Santa Ana's top news & views blog

New Santa Ana

Call us if you have a question

Category Archives: CHP

CHP officer based in Santa Ana charged with filing bogus time cards

Posted on by Posted in CHP, Crime, Fraud, Santa Ana Leave a comment

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A veteran California Highway Patrol officer has been charged with 27 felonies for stealing more than $4,000 by submitting time cards falsely claiming he worked regular shifts and overtime that he never worked.

Scott Helberg, 47, of Corona, has been charged with 27 felony counts of presenting a false claim and one felony count of grand theft by an employee.

Helberg, who spent 22 years as a California Highway Patrol Officer, resigned June 14, 2021.

Helberg is scheduled to be arraigned on October 22, 2021 in Department C55 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. He faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in state prison if convicted on all counts.

As the Tow Officer for the CHP’s Santa Ana Area Office, Helberg was responsible for coordinating and assigning overtime, did not have to attend roll call briefings, and often worked off-site inspecting tow trucks.

Between July 1 and October 16, 2020, Helberg filed 27 timecards requesting pay for regular hours and overtime shifts that he never worked.

The California Highway Patrol initiated an internal investigation in October 2020 after inconsistencies in Helberg’s work activity failed to match the hours he reported on his time card. As part of the investigation, the CHP discovered that on multiple occasions when he claimed to have been working Helberg was actually at his home in Corona in Riverside County instead of within the jurisdiction of the CHP’s Santa Ana Area Office. The CHP referred the case to the District Attorney’s Office for further investigation and prosecution.

“Stealing precious taxpayer dollars while pretending to protect and serve the residents of Orange County is not only a disservice to the taxpaying public it is a disservice to all of the hardworking men and women of law enforcement who are actually doing the job they are sworn to do,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Thank you to the California Highway Patrol for identifying and thoroughly investigating this theft of taxpayer dollars so that we can hold this individual accountable.”

Deputy District Attorney Nathaniel Barrett of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.

Four O.C. suspects arrested for allegedly stealing nearly $2 million worth of products from retailers

Posted on by Posted in CHP, Crime, Orange County Leave a comment

Anaheim residents Jaime Mendoza, 36, and Maritza Guerrero, 31, and two others were arrested by California Highway Patrol officers on Aug. 31, on charges of stealing nearly $2 million worth of retail products from 43 different stores. They allegedly stored the products inside mobile home in Midway City and in multiple storage units.

They were seen, by CHP investigators, committing at least one theft and they then took the stolen merchandise to their mobile home

Investigators from TJX Companies Inc., which owns TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores, also identified the suspects. The CHP’s Organized Retail Crime unit, which works with retailers across the state to combat sophisticated crews who steal merchandise, was engaged by the investigators to track down the suspects.

The other two suspects, Yolanda De la Rosa, 48, and Jaime De la Rosa, 55, were arrested after CHP investigators obtained a search warrant and then found merchandise from “floor to ceiling” inside the mobile home.

The CHP investigators found even more merchandise at four self-storage units that are also connected to the suspects. The investigators needed multiple trucks to haul off all the stolen goods. The investigators also found more than $65,000 in cash. The merchandise still had store tags and several had security sensors.

The CHP did not indicate how they identified the suspects but did say that the suspects targeted stores throughout Southern California.

Mendoza was already released from jail, on Sep. 1. Guerrero and both Jaime and Yolanda De la Rosa remained in jail on no bail. They are supposed to make their next court appearance on Sept. 16.

A Costa Mesa couple has been arrested for the road rage killing of Aiden Leos

Posted on by Posted in CHP, Costa Mesa, Crime Leave a comment

The CHP has confirmed the arrest of the two suspects believed responsible for the shooting death of 6-year-old Aiden Leos.

Marcus Anthony Eriz, 24, and Wynne Lee, 23, were arrested at their home in Costa Mesa.

They are expected to be charged with murder. Both suspects are being held at the Orange County Jail on $1 million bond each.

California Highway Patrol investigators had been watching the couple and followed them home from a restaurant before arresting them outside their Costa Mesa home.

Marcus Eriz

On Monday, CHP officials said they received a tip and worked to enhance an image of the license plate on the vehicle, which led them to identify the couple. They then began to investigate the couple’s backgrounds and determined that they commuted along the 91 corridor to two workplaces in the Inland Empire, according to the L.A. Times.

The Volkswagen was registered to an address where Lee had lived with her parents, but it was recovered from an address in Whittier where Eriz’s father lived in the mid-1990s, according to public records. The owner of the home may be one of Eriz’s relatives.

