New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Anaheim

Former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce CEO facing criminal charges that could put him in prison for up to 30 years

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime Leave a comment

SANTA ANA, California – The former president and CEO of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce is expected to appear this afternoon in federal court after being charged with lying to a mortgage lender about his assets while seeking a loan for a $1.5 million home in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Todd Ament, 57, of Orange, was charged in a 99-page criminal complaint filed Monday afternoon in United States District Court with making false statements to a financial institution while seeking funding in late 2020 to purchase a second home – a five-bedroom residence in Big Bear City.

The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint outlines a plot in which Ament – with the assistance of a political consultant who was a partner at a national public relations firm – devised a scheme to launder proceeds intended for the Chamber through the PR firm into Ament’s bank account. This infusion of cash – which appears to have been a loan from the PR firm engineered by the political consultant – allegedly influenced the lender’s decision to fund the mortgage.

The scheme led to a series of wire transfers from the PR firm that ultimately gave Ament $205,000 and made it appear he had enough cash on hand to secure the home loan, according to the affidavit. Ament allegedly used some of that money for the down payment, and some was used to make an out-of-escrow payment to the seller. The affidavit states that Ament made a $200,000 payment directly to the seller in an apparent effort to reduce the sale price of the house, thus reducing property taxes and lowering the commission to the seller’s real estate agent, the affidavit states.

An investigation outlined in the affidavit revealed that Ament and the political consultant had a close relationship for several years, one that included leading a small group of Anaheim public officials, consultants and business leaders. That group –described by Ament and the political consultant as a “family” and a “cabal” – met regularly at “retreats” to allegedly exert influence over government operations in Anaheim, according to the affidavit.

Ament and the political consultant also allegedly devised a scheme to divert proceeds intended for the Chamber through the PR firm and into Ament’s personal bank account. The affidavit alleges that Ament and the political consultant schemed to defraud a cannabis company that had retained the political consultant to lobby for favorable cannabis-related legislation in Anaheim. The cannabis company paid $225,000 to the Chamber with the understanding that it would have access to a task force that crafted such legislation, but at least $31,000 of that money was paid directly to Ament without those payments being disclosed to the client, the affidavit alleges.

The charge of making false statements to a financial institution carries a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation are conducting the investigation in this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel H. Ahn, Daniel S. Lim and Melissa S. Rabbani of the Santa Ana Branch Office are prosecuting this case.

Transient gets life in prison after a kidnapping and murder in Anaheim

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime, Drugs, homeless, OCDA Leave a comment

Luke Lampers, 41, a transient, was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Lampers shot a man at an Anaheim motel and also kidnapped an ex-girlfriend and held her against her will while fleeing from the police.

Lampers was found guilty of killing Douglas Navarro, then 49-years-old, in 2017 when he also kidnapped Lampers’ estranged girlfriend, Brianne Deese.

Navarro’s mother submitted a written statement to the jury in Lampers’ trial that described watching her only son being gunned down and then spending a week hiding in fear as police searched for Lampers.

Navarro said in her statement that “Maybe now I can come to terms with it. I miss my son every day. The hurt never goes away.”

Lampers chose not to say anything to Orange County Superior Court Judge Patrick H. Donahue prior to his sentencing.

Lampers was described in court as a “jealous, controlling and possessive” boyfriend who on one occasion pointed a pistol at Deese during a heated argument. Deese left Lampers about a week before her kidnapping, and he had spent the time “obsessively” calling and texting her and trying to find out where she was staying, according to the prosecutors.

Lampers finally tracked down Deese at the Crystal Inn, a motel on Lincoln Avenue near Brookhurst Street. Lampers then kicked the room door open, kicked open a bathroom door, pointed a pistol at Deese and screamed “We’re leaving,” then dragged her by her hair all the way back to his car.

Deese however convinced Lampers to return to the Crystal Inn so that she could pick up her cell phone and makeup bag. By the time they arrived back at the motel a half hour after the initial break-in, there were several onlookers gathered by the broken door, including Navarro and his mother.

