SAPD Gang Detectives located a wanted subject this evening who was suspected in two separate shootings, according to the SAPD’s Twitter account.
In plain view, the SAPD police detectives located a loaded Glock 9mm semi-auto on the passenger floorboard.
A further search of his vehicle revealed a small amount of heroin and meth inside the vehicle.
The suspect was not identified nor were the pending charges revealed.
In response to community concerns in the area of Fairview & Trask, SAPD police officers made contact with a male suspect that was on probation, according to the SAPD Twitter account.
A search of the subject and his vehicle revealed approx. $5,000.00 in cash and 5 ounces of suspected methamphetamine.
There are 28 grams in an ounce. A dose of meth is equal to a quarter gram. The meth seized in this bust by the SAPD was sufficient to provide over 500 doses to drug addicts.
SAPD vice detectives with the assistance of Directed Patrol, served a search warrant at 1200 block E. Normandy today, according to their Twitter account.
This was an illegal marijuana cultivation facility in a light industrial zone.
The outcomes of the drug bust included:
The investigation is continuing.
In response to recent community concerns, SAPD police officers conducted a patrol check of the 2600 blk of W. Hood Avenue, according to their Twitter account. That is northeast of Centennial Park.
While in the area, a traffic stop occurred and a search of the vehicle revealed a pound and a half of methamphetamine and $8,500 in cash as a scale used to weigh the drugs and several cell phones.
An average dose of meth is one gram. This drug bust was the equivalent of over 600 doses of meth.
Based on community complaints of an illegal business operating in the 2000 Block of South Ritchey, SAPD Special Investigations-Vice and Narcotics Detectives were investigating the complaints. They were able to obtain search warrants for two separate buildings.
On Thursday, April 23, 2020, SAPD detectives served the search warrants and located a sophisticated marijuana grow facility.
The SAPD detectives seized 1,370 pounds of marijuana, 2,523 plants, 660 clones, seized grow equipment and $1,060 in U.S Currency.
The SAPD detectives also made two arrests for illegal cultivation.
The SAPD Vice/Narcotics continue to address community complaints to safeguard our community.
While conducting a follow up in the area of the 1600 block of East 1st Street, SAPD police officers made contact with a suspect who was found to be in possession of approximately 238 grams of methamphetamine and packaging material for sales, according to the SAPD’s Twitter page.
Many of our local homeless are addicted to meth. Their furor for this drug causes all sorts of petty crimes in our city! Taking these drugs off the streets is an important step in dealing with these drug addicts.
In a separate incident SAPD MET Detectives seized a Springfield Armory .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol from a driverm while conducting a traffic stop last night. The driver was taken into custody for a firearm violation.
No further details were provided. Either the weapon was not properly registered or not properly stowed or the gun owner was a criminal, perhaps on probation or parole, and was not allowed to carry such a weapon.
Five male armed-robbery suspects dressed in dark clothes with their faces covered, entered a Walgreens on Euclid Street and Chapman Avenue, in Garden Grove, early this morning at about 4:10 a.m., according to the O.C. Register. They were not there to fill their prescriptions!
The suspects entered the pharmacy, one of which was armed with a handgun, and jumped over the pharmacy counter and began taking codeine bottles and other merchandise, according to the Garden Grove police.
The robbery suspects then too off in a car, leading the police on a short pursuit going north on Euclid Street.
However during the chase, the suspect’s vehicle suddenly caught fire and was burning as it stopped at the intersection of Euclid and Cerritos streets.
The suspects jumped out of the burning vehicle and ran off on foot. They left behind evidence and some personal property, according to KTLA.
The personal property included a handgun that was retrieved with the assistance of the Anaheim police and Orange County sheriff’s deputies.
Anyone with information about this incident can contact Garden Grove police at 714-741-5800.
The SAPD raided an illegal gambling operation masquerading as a smoke shop at the 2031 block of E. First St. in Santa Ana early this morning, at about 7 am, according to their Twitter feed.
The operation housed a good number of video machines used for illegal gambling.
Unfortunately for that area this gambling den was also attracting drug trafficking and prostitution.
The SAPD indicated that more information about this raid would be made available later today.
Santa Ana, Calif. (October 25, 2019) – Today the County of Orange has prevailed in its lawsuit against the Orange County Needle Exchange Program (OCNEP) and is now entitled to Judgment against the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on the County’s claim under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
“This is an incredible victory for the County of Orange and the citizens of Orange County,” said Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett, Fifth District. “The state of California will now need to comply with its own laws and we can better ensure that the safety and health of our residents can be preserved.”