The gun used to kill Leos was found in a location other than the home in Costa Mesa where the two suspects live.

The reward for information leading to the arrest of the  suspects has surpassed $500,000. However it is not known at this time if anyone will be eligible to get the reward.

Leos was in a booster seat in the back of his mother’s Chevrolet Sonic, on his way to kindergarten in Yorba Linda, on the morning of May 21, when the shooting incident occurred on the northbound 55 Freeway in the city of Orange.

The suspects were involved in a road rage incident with Aiden’s mother, Joanna Cloonan, over a perceived unsafe lane change, according to the CHP.

Detectives believe a woman was driving and a man, who was in the front passenger seat, committed the shooting itself.

Anaheim BB gun freeway shooter facing several murder charges

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, CHP, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

RIVERSIDE – Three counts of attempted murder have been filed against an Anaheim man in connection with firing a BB gun at a moving vehicle, District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced today, May 28, 2021.

“Shooting at moving vehicles with a BB gun or pellet gun while traveling at high speed on our roads or freeways is incredibly dangerous,” Hestrin said. “Shooting out windows of cars could easily startle drivers in traffic and cause a major accident. We are all relieved that no one was seriously injured by these crimes.”

Jesse Leal Rodriguez, DOB: 12-27-86, has been charged by the DA’s Office in case RIF2102128 with three counts of attempted murder and three counts of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. The counts involve three occupants in a vehicle shot at on May 25, 2021.

Rodriguez is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, as Monday is a holiday. This will be a video arraignment and the defendant will not be in the courtroom. If convicted as currently charged, Rodriguez faces a potential maximum sentence of 15 years plus 42 years to life in prison.

Around 1:30 p.m. on May 25, a Tesla was shot at with a BB gun in the area of Hamner Avenue and Hidden Valley Parkway in Norco. Captured on the vehicle’s video system at the time the vehicle’s window was shot out was a maroon Chevrolet Trailblazer. The incident was reported to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department which then notified CHP. There were two passengers with the driver of the Tesla, with all three being victims in this case.

Based on the vehicle description provided by witnesses, CHP officers, assisted by Riverside police, pulled over a maroon Chevrolet Trailblazer about 9:30 p.m. in a shopping center parking lot in the area of Magnolia and Tyler avenues.

The driver, Rodriguez, was arrested and a BB gun, BBs, and other related items were found in his vehicle.

There have been at least 50 incidents reported to law enforcement of vehicles shot at by a BB or pellet gun along the Highway 91 corridor in Riverside County since the middle of April. There also have been several dozen more incidents reported in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

While the DA’s Office has filed charges related to this May 25 BB gun shooting, there are dozens more incidents still being investigated. The DA’s Office anticipates more charges could be filed in the future.

CHP officers and investigators with the DA’s Bureau of Investigation are still investigating this case which includes the review of many videos from freeway cameras and other cameras.

If anyone has additional information about these incidents or may have been a victim and not yet reported it to law enforcement, you are asked to call the CHP tip line at (714) 288-6336.

The CHP has identified the vehicle used in the road rage killing of Adrian Leos

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

The CHP is seeking to identity and locate the pictured vehicle and occupants. On May 21, 2021, at approximately 8:04 a.m., a homicide of a six-year-old child, Adrian Leos, occurred on the Northbound 55 Freeway at Chapman Ave., in the City of Orange. The suspect vehicle was occupied by a female driver and a male passenger.

The vehicle appears to be a Volkswagen Golf Sportwagon with non-tinted windows. The vehicle appears to be either a 2018 or 2019 model and the license plate number is unknown.

After the shooting the suspect vehicle continued northbound on the 55 Freeway to the Eastbound 91 Freeway towards the City of Riverside.

If you have any information about the identity of the suspects and/or the vehicle please contact the CHP Santa Ana office at 714-567-7000 or email santaaanachptipline@chp.ca.gov with any information.

Reward offered for info about the road rage suspect who killed Adrian Leos

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

On Friday morning, 6-year old Aiden Leos was on his way to Kindergarten classes with his Mom. The boy was buckled in a booster seat in the back of the car as the pair traveled northbound on the 55 freeway in Orange County, California.

After an apparent road rage incident, a white sedan pulled behind her vehicle and one of the occupants fired a single shot at the rear of the car. The bullet ripped through the trunk and struck Aiden in his back. His mother was unaware the boy was even shot until he cried out to her “Mommy, my tummy hurts”. After pulling over and cradling her gravely wounded child in her arms, an off-duty police officer who was driving by performed CPR on Aiden until an ambulance was able to rush him to a nearby hospital. He passed away shortly after arrival.