Deese was allowed to go into the room to pick up her items but the bystanders did not allow Lampers into the motel room since it didn’t belong to him. Deese then allegedly told some members of the crowd that she didn’t want to leave with Lampers.

Lampers began to get agitated and eventually began to wave a semi-automatic pistol around. When Navarro told him that he should put the gun away and leave and that he wasn’t going to take Deese, Lampers shot Navarro in the chest.

Lampers’ defense attorneys had previously argued that Lampers shot Navarro in self-defense. They described Navarro as a “career criminal,” and alleged that Navarro had watched the initial kidnapping and done nothing. When Lampers returned, the defense lawyers alleged that Navarro got a “facsimile weapon” from his car and then tried to rob Lampers of $200.

After the shooting, Lampers told Deese that she had made him murder somebody, as he forced her out of the motel room and into his vehicle.

Lampers took Deese to to motels in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas as he remained on the lam. Deese later said that she was afraid to escape because Lampers was threatening to kill her and/or her family. She also told police that he had spoken of crossing the Mexican border.

Deese finally escaped by telling a drug dealer that was selling heroin to Lampers that Lampers had murdered someone and kidnapped her. That drug dealer then contacted Deese’s family to let them know that she was in San Diego. The police finally, after a week-long manhunt, found Lampers and shot and wounded him as he ran from a motel in Old Town San Diego.

Anaheim man shot his boyfriend, fled to Riverside County and was arrested after a pursuit

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime, Garden Grove, Riverside County Leave a comment

Ali Samoodi, 51, Anaheim allegedly shot a man in Garden Grove, at the 5300 block of Santa Barbara Avenue just before 3 a.m. on Saturday. The police found and arrested him in Riverside County after a pursuit.

Garden Grove police responded to the residence and found a man with a gunshot wound to the head in a bedroom. The man, whose name has not yet been released by the authorities, was hospitalized in critical condition on Saturday evening.

The police investigators identified Samoodi as the suspect after speaking with witnesses at the residence. The detectives believe that Samoodi and the victim were in a relationship. Samoodi was apparently staying with the victim at the residence, but did not live there, according to the Garden Grove Police Department.

Samoodi rented a U-Haul and fled the scene after the shooting. The vehicle was tracked to the City of Menifee, in Riverside County, where police attempted to make a traffic stop, but Samoodi fled, resulting in a police pursuit.

The pursuit went on for about 33 miles, at high speeds. Samoodi was finally stopped in the area of the 10 Freeway and Cedar Avenue in the Bloomington area after the rented U-Haul was involved in multiple traffic collisions and no longer functioned.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department SWAT officers took Samoodi into custody after he barricaded himself and refused to come out, police said.

Samoodi was taken to the Garden Grove Police Department, which booked him into the Orange County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder.

The Anaheim Police arrested a suspect after finding a dead man in a parked vehicle

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime Leave a comment

Anaheim Police Department homicide detectives are investigating after the discovery of a man’s body inside a parked vehicle. One subject has been detained.

On Sunday, May 8, 2022, at about 8:39 a.m., APD officers were dispatched to an unknown trouble call in the 1500 block of W. Ball Road after receiving a report of screaming heard coming from a parked vehicle.

Officers arrived and located the vehicle in question. They immediately contacted an adult male Hispanic who exited the vehicle and was detained without incident. Upon inspection of the vehicle, officers located a recently deceased adult male who had suffered trauma.

Homicide detectives have taken over the investigation. There is no search for additional suspects and no on-going threat to public safety. The identification of the victim is not being disclosed at this time pending next of kin notification. The identity of the detained subject is also not being currently made public. Detectives are not disclosing the nature of the injuries to the victim.

Ball Road between Loara Street and Gilbuck Street in Anaheim was completely closed for the remainder to the day.

A body was found in an Anaheim water basin this evening

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim Leave a comment

The body of a subject has been located in an Anaheim water basin.

Detectives are investigating the circumstances of the death.

On Sunday, May 8, 2022, at about 5:36 p.m., Anaheim Fire and Rescue personnel responded to a water basin located near Placentia Avenue and Orangethorpe Avenue in Anaheim, after receiving a report of a body seen in the water. AF&R personnel arrived on scene and located the body of a deceased subject in the water, near the shoreline.