As a result of this legal determination, and because the CDPH did not comply with CEQA when it approved the OCNEP application, the County will be entitled to a writ of mandate compelling the CDPH to vacate its approval of the drug needle mobile giveaway in the cities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Orange, and Santa Ana.
“The state failed to do its due diligence and comply with its own environmental laws when it approved the Orange County Needle Exchange Program,” said Vice Chair Michelle Steel, Second District. “State officials ignored the pleas of local leaders and decided to prioritize easy access to needles for drug addicts over the health and safety of our communities.”
On June 5, 2018 then Chairman Do and then Supervisor Steel jointly presented item S29C to officially oppose OCNEP’s needle exchange. On August 3, 2018 a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors was held, with all then Supervisors voting to sue the state of California after the California Department of Public Health approved OCNEP’s program despite the Board’s objections.
“OCNEP’s needle exchange program was dangerous and created hazardous conditions for all of Orange County’s residents,” said Supervisor Andrew Do, First District. “Today’s victory means safer and cleaner streets while requiring the state of California to comply with its own statutes.”
In today’s ruling, Judge Wohlfeil determined that the needle exchange program is a “project” subject to review under CEQA, saying “…there is a possibility that the project will result in an increase in used needle litter, a biohazard. This constitutes a tangible change in the areas surrounding operation of the [needle exchange program].”
“The former Board of Supervisors was correct in filing its lawsuit against the state of California,” said Supervisor Donald P. Wagner, Third District. “All of our residents will be assured a safer and more secure Orange County as a result of today’s decision.”
The County will also be entitled to recover its attorneys’ fees from the CDPH. Future CDPH authorizations for needle exchange programs across California should now be subject to review under CEQA before CDPH approval may be granted.
“I’m happy to see that the court ruled in the County’s favor regarding the needle exchange program,” said Fourth District Supervisor Doug Chaffee. “This is a safety issue for all of our residents.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has deployed new proactive efforts to reverse the increase in drug trafficking that has been experienced within the four county-run jail facilities in Orange County over the last eight years.
Many factors have contributed to the increase in attempts to smuggle drugs into county jail. Most notably, California Assembly Bill 109 (AB109), enacted in October 2011, shifted the supervision of lower-level felons from the state prison system to county sheriffs’ and probation departments. More commonly known as Realignment, AB109 was aimed at quickly reducing the California state prison population.
In reality, AB109 has filled county jails across the state with felons, now serving their time at facilities that were not designed to house inmates serving long-term sentences. County jails were intended to house inmates who are awaiting trial, or whose sentences were less than one year. With AB109, county jails now house a mix of short term inmates and those serving multi-year sentences. This combination of low-level offenders and career criminals creates a marketplace for drug activity hindered only by security measures employed by OCSD.
“There is a sophisticated criminal element inside of our jails doing everything they can to deliberately circumvent our security procedures,” said Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Don Barnes. “These state-prisoners-turned-county-inmates are more criminally sophisticated, increasing both the amount of contraband inside of Orange County Jails and inmate assaults on staff. This is a statewide challenge that we are all dealing with. It is important for the public to know the reality of these problems and the consequence of poor public policy.”
Since AB 109 took effect in 2011, there has been a substantial increase in drugs and drug contraband inside Orange County’s jails. From 2008-2011, there were an average of 57 seizures of drugs in jail per year. From 2012-2017, the five years after the implementation of AB 190, that number ballooned to an average of 468 seizures per year, with 2017 hitting an all-time high of 738 seizures of drugs with the jail system.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department efforts to reduce contraband include a variety of strategies and alterations to policy. In July, limitations were placed on certain types of mail that will no longer be allowed to be sent to inmates. In 2019 alone, custody canines have alerted to 147 greeting cards containing narcotics mailed to inmates, with the majority of the cards soaked in methamphetamine.
From January 1- March 31, 2019, 35 individuals being booked into jail have attempted to enter with narcotics concealed on or in their person. These concealed narcotics consisted of fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, or prescription medications.
Searches of cells are conducted regularly and randomly, and inmates are searched when first booked into jail, and after they attend court. Body scanners, similar to those used at airports, have been added at the Intake Release Center to ensure that inmates are not coming into the jail facility with drugs hidden on or inside their person. Trained custody canines search cells and the mail room and are trained to detect cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, Suboxone, and other contraband. In 2018, custody canines located and seized drugs and contraband 291 times. In 2019 thus far, they have found 203 items, including more than 14 grams of cocaine and 282 Suboxone strips.