Aiden Leos was remembered as a kind, loving soul who just celebrated his 6th birthday last week. The friendly, well-mannered boy loved to talk, and would always make it a point to compliment everyone he encountered. As of today, Aiden’s killer still remains on the loose.

A memorial has been growing at a bridge overlooking the site of the shooting, where people have left balloons, flowers, stuffed animals and expressions of sympathy for Aiden’s family, according to ABC News.

You can donate to the Leos’ family GoFundMe here. They have already raised over $188K. They would like to continue to raise money that will go towards a reward in hopes of finding the individuals that took Aiden’s life. They are already offering a $50K reward for information about Aiden’s killer.

It is believed the shooting was triggered by a road-rage incident. A man and a woman were in the suspect vehicle. The suspects remain outstanding. If you have any information regarding the incident (dash cam or cell phone video), please contact the CHP Santa Ana office at 714-567-6000, or email Officer Futrell at kfutrell@chp.ca.gov.

O.C. CHP officer charged with using confidential police records to help a friend

Posted on by Posted in CHP, Crime, Santa Ana, Todd Spitzer, Westminster 1 Comment

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A California Highway Patrol officer has been charged with using a department computer to illegally access a confidential law enforcement database to provide vehicle information to a friend who owned a car registration service.

Todd Steaffens, 43, has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of computer access and fraud and three misdemeanor counts of disclosing Department of Motor Vehicle information without authorization.

He faces a maximum sentence of three years in the Orange County Jail if convicted on all charges.

Steaffens has worked for the California Highway Patrol since 2007.

Between February 2020 and July 2020, Steaffens is accused of using a CHP computer at the Westminster office to unlawfully access the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), which provides law enforcement access to national databases maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and others. Any information obtained from the system can be used for official use only.

Between February 2020 and July 2020, Steaffens is accused of accessing CLETS after receiving text messages from a friend who owns Pacific Automotive Services in Los Angeles asking the officer to run the vehicle identification numbers of different vehicles he was interested in buying. Steaffens is accused of providing that information to the owner of Pacific Automotive Services.

“This conduct of misuse of an official confidential law enforcement database to run a friend’s prospective car purchase has to be about the dumbest thing an officer can do to jeopardize his career and criminal record ,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Even minor transgressions such as these must be prosecuted because they are unlawful and still rises to the level of abuse of power.”

Steaffens is scheduled to be arraigned on April 21, 2021 at the Central Justice Center in Department C54.

Deputy District Attorney Dustin Chupurdy of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.

A man was struck and killed on the 55 Fwy. on Thursday morning

Posted on by Posted in Accidents, CHP, Costa Mesa Leave a comment

An unidentified pedestrian was struck by a car and killed early on Thursday morning on the northbound 55 Freeway in Costa Mesa near the 405 Freeway at 3:20 a.m., according to the CHP.

The vehicle that struck the pedestrian was a white Ford Fusion, according to the CHP. The crash happened on the freeway’s right shoulder.

The O.C. Coroner responded to the accident at 3:36 a.m.

The driver in question was not identified.

A police pursuit started in Santa Ana and ended fatally in San Diego County

Posted on by Posted in CHP, Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

A police pursuit that started with a traffic stop in Santa Ana, just before midnight last night, ended with the fatal shooting of the suspect by CHP officers in San Diego.

The incident began with SAPD police officers pulling the suspect over near 1st and Fairview for a traffic violation. But the driver refused to stop and instead got onto the 5 Freeway and headed south.

As the chase entered San Diego County, local authorities took over the pursuit which ended on the 805 Freeway in Chula Vista, according to ABC.

The pursuit ended in Chula Vista on southbound Interstate 805, just north of Orange Avenue, according to NBC.

CHP officers could be seen taking cover behind their vehicles and pointing their weapons toward the stopped car. Police gave commands to the driver over a loudspeaker, according to Fox News.

At some point, CHP says officers opened fire on the suspect, who was later pronounced dead at the hospital, according to ABC 10 News.

The suspect has not yet been identified.

The CHP arrested a Chinese national with pot, cash and a fake I.D., in Orange County

Posted on by Posted in Chinese, CHP, Crime, Drugs, Marijuana, Santa Ana 2 Comments

CHP Officers initiated an enforcement stop on a van traveling southbound SR-57 to southbound I-5 on Friday night.

The driver, a Chinese national, had several marijuana plants within the van and a large sum of US-Currency. He was also in possession of a fraudulent California Driver license.