Anaheim Police Department homicide detectives have responded to examine the scene and body.
Detectives are working to determine if the incident is related to a homicide or other circumstances. Additionally, detectives will attempt to determine how long the body has been in the water and identification of the deceased.

Identification of the deceased will not be made public until detectives confirm the subject’s identity and next of kin notification is completed.

The Anaheim police arrested a man for alleged murder after he violated a court order

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Marlon Garcia, a 22-year-old male Anaheim resident, has been detained on suspicion of murder after the body of Santos Castillo, 59-years-old, body was discovered in his residence.

On Tuesday, May 3, 2022, just after 6:30 p.m., Anaheim Police Dispatch received a call of an adult male subject at a residence in the 500 block of N. Philadelphia Street, in violation of a court order. Officers responded in order to contact the subject who was to be removed from the location per authority of the court.

Officers arrived on scene and attempted to contact the subject in question, who turned out to be Garcia, who was outside upon their arrival. Garcia attempted to flee back into the home via an already broken, glass window. Garcia caused lacerations to himself in his attempt to escape but he was successfully detained by responding officers.

Officers conducted a sweep of the residence and inside, they discovered the body of a deceased adult male Hispanic , who was later identified as Castillo, who appeared to have suffered trauma.

Garcia was transported to a local area hospital for treatment of his injuries. APD homicide detectives have taken over the investigation. The subject removed from the residence is being detained on suspicion of murder.

The Anaheim Police have disclosed that Garcia and Castillo were once roommates. It is not yet known why Castillo had secured a court order to bar Garcia from their formerly shared residence.

A teenager fatally shot a bystander at Anaheim’s Cinco de Mayo Festival

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime, Guns, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Anaheim Police homicide detectives have arrested a 17-year-old, male, resident of Anaheim for the shooting death of an unidentified male adult at the annual Anaheim Cinco de Mayo Festival.

On Sunday, May 1, 2022, just after 10 p.m., Anaheim Police Officers responded to gunshots on the north side of La Palma Park, in the City of Anaheim. The location was the site of the annual Anaheim Cinco de Mayo Festival.

Arriving officers located an adult male victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound. The victim was transported to a local area hospital where he was pronounced deceased. A group of juvenile subjects were also detained and a handgun was recovered at the scene.

The investigation revealed a fight erupted involving the group of juveniles. During the fight, a 17-year-old, male, resident of Anaheim fired a handgun. At least one gunshot struck the adult male victim who was a bystander, and not involved in the fight.

The juvenile suspect has been booked at Orange County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of murder, because of his age, no additional identifying information will be provided. The victim has not yet been publicly identified pending next of kin notification. Detectives are not releasing the reason for the fight that led to the shooting.

APD homicide detectives are asking anyone with information on this incident to call 714-321-3669 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.

Anaheim man gets a 6 year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a Chapman student

Posted on April 23, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Cochino Alert, Crime, OCDA, Orange Leave a comment

SANTA ANA — A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in state prison for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old Chapman University freshman outside of her dormitory last fall. He is also required to register as a sex offender.

Dalante Jerome Bell, 22, of Anaheim, was found guilty by a jury in March of one felony count of assault with intent to commit a sex offense and sexual penetration by a foreign object.

Around midnight on September 23, 2021, Bell is accused of wearing a mask and attacking an 18-year-old student who was video chatting with her boyfriend. The woman fought back against her attacker, who fled the scene as people came to help the victim.

Numerous surveillance cameras captured the attacker leaving the scene.

Bell was arrested by the Orange Police Department after his parents watched news coverage of the attack and recognized their son as a person of interest.

“University campuses should be places of higher learning, not hunting grounds for sexual predators looking for a target,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Thankfully this young woman was able to bravely fight off her attacker. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will not tolerate the sexual assault of anyone and he is being held accountable for his actions.”

Deputy District Attorney Austin Neiman of the Sexual Assault Unit prosecuted this case.

