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
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
June 23, 2017
Case # 14HF0182
WOMAN SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON FOR PIMPING WOMEN OUT OF IRVINE BROTHELS
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A woman was sentenced yesterday to three years in state prison for pimping women out of luxury Irvine apartments operating as brothels.
Defendant: Jian Zhen Zhu, 42, Santa Ana
Pleaded guilty to the court on Nov. 15, 2016, to felony counts: Continue reading
The Greenwood Homes in the Tustin Legacy development have been experiencing a spike in theft related property crimes since the beginning of the year. In addition to regular Neighborhood Watch meetings, several of the residents have installed video security surveillance systems.
On May 23rd a homeowner had a package stolen from the front porch and the surveillance video captured the suspect fleeing in a black Mercedes. On May 25th the same vehicle was involved in a package theft in a nearby Irvine neighborhood. On May 26th the suspect struck again at a different residence and he was once again captured on video surveillance fleeing in a black Mercedes. The license plate on the vehicle was stolen from a similar looking Mercedes in the City of Orange weeks earlier. Continue reading
Leonardo Pimental Sanchez, original booking photo from the 1990’s
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 00SF0657
Date: March 23, 2017
FORMER FUGITIVE CONVICTED OF 1992 COLD CASE MURDER OF 19-YEAR-OLD WOMAN
*Defendant fled to Mexico and was extradited 10 years later
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man who was extradited to Orange County from Mexico was convicted yesterday of murdering a 19-year-old woman in 1992. Leonardo Pimentel Sanchez, 59, Mexico City, Mexico, was found guilty by a jury on March 22, 2017, of one felony count of first degree murder. The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. He also faces sentencing enhancements for two prior felony convictions for a 1978 robbery and a 1984 rape and digital penetration in Orange County. The defendant was arrested in Mexico in November 2012, and extradited to Orange County July 23, 2013, following extradition proceedings. A sentencing date has yet to be determined.
Daniel Cervantes, a 27-year-old man who lived in Santa Ana with his parents was arrested by the Irvine Police tonight on suspicion of stealing high-end jewelry, including an engagement ring from 1892, from at least four people who asked them to do work on the pieces, according to the O.C. Register.
Cervantes, a former employee at Nathan Alan Jewelers, told the victims that he could polish or resize their engagement or wedding rings. However he would never return the jewelry to his customers – even after they paid him for his services. Continue reading
A man believed to be a possible kidnapper was arrested by the SAPD after leading them on a fifteen minute police pursuit on Wednesday night, that ended at about 11:30 p.m. The pursuit ended in a crash at the 4000 block of El Camino Real in Irvine, according to Mynewsla.
The suspect, an unidentified man, was briefly trapped in his car after he crashed it into a tree, according to the O.C. Register. Continue reading
Do you live in Santa Ana? If you have kids then you need to know that you don’t have to put them in our local schools. That said there are some fine schools in Santa Ana. But are they the best ones for your kids?
Parents are allowed to indicate a preference for the school which their child will attend, irrespective of the child’s place of residence within the district. And surrounding school districts have to honor this parental preference if their schools have sufficient capacity without displacing other currently enrolled students, according to California Education Code Section 35160.5(b).
So what school districts are the best ones in our area? Continue reading
Jocelyn Cano of Santa Ana, a 23-year-old woman with a lengthy criminal history pleaded guilty on Monday and was immediately sentenced to nine years in prison for carjackings in Irvine, Costa Mesa and Tustin, according to the O.C. Register.
Cano flipped out on March 9, 2015, when she smashed the driver-side window of a 27-year old Huntington Beach resident’s 2011 Toyota Prius as he was stuck in traffic on the 73 Freeway going north. She ordered the victim out of his car and then took off in his vehicle. Continue reading
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Date: November 30, 2016
MEDIA ADVISORY
WHO: Ford Motor Company (Ford), RMD Group, Taco Bell, Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership and its partners including Buena Park Police Department, Fullerton Police Department, Garden Grove Police Department, Orange County Probation Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Orange Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, and Santa Ana Unified School District Police Department. Continue reading
Stuff that Lorena Guadalupe Arreguin stole from storage units and mail boxes
Irvine Police arrest suspect in storage-unit burglaries, seek possible victims of identity theft
Irvine, Calif. (Nov. 21, 2016) – The Irvine Police Department (IPD) has arrested Lorena Guadalupe Arreguin in connection with a string of storage-unit burglaries and mail thefts that have occurred from May through November of this year.
Arreguin and at least two other suspects are believed to have stolen mail from North Tustin, Newport Beach, Laguna Woods and Costa Mesa. The suspects are further accused of using other people’s identities to obtain storage units, then committing burglaries at those locations. The suspects have taken paperwork including bills, credit cards and more, and have attempted to open credit accounts using the stolen information. There have been more than 20 such storage-unit burglaries in Irvine, Santa Ana and possibly other cities. Continue reading
A police pursuit of a car reported stolen started this afternoon in Santa Ana and finally ended in Laguna Hills, according to the O.C. Register.
The incident began before 4 p.m. in Santa Ana when the driver of the suspected stolen SUV fled from the SAPD. The chase continued through the cities of Irvine and Tustin, and involved at times both the 5 and the 405 Freeways. Continue reading
Serj Geutssoyan, 34, of Santa Ana, was sentenced yesterday to 52 months in prison, according to the O.C. Register, for his part in ripping off about 1,000 victims out of about $3M in a loan modification scam.
Geutssoyan’s colleague, Daniel Shiau, 30, of Irvine, received a 58-month term. Continue reading
Last night at about 9:30 p.m., a University of California Irvine (UCI) student was conducting interviews of the homeless population in the Civic Center area. Near the Santa Ana Library area, a suspect grabbed the student’s personal bag that was on yhe ground and ran away. Continue reading
City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County
Performances will highlight the contributions of group’s founder
Relámpago del Cielo Grupo Folklóricoz (RDC), one of the top folklorico groups in the United States, will perform two 40th anniversary concerts this August at the Irvine Barclay Theater. The concerts will be presented at 8 p.m. Aug. 20 and at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. Tickets are $35 each. The two-hour concerts will feature the color, sounds and choreography that only Mexican dance can bring to a stage.
RDC is a nonprofit cultural arts organization based in Santa Ana, CA which supports the study and preservation of traditional Mexican performing arts through music, folklore and dance. Founded by Ms. Rosie Peña from Santa Ana College, part of RDC’s mission is to serve as a cultural enrichment service to the community through outreach presentations and educational activities. The organization holds classes at the Orange County School of the Arts. RDC has been serving the community of Santa Ana for 40 years. Continue reading
Irvine Police Department Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Release #: 07-12-2016
CONTACT: Farrah Emami, 949-724-7112, femami@cityofirvine.org
Irvine Police Arrest Man Following Burglary-In-Progress Report
Irvine, CA – The Irvine Police Department has arrested a man for burglarizing an electronic repair business. William Cortez, 24, of Santa Ana, was taken into custody on charges of commercial burglary and vandalism.
Shortly before 1:00 a.m. today, July 12, 2016, officers responded to an electronic repair business on Sky Park Circle regarding a burglary in progress. The owner called police after watching remote video and observing someone in his business. Continue reading