Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: SAPD

Two died after a car and a motorcycle collided in Santa Ana this afternoon

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A crash between a motorcycle and car in Santa Ana left two dead on Wednesday afternoon, according to the O.C. Register.

The collision occurred at around 1:30 p.m. on Raitt Street, between McFadden and Edinger avenues.

A 35-year-old man was driving a motorcycle south on Raitt St. while a 40-year-old woman was making a U-turn in a Dodge Charger, going from north to south on the same street, when the crash took place, according to the SAPD.

Both vehicles caught fire after the accident. OCFA firefighters removed the woman from her car while onlookers pulled the motorcyclist away from his motorcycle and other residents put the fire out with their garden hoses.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The woman died at a local trauma center due to her severe injuries and burns.

The SAPD is investigating the incident to determine which party was at fault.

The names of the victims were not released as their next of kin have to be notified.

A man was shot and wounded in Santa Ana on New Year’s Day

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An unidentified man was shot and wounded on New Year’s Day in Santa Ana, according to the O.C. Register.

The shooting happened just before 9 p.m. in a residential neighborhood located at Golden West Avenue near McFadden Avenue.

The victim is expected to survive after getting shot in the shoulder, according to the SAPD.

The SAPD is not sure as to the motive for the shooting. But they did arrest a suspect, whose name was not released to the public.

The SAPD is conducting a DUI and Driver’s License Checkpoint on 12/28

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory SAPD conducting a DUI / Driver’s License checkpoint on Friday, December 28, 2018 in the area of 2100 S Raitt Street

SANTA ANA POLICE STEP UP DUI ENFORCEMENT

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI / Driver’s License checkpoint on Friday, December 28th, 2018. It will begin at 9:00 PM and is scheduled to conclude at 2:30 AM. It will be conducted in the area of 2100 S Raitt Street, in the City of Santa Ana.

The primary purpose of a DUI Checkpoint is to deter impaired driving, not to increase arrests. All too often, members of our community are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by impaired drivers. This DUI / Driver’s License checkpoint is an effort to reduce those tragedies, as well as ensuring drivers have a valid driver’s license. The DMV reports that unlicensed drivers are 4.9 times more likely to cause a fatal crash than a licensed driver is.

The checkpoint will be staffed by officers trained in the detection of alcohol and drug impairment to provide on-the-spot assessments of drivers suspected of alcohol or drug impairment. All checkpoints are conducted in accordance with the guidelines for DUI checkpoint operations outlined in the California Supreme Court decision, Ingersoll v. Palmer.

All vehicles may be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and / or drugs will be arrested. Our objective is to send a clear message to those who are considering driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol and / or drugs – Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest. The public is encouraged to help keep roadways safe by calling 911 if they see a suspected impaired driver. Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The SAPD is investigating a pedestrian fatality that occurred after a hit and run accident

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD Collision Investigation Unit Handling Fatal Auto Vs Ped. Collision – 900 Block of W. 1st Street

Decedent: Mark Stephen Keller (40) Brea

On 12/23/2018 at approximately 5:53 a.m., Dispatchers received numerous calls regarding a vehicle that had struck a tree in the center median of 1st Street east of Flower Street. Subsequent callers reported that the vehicle occupants were walking away westbound on 1st Street. When officers arrived on scene, they located two males lying in the roadway of 1st Street west of Flower Street. One of the males had significant head trauma and was unconscious.

During the investigation, it was determined that the driver and his passenger were fleeing the scene of the collision on foot. They crossed 1st Street southbound in the west crosswalk of Flower Street. While crossing 1st Street, both were struck by a westbound vehicle. The driver of this vehicle remained at scene and cooperated with officers.

On 12/26/2018, at 5:26 p.m. the pedestrian (the person identified as driver in the initial collision) died as a result the injuries sustained in subsequent the traffic collision. The initial investigation has revealed the deceased pedestrian/driver was under the influence of a drug at the time of both collisions.

Anyone with information about this collision is asked to contact the Santa Ana Police Department’s Traffic Division at (714) 245-8200 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

An SAPD parking control officer helped to nail two mail thieves

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Renee Marie Paredes

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Santa Ana PD Parking Control Officer Assist Patrol officers In The Arrest Of Mail Thieves

Santa Ana Parking Control Officer observed a suspicious male subject around a U.S. postal mailbox near Main and Washington. She observed him placing a red cord into the mailbox and removed several pieces of mail. Suspect then ran into a waiting pickup truck driven by a female suspect.