Irvine man charged with murder for fatally stabbing two men in Anaheim

Posted on April 23, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime, Irvine, OCDA Leave a comment

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A 26-year-old man has been charged with special circumstances murders for stabbing his co-worker to death and then stabbing his co-worker’s roommate to death in their Anaheim apartment early Tuesday morning. The special circumstances of lying in wait and multiple murders make him eligible for the death penalty.

Ramy Hany Mounir Fahim, 26, of Irvine, has been charged with two counts of murder, and two enhancements each of lying in wait, multiple murders, and the personal use of a deadly weapon.

Griffin Cuomo, Courtesy of Chapman University

Fahim is accused of stabbing his co-worker, 23-year-old Griffin Cuomo, to death and then stabbing Cuomo’s roommate, 23-year-old Jonathan Bahm, to death in their Katella Avenue apartment in Anaheim at around 6:30 a.m. on April 19, 2022. Cuomo and Fahim worked together at an Orange County wealth management company.

Johnathan Bahm, Courtesy of Chapman University

Fahim is currently being held without bail at the Intake Release Center. He is scheduled to be arraigned on May 6, 2022 at the North Justice Center in Fullerton.

A building security guard had encountered Fahim on the apartment complex’ roof at midnight on April 18, 2022, just hours before the murders. Fahim was seen on the same floor of the victims’ apartment the morning of the murders.

Fahim was still inside the victims’ apartment when Anaheim police responded to a 911 call.

“These young men were just starting to live out their dreams and find their places in the world. But an intruder who stalked them and then slashed them to death in their own home interrupted those dreams,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The callous way that two young lives were ended cannot be ignored and we will do everything we can to ensure justice is served.”

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Moore of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.

A transient died at the O.C. Intake Release Center in Santa Ana

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime, homeless, OC Sheriff, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

SANTA ANA, Ca. (April 21, 2022) – On Wednesday, April 20, 2022, an inmate housed at the Intake Release Center in Santa Ana died at the jail.

The inmate, Nicholas Brown, 28, a transient, was booked into jail on April 9, 2022 by the Anaheim Police Department for elder or dependent adult endangerment along with assault and battery.

The man was pronounced deceased at the jail shortly after he was found unresponsive in his cell on Wednesday morning. He was housed alone at the time, and his death does not appear to be suspicious. A final cause of death will be determined following toxicology and an independent autopsy.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will investigate the in-custody death. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will conduct an in-custody death review. No additional information will be released at this time.

Irvine man arrested in connection to the double murder in Anaheim on Tuesday

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Anaheim Police homicide detectives have arrested 26-year-old Irvine resident, Ramy Fahim on suspicion of murder.

Anaheim Police Department officers responded on Tuesday morning to reports of an in-progress assault in an apartment in the 2100 block of E. Katella Avenue.

Officers arrived and located two adult males in the apartment who were deceased. They were later identified as Griffin Robert Cuomo, 23, and Jonathan Andrew Bahm, 23, both of Anaheim.

A knife, believed to be the assault weapon, was found at the scene and recovered according to the Anaheim Police Department. Fahim’s vehicle was located nearby the apartment complex and was aksi seized as evidence.

Fahim was located inside the apartment suffering from a minor injury. Detectives later arrested Fahim on suspicion of murdering the two victims. He has been booked at the Anaheim City Jail.

Detectives confirmed Fahim and Cuomo worked together at a finance company and Bahm was Cuomo’s roommate.

Police declined to provide additional information or a possible motive. The investigation was ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to call APD homicide detectives at 714-321-3669.

The Anaheim Police are investigating a double homicide at an apartment near the Angel Stadium

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime Leave a comment

Anaheim PD homicide detectives are investigating a double homicide at the 2100 block of E. Katella Avenue, which is near the Angel Stadium in the area known as the Platinum Triangle.

This morning just before 7 am, APD dispatch received a call of a possible assault in progress occurring inside an apartment in the 2100 block of E. Katella Ave.

Arriving officers located two deceased adult males inside an apartment. Another adult male with minor injuries was located inside the apartment and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Homicide detectives are working to determine the relationship of all involved parties.