The driver was booked into the Orange County Jail for cultivation, transportation for sales and fraudulent documents.

The CHP and the SAPD arrested a man who carjacked a Geek Squad truck

Posted on by Posted in CHP, Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

Earlier this afternoon, a suspect carjacked a Geek Squad truck from the Temecula Best Buy store with an employee in the back of the truck, according to the CHP.

A pursuit ensued with CHP-Riverside and then CHP-Santa Ana took over the pursuit as it came into Orange County.

The suspect eventually crashed the truck and ran into a building at the corner of Tustin and 4th Street.

With assistance from the SAPD and the Tustin Police Department, the suspect was located and arrested.

A CHP stolen vehicle pursuit ended in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in CHP, Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

You may have noticed a commotion in Santa Ana on Saturday afternoon. A suspect led the CHP on a pursuit that started on the 5 Freeway then continued in the City of Santa Ana.

The suspect was behind the wheel of an allegedly stolen pickup truck, according to KTLA.

The suspect was traveling at high speeds and passing vehicles in a reckless manner, according to NBC.

The police pursuit ended at Warner Avenue near Pullman Street around 6:20 p.m. when the suspect finally pulled over.

There was a brief police standoff before the driver and two passengers finally gave up and were arrested by the police.

Santa Ana man accepts charges after killing two in a DUI crash in 2017

Posted on by Posted in Accidents, Alcohol, CHP, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Vincent de la Vega, 31, a Santa Ana man, was charged with murder in connection with a crash that killed two people on the southbound Orange (57) Freeway in Diamond Bar, according to the O.C. Register.

De la Vega pleaded no contest Monday to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He is due back in court on Tuesday, when victims’ impact statements are scheduled to be delivered, according to the Daily Pilot.

De la Vega’s crash victims included Eduardo Goncalves-Lins, 28, of Costa Mesa, and his passenger, Paula Queiroz-Lopes, 24, of Diamond Bar. They were killed in the crash, on Oct. 28, 2017, shortly before 3 a.m.

Goncalves-Lins was involved in a previous accident that morning as he was driving a 2014 Toyota Corolla south on the 57. He veered to the right and crashed into the back of a tow truck that was parked on the right shoulder just south of Diamond Bar Boulevard, according to the CHP. About a minute later, de la Vega’s Toyota Tacoma struck the Corolla, and both Goncalves-Lins and Queiroz-Lopes were thrown onto the freeway, according to the CHP.

A DUI driver was arrested while sleeping on the 57 Freeway

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

Santa Ana CHP dispatch received several calls from the public regarding a driver consuming alcohol and unable to maintain his lane while traveling on SR-57, on Tuesday, according to the Santa Ana CHP’s Facebook page.

Officer Carson responded to the area and located the driver stopped in the middle of the freeway asleep behind the wheel. The driver was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

His blood alcohol content was 4 times the legal limit.

How drunk is .325%? At this point, you may be unconscious and your potential for death increases. Along with a loss of understanding, at this BAC you’ll also experience severe increases in your heart rate, irregular breathing and may have a loss of bladder control, according to Alcohol.org.

How much do you have to drink to get to a .325 blood alcohol level? A 160-pound man would have a BAC of 0.30 by consuming 11 drinks in an hour! So the guy who fell asleep on the 57 Freeway may have downed a 12 pack by himself!

A Santa Ana man was among four killed in a head-on motorcycle collision on Sunday

Posted on by Posted in Accidents, CHP, Motorcycles, Santa Ana, Tustin Leave a comment
Picture from David Terman’s Facebook page

A Santa Ana resident, David Mark Terman, 59, died in a head-on motorcycle collision on Sunday, according to the O.C. Register.

Terman was on a motorcycle with Edith Mae Hegy, 62, of Elko, Nevada. They both died in the crash.

The Register reported that a Harley-Davidson, with a rider and a passenger, were traveling north about a quarter-mile south of Hicks Haul Road, northwest of Silverado Canyon and south of Irvine Lake and tried to pass a vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol said: It went into opposing traffic and slammed into a second motorcycle, a Honda, with two people aboard.

Terman is pictured on an older Facebook page on a Honda motorcycle.

The others that were killed in the crash were Regina Michelle Crowder, 48, of Fountain Valley and Jon Michael Schwarz, 50, of Tustin. Each motorcycle involved in the collision was carrying a man and a woman.

Terman’s current Facebook page noted that he was “getting into carpentry work instead of plumbing.” He was a Missionary at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was originally from Indianapolis, Indiana.