The Parking Control Officer provided responding officers updates on the suspect’s location, who were then able to locate and stop the vehicle. The suspect was arrested for possession of phishing tools (glue rat traps tied to a dog leash) and possession of stolen U.S. mail. The driver provided false information but further investigation revealed she had outstanding warrants. Both suspects were arrested and transported to Santa Ana Jail for booking.


Jose Manuel Jimenez

The suspects were identified as Jose Manuel Jimenez (39) Santa Ana and Renee Marie Paredes (49) Santa Ana.

Mail theft tools found on the supsects

Tips to Prevent Mail Theft:

  • Pick up your mail promptly after delivery. Don’t leave it in your mailbox overnight!
  • If you don’t receive a check or other valuable mail you’re expecting, contact the issuing agency immediately!
  • Mail sensitive or financial information from your local post office.
  • Have mail and package deliveries suspended when you are out of town.
  • Don’t send cash in the mail.

And always remember if you see something, say something!

The SAPD will be conducting DUI Saturation Patrols until Jan. 1

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT HELPING KEEP ROADWAYS SAFE OVER CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR’S HOLIDAYS

Santa Ana, Calif.—The Christmas and New Year’s holidays are ways to spend time with family and friends ringing in another year, but also a time when people can make poor choices that put themselves and others at risk on the road.

To help spread the message about the dangers of drunk and drugged driving, Santa Ana Police Department is partnering with the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to get impaired drivers off roads.

During the high-visibility enforcement campaign Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, which runs from Dec. 14-Jan. 1, Santa Ana Police Department will have more officers on the road conducting saturation patrols looking for drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Santa Ana Police Department also reminds drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.” Marijuana, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs.

During the 2017 Christmas (Dec. 22-25) and New Year’s (Dec. 30-Jan. 2) holiday periods, 25 people were killed and 643 injured on California roads, according to data from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS).

“Drunk driving continues to be a huge problem in this country, and more recently, marijuana and drug-impaired driving,” Chief of Police David Valentin. “People are out and about shopping for the holidays and going to or hosting parties, so it is important that everyone acts responsibly behind the wheel.”

A Santa Ana man was arrested today after assaulting his family with a sword, a knife and a pellet gun

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A Santa Ana resident, Doanh Pham, 42, armed with a 12-inch sword, knife and pellet gun assaulted his sibling in their home at 2710 S. Rosewood Ave., in Santa Ana, today, Nov. 16, according to the O.C. Register.

Pham’s brother and mother fled their home and called the police at about 9:30 a.m., after the assault.

Fortunately Pham’s relatives were not injured.

The SAPD indicated that their officers have been called out to this same residence the night before for a similar incident.

The suspect holed up in his residence this morning and refused to come out when the police arrived. SAPD negotiators spent hours trying to convince him to surrender. 

The police finally entered the home and arrested the suspect, without incident, at about 3:30 p.m., after they obtained a search warrant.

The suspect was later identified as Doanh Pham, 42, and booked on suspicion of making terrorist threats and other offenses, according to Bertagna.

The SAPD arrested a suspect with plenty of guns and ammo at Carl Thornton Park

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Suspect arrested at Carl Thornton Park

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Suspect Arrested At Park In Possession Of Loaded Firearm, Multiple Magazines And Stolen Property

On December 10, 2018, at approximately 6:38 PM, the Santa Ana Police Department received a call for service reference criminal threats. According to the calling party, an unknown male had used unknown means to force entry into a storage room at Carl Thornton Park. When the calling party contacted the male suspect, he threatened the calling party saying he had a “strap.”

When officers contacted the male, he was uncooperative and a minor use of force occurred.

Guns and ammo found on the suspect arrested at Carl Thornton Park

A search of the storage room, which the suspect had made into a living quarter revealed a plethora of stolen items. A loaded 45-caliber stolen handgun, approximately 18 magazines of various calibers all loaded with ammunition and a weight vest with the weights removed and replaced with loaded magazines, which had been placed in the weight pockets for easy access. One of the magazines was an extended magazine, which holds 31 rounds of 9 mm ammunition.

Ammo vest found on the suspect at Carl Thornton Park

The suspect was arrested and transported to the Santa Ana Detention Facility where he was booked for various weapons charges.

An unidentified man was struck and killed by a vehicle in Santa Ana last night

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An unidentified approximately 50-year-old man was struck and killed by a vehicle Monday night in Santa Ana, as we reported on our Facebook page last night.

The SAPD responded to the scene of the accident at about 9:30 p.m., at the intersection of W. First and S. Baker Streets, in Santa Ana, a block East of S. Bristol St. They found that the victim had been struck by a vehicle.

The victim died from his wounds at a local hospital, according to the SAPD.

The driver of the vehicle that struck the victim cooperated with the police. He stayed and the scene of the accident.