Dangerous teen killer captured in Anaheim after escaping from a Santa Ana halfway home

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime, Garden Grove, OCDA, Santa Ana, SAPD 4 Comments

Photo courtesy of Orange County District Attorney’s office

The OCDA reported this afternoon that Ike Nicholas Souzer, Aka: Jacob Souzer, an 18-year-old extremely violent and dangerous subject who absconded release conditions from Santa Ana, has been arrested today. He was arrested in Anaheim.

Souzer was recently released from the Theo Lacy Jail and was supposed to have been under electronic monitoring at a Santa Ana halfway house from the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange. He cut his ankle bracelet and escaped two days ago from the halfway house.

In addition to other charges, Souzer was convicted in December of attacking three correctional officers and was ordered to wear an electronic monitor for the remainder of his sentence which was set to expire on July 9, 2023.

Souzer stabbed his mother, who later died at a hospital, in Garden Grove when he was 13 years old.

Anaheim man charged with kidnapping a Junior High student

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Cochino Alert, Crime, OCDA, Orange County, Riverside County Leave a comment

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A 30-year-old man is facing life in prison with the possibility of parole for kidnapping a 13-year-old junior high school student off the street while she walked home from school in Anaheim last month and sexually assaulting another teenager in Riverside County. Numerous witnesses screamed at the kidnapper that they were going to call the police.

Andrew Giovanni Pio, 30, of Anaheim, was charged today with one felony count of kidnapping to commit a sex offense, one felony count of assault of a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense, one felony count of a lewd act on a child, one felony count of second-degree robbery, and one misdemeanor count of evading a peace officer.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole if convicted.

“A man grabbing an innocent girl off the street and throwing her into a truck in broad daylight is the stuff of every parent’s nightmares,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “This brave little girl fought with everything she had and that will to survive combined with the bystanders who heard her screams and came to her rescue prevented this nightmare from becoming an even greater tragedy. Thankfully, this little girl escaped and got to go home to her family. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is committed to doing everything it can to keep this predator off our streets so that he can’t victimize any more children. If he’s convicted of all charges, he has forfeited his right to live in our society.”

On March 31, 2022, at approximately 2:50 pm, the victim was walking from her junior high after school when she saw a white pick-up truck parked on Ball Road with the passenger side door open. As the victim came closer to the truck, a man later identified as Pio is accused of getting out of the truck and pushing her into the vehicle. Bystanders saw the girl kicking and screaming and confronted him.

Pio is accused of taking the girl’s cell phone and pushing her before driving away.

Officers attempted to pull over Pio on Friday, April 8, 2022 in the City of Brea after noticing the pickup truck he was driving matched the vehicle description in the Anaheim kidnapping. Instead of pulling over, Pio led officers on a pursuit for nearly an hour. Pio was arrested on Interstate 5 near the La Paz off-ramp in Laguna Hills after the California Highway Patrol deployed spike strips.

Pio is also charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl last November in Riverside County.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Karyn Stokke of the Sexual Assault Unit Is prosecuting this case.

Anaheim kidnap suspect arrested after a police pursuit

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Crime Leave a comment

Andrew Pio, 31, a unincorporated Anaheim resident who is suspected of attempting to kidnap a 13-year-old girl who was walking home from school in Anaheim was arrested on Friday after a police pursuit.

The 13-year-old victim was walking in the 2600 block of West Ball Road on her way home from Dale Jr. High S chool on the afternoon of March 31. She told the police that she noticed a man sitting in a truck, who then approached her and tried to shove her into the passenger seat

The suspect’s vehicle was described as a white pickup truck with a gray tool rack in the bed of the truck, possibly a Toyota Tundra or Ford F-150.

On Friday, April 8, at about 2:30 p.m., Anaheim police officers attempted a traffic stop on a pickup in Brea that matched the vehicle description from the attempted kidnapping.

The suspect led the police officers on a pursuit that ended after the California Highway Patrol deployed a spike strip on the 5 Freeway at La Paz Road in Mission Viejo.

Pio was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping. He is being held on a $600,000 bail at the Anaheim Jail.

Anyone with information on this case was asked to call Anaheim police detectives at (714) 765-1419. Tipsters can also call OC Crime Stoppers at (855) 847-6227.