero-tolerance policy relating to staff misconduct, in which all district employees are held at the highest ethical standards. This includes reporting any suspicious activity involving abuse or neglect of a child directly to authorities, as mandated by law. Failure to do so is a criminal violation of the law. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 10, 2017
SB-10, SB-421, SB-620
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) strongly opposes three California State Senate bills that change firearm sentencing enhancement requirements, bail and pretrial release, and sex offender registration. Crime victims’ rights leaders Dr. Henry T. Nicholas III (Marsy’s Law) and Erin Runnion (The Joyful Child Foundation) joined the OCDA at the news conference to voice their opinions. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: Detectives Asking For Media & Publics Assistance In Identifying Armed Robbery Suspect
Crime Type: PC 211—Armed Robbery (Black Handgun)
Synopsis: On 7/6/2017 at approximately 11:30 p.m., the suspect committed an armed robbery at the Arco Gas Station located in the 1700 block of East Dyer Road. Approximately an hour and a half later, the same suspect committed another armed robbery at the Arco located in the 3400 block of South Main Street. Continue reading
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Santa Ana police tried to stop a vehicle for various violations including no license plate and no seatbelts, according to NBC News.
The driver, a documented gang member who was later identified as Jesus Arturo Martinez, refused to pull over so the police began to pursue his vehicle on local streets at speeds that topped 90 mph. At one point the suspect even drove the wrong way on the street, according to the SAPD. Continue reading