The SAPD has not yet established if the victim was in a crosswalk when he was hit by the vehicle or if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.

One of our readers heard that the victim was a tamalero. That however has not been confirmed either.

A man was shot and killed in Santa Ana on Sunday night

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An unidentified man was shot and killed in Santa Ana on Sunday, Dec. 9, according to the SAPD.

The shooting was reported at about 5:15 p.m. near the intersection of E. St. Andrew Place and South Kilson Drive.

NBC News reported that the victim was shot as he stood next to a taco truck. The SAPD investigators are not sure if the victim was doing business with the taco truck or was just standing there when he was shot.

Responding SAPD police officers discovered an adult male victim who had been shot in his upper torso.

The victim was taken to a local hospital. Unfortunately he died later. 

SAPD Homicide Detectives responded and assumed the investigation. Surveillance video from the area does not depict the shooting but shows multiple witnesses near the shooting scene. Detectives are attempting to identify and locate witnesses who can shed light on this incident. The motive for the shooting is unknown and the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call SAPD Homicide Section detectives at (714) 245-8390, or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS. This case may be eligible for the Santa Ana Homicide Reward Program.

The SAPD is conducting a DUI and Driver’s License Checkpoint tonight

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Advisory: SAPD conducting a DUI / Driver’s License checkpoint on Friday, December 7, 2018 in the area of 1000 N. Harbor Blvd.

SANTA ANA POLICE STEP UP DUI ENFORCEMENT 

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI / Driver’s License checkpoint on Friday, December 7th, 2018. It will begin at 8:30 PM and is scheduled to conclude at 2:00 AM. It will be conducted in the area of 1000 N. Harbor Blvd., in the City of Santa Ana. 

The primary purpose of a DUI Checkpoint is to deter impaired driving, not to increase arrests. All too often, members of our community are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by impaired drivers. This DUI / Driver’s License checkpoint is an effort to reduce those tragedies, as well as ensuring drivers have a valid driver’s license. The DMV reports that unlicensed drivers are 4.9 times more likely to cause a fatal crash than a licensed driver is. 

The checkpoint will be staffed by officers trained in the detection of alcohol and drug impairment to provide on-the-spot assessments of drivers suspected of alcohol or drug impairment. All checkpoints are conducted in accordance with the guidelines for DUI checkpoint operations outlined in the California Supreme Court decision, Ingersoll v. Palmer. 

All vehicles may be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and / or drugs will be arrested. Our objective is to send a clear message to those who are considering driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol and / or drugs – Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest. The public is encouraged to help keep roadways safe by calling 911 if they see a suspected impaired driver. Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The SAPD arrested a DUI suspect this morning after a fatal collision that killed a woman at a bus stop

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Geoffrey William Bicking

SAPD Collision Investigation Unit Handling Fatal Auto Vs Ped. Collision – 1500 Block N. Main Street

Decedent: Female (31) San Jose, CA

Suspect: Geoffrey William Bicking (45) Buena Park

On Thursday, December 6th, 2018 at approximately 9:56 AM, the Santa Ana Police Department responded to the intersection of E. 15th and N. Main Street in regards to a reported traffic collision involving three vehicles and a pedestrian, a grey Chevy Malibu, white Ford Ranger and black Mercedes Benz. The female adult pedestrian was in her early 30’s.

Upon arrival, officers found all vehicles involved in the collision were in the middle of the intersection. The adult female was lying on the northwest corner of 15th and Main Street suffering from severe injuries. Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) personnel responded and treated all parties involved for their injuries. The adult female was transported to OC Global to be treated for her injuries. She suffered upper body trauma to her chest and head. She later succumb to to her injuries. The other parties involved in the collision declined the need for further medical attention. Continue reading→

A female sex offender pleaded guilty to setting the Saddleback Lodge on fire

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Carrie Marie Immel

Carrie Marie Immel, a 41-year-old convicted sex offender, pleaded guilty Tuesday to setting a three-alarm fire in at the Saddleback Lodge apartment building at 1655 E. First St., just after midnight on July 11, that severely injured a 30-year-old man, according to the O.C. Register.

Eight to 10 apartments were damaged or destroyed in that fire, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Continue reading→

Man charged with murder after DUI accident in Santa Ana

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Accident at Grand in Santa Ana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Case # 18CF3361

DATE December 4, 2018

MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER AND CAUSING GREAT BODILY INJURY WHILE DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was charged today with murder and causing great bodily injury while driving under the influence of alcohol.

Defendant: Jesus Segura Herrera, 29, Orange

Charged today, Dec. 4, 2018, with the following felony counts: Continue reading→