Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: irvine

The Santa Ana City Council decides to sue the County and several cities over the homeless issue

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Courts, Housing, Huntington Beach, irvine, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Santa Ana Council Calls for Legal Action on Homelessness. City to Sue County of Orange, Irvine, Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach

SANTA ANA, CA – On Tuesday night, Santa Ana City Council directed the City’s legal counsel to move forward with a lawsuit against the County of Orange and the cities of Irvine, Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach for their opposition to sheltering the homeless on available County land. A County plan to locate three temporary homeless shelters in each homeless services region of the County had been adopted earlier in March but was subsequently rescinded by the County Board of Supervisors following opposition from those cities. The City’s legal action seeks to compel the parties to take action rather than merely say “no” to being part of the solution. Continue reading→

3rd striker facing life in prison after police pursuit, carjacking and injuring an SAPD K9 police dog

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Garden Grove, irvine, OCDA, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

Case # 18HF0329

Date: February 28, 2018

THIRD-STRIKER PAROLEE CHARGED WITH AGGRAVATED ASSAULT ON PEACE OFFICER AND CARJACKING AFTER INITIATING PURSUIT AND INJURING POLICE K9 THAT APPREHENDED HIM

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A third-striker parolee was charged today with aggravated assault on a peace officer and carjacking after initiating a pursuit and injuring the K9 that apprehended him.

Defendant: Antonio Padilla Jr., 37, Palm Desert

Charged today with the following counts: Continue reading→

UCI Jumpstart’s Literacy Fair coming to Santa Ana’s Heritage Museum on March 3

Posted on by Posted in Education, irvine, Literacy, Santa Ana, Youth Activities Leave a comment

UC IRVINE’S JUMPSTART LITERACY FAIR TO BRING BOOKS TO LIFE TO ENCOURAGE

EARLY CHILDHOOD READING ON SATURDAY, MARCH 3 AT HERITAGE MUSEUM IN SANTA ANA

The program works with early childhood educators to reduce achievement gaps for children in underserved communities

Families from across Orange County are expected to attend UC Irvine’s Jumpstart’s free annual Spring Literacy event on Saturday, March 3, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Heritage Museum of Orange County at 3101 W. Harvard St., in Santa Ana. The exciting event supports the development of literacy through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) activities, readings from children’s authors, activities such as making your own balloon rocket car, science experiments, and other STEAM related activities to encourage an interest in reading among preschool age children.

Jumpstart will give more than 1,000 free books to children who attend the event. Nurses from Santa Ana Unified School District will be present as well to provide free basic health screenings for children. Children’s author Annie Banannie, who brings stories to life with her unique balloon storytelling, will also be at the event. Continue reading→

An SAPD K9 police dog knocked out most of his teeth when he chased down a carjacker yesterday

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Garden Grove, irvine, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

Puskas, an 8-year-old Dutch Shepherd and member of the SAPD Police Department, heroically took down a carjacker in Irvine yesterday but in the process he was very badly injured, according to the O.C. Register.

Puskas, who is named after Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás, chased the carjacking suspect, Antonio Padilla Jr., when he got out of a black Audi that he carjacked in Irvine. Continue reading→

Man arrested after carjacking a woman in Irvine and fleeing from cops

Posted on by Posted in Crime, irvine, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Antonio Padilla Jr.

Carjacking in Irvine Occurs During Pursuit

Irvine, Calif. (Feb. 26, 2018) – A female Irvine resident was the victim of a carjacking during a pursuit initiated outside of the City on Monday.

On Monday evening, the Santa Ana Police Department informed the Irvine Police Department of a pursuit in which a suspect was driving in and out of Irvine. At approximately 5:40 p.m., the suspect came to a dead end on Rosa Drew. At that time, a female Irvine resident was backing up her black Audi SUV. The suspect exited his vehicle, opened the door of the Audi and pulled the woman from her vehicle. Continue reading→

Man who allegedly rammed two Irvine police cars arrested in Orange

Posted on by Posted in Crime, irvine, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Robert Weirick, a 35-year-old man, was arrested at a storage facility on Wednesday morning, Jan. 31, on suspicion of stealing a $10,000 bicycle and a car – which, officials said, he used to ram two police vehicles, according to the O.C. Register.

Weirick drew the attention of the Irvine Police Department when he allegedly stole a high-end bicycle. The Irvine Police  got a tip on Wednesday morning that Weirick was in a stolen vehicle. Continue reading→

Three Irvine auto theft suspects were caught in Huntington Beach this morning after a police pursuit

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, irvine Leave a comment

Three people were arrested Thursday, Nov. 9, following a high-speed police pursuit that began in Fountain Valley and ended in Huntington Beach, according to the O.C. Register.

The suspects apparently were seen driving a Toyota Camry that had been reported stolen in Irvine, at around 5:30 a.m. this morning, near Euclid St. and Warner Ave. Continue reading→

Mexican national with 27 aliases convicted of killing a woman in Irvine in 1992

Posted on by Posted in Crime, irvine, OCDA, Santa Ana Leave a comment

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Case # 00SF0657

Date: July 14, 2017

FORMER FUGITIVE SENTENCED TO 35 YEARS TO LIFE IN STATE PRISON FOR 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 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→

Santa Ana woman heading to prison for pimping women in Irvine brothels

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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→

Transient arrested for stealing packages from homes in Orange, Irvine and Tustin

Posted on by Posted in Crime, homeless, irvine, Orange, Tustin Leave a comment

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→

Mexican criminal found guilty of murdering a teen model in Irvine back in 1992

Posted on by Posted in Crime, irvine, mexico, OCDA 4 Comments

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.

Continue reading→

Santa Ana man arrested by the Irvine Police for stealing high-end jewelry

Posted on by Posted in Crime, irvine, Santa Ana 2 Comments

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→

Possible kidnapper fled from the SAPD but then crashed his car into a tree in Irvine

Posted on by Posted in Crime, irvine, Santa Ana 1 Comment

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→

If you live in Santa Ana which local school district is the best one for your kids?

Posted on by Posted in Education, irvine, Santa Ana, Tustin 13 Comments

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→

Santa Ana woman pleads guilty to charges of carjackings in Irvine, Costa Mesa and Tustin

Posted on by Posted in Costa Mesa, Crime, irvine, OCDA, Santa Ana, Tustin Leave a comment

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→