Assaults by Orange County Jail inmates have increased exponentially since implementation of AB109. Prior to AB 109, from 2007 to 2011, there was an average of 26.8 inmate-on-staff assaults per year. From 2012 to 2017, there was an average of 64.5 inmate assaults on staff per year – a 140-percent increase. Inmate-on-inmate assaults are increasing as well. From 2007 to 2011, there was an average of 334 inmate-on-inmate assaults per year. From 2012 to 2017, there was an average of 745 inmate-on-inmate assaults per year – a 123 percent increase.
In 2017, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department began a program to reduce the number of overdose deaths, both in custody and in the community, by training deputies to deploy Nalaxone, an opioid antagonist designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose. From January 1-July 1, 2019, 28 inmates have received Nalaxone within Orange County Jails, setting the pace to at least double Nalaxone deployments from custody operations last year.
“The safety and security of those in our custody is one of the main tenets of our duty as a sheriff’s department,” said Sheriff Barnes. “We will never stop implementing innovative ideas, deploying new strategies, and educating the community to do everything we can to keep those both in our custody and within our communities safe.”
Santa Ana police arrested two suspects early this morning, who they say fled from officers in a stolen car after they stole marijuana plants and then crashed into an unoccupied house in Garden Grove, according to the O.C. Register.
At about 2 a.m. officers near Hazard Avenue and Euclid Street saw a car speeding. They tried to pull the driver over at about 2:15 a.m., according to KABC.
However the police lost sight of the suspect’s car and then finally noticed that the driver had crashed into a home at the 10400 block of West Hazard in Garden Grove, according to the SAPD.
The suspects took off on foot, leaving their damaged vehicle. The police officers then set up a perimeter and began to search for them. Local residents informed the police officers that the suspects were hiding in a backyard. They were both arrested.
One of the suspects, a juvenile, was determined to have been a passenger in the car. He was arrested and then taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries incurred in the crash.
The police officers found two replica handguns in the car as well as several marijuana plants. The passenger admitted that they had stolen the plants from a house in Santa Ana. In Santa Ana residents can legally grow certain types of marijuana grows in their homes.
The police arrested the driver, an unidentified adult. He was arrested on suspicion of grand theft auto, petty theft and driving under the influence.
The police officers later found the owner of the marijuana plants who said the suspects jumped over his fence and stole the plants from his backyard.
SANTA ANA POLICE STEP UP DUI ENFORCEMENT
The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI / Driver’s License checkpoint on Friday May 10th, 2019. It will begin at 9:00PM and is scheduled to conclude at 2:00AM. It will be conducted in the area of 2000 W. First 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.
A police pursuit that started in San Clemente ended with a car crash in Santa Ana after a driver fled from Federal agents, according to the O.C. Register.
Federal agents tried to stop the suspect, who was in a white four-door sedan, at about 8:40 a.m., on Interstate 5 near the Customs and Border Patrol station that’s just south of San Clemente. But the driver sped off due north and led enforcement officers on a high speed chase.
The suspect was tracked by an O.C. Sheriff’s helicopter but then the suspect evaded the pursuers. But a Fountain Valley police officer spotted the suspect vehicle as it was racing on Harbor Blvd. at about 9:06 a.m.
The Fountain Valley policeman was writing a ticket at the time but he reported that the suspect was going very fast, due north, in southbound lanes. That officer then tried to pursue the suspect.
The suspect finally struck a curb and crashed near Harbor Blvd. and 1st St., according to the SAPD. Fortunately no other vehicles or pedestrians were involved in the crash.
Unfortunately the suspect was long gone when the police officers arrived at the scene of the crash. Police investigators however did find 20 kilograms, or about 44 pounds, of possible narcotics. The drugs were sent to a lab for analysis. A police detective thought the drugs might either fentanyl or cocaine.
Fountain Valley police officers conducted a traffic stop Thursday night at Newhope and Heil for a traffic violation. Officers contacted the occupants and determined the driver was on probation. Officers then searched the vehicle and found illegal drugs and evidence of drug sales.
The driver, 44-year old Adolpho Delgado of Fountain Valley, was arrested for sales and transportation of meth and heroin along with other charges. The passenger, 21-year old Kayla Steele of Huntington Beach, was arrested for possession of illegal drugs.
Officers conducted a probation search at Delgado’e residence and found additional evidence. In total, Officers seized 53 grams of methamphetamine, 4 grams of heroin, other prescription drugs, indicia of drug sales, a military “flak” jacket, replica firearms, and brass knuckles.
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