California Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

David Brent, a high-profile prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney's office, was arrested on Christmas Day for punching his wife in the face.

Roshawn Brent, 27, called 911 while standing next to the couple's parked car in the city of Huntington Beach. It appears Mr. Brent decided discretion was the better part of valor and beat a retreat, taking the car keys with him.

What makes this story interesting is that the Orange County District Attorney appears to have waited several days before putting out a press release. Past history suggests they are quick to triumph following a high-profile arrest or conviction. So why the delay? It couldn't be to avoid embarrassment. The arrest was noted in the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register. Also, did Huntington Beach Police sit on the story? Don't they have press releases? If they did wait to tell, why so?

Domestic Violence is a common crime, cutting across all demographics. When a high official in the Prosecutor's office is arrested for such a crime, it becomes doubly important to notify the public so that the public accurately perceives the DA's office as being fair and impartial.

Whether you live in Tustin, Santa Ana or Huntington Beach, if you are charged with domestic assault, call an experienced Orange County criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

Continue reading "Orange County Prosecutor Arrested for Domestic Violence" »

You can't say he wasn't creative. Adolfo Aparicio, a documented Santa Ana gang member misidentified himself as an illegal alien so that he could avoid capture for an attempted murder charge for which he was being sought.

Turns out Aparicio got into a domestic dispute with his wife and mother in law. When the cops came, he took off but soon returned and took some shots at his wife, who fortunately, wasn't hurt. Aparicio fled the area again and was arrested in Arizona, where he gave a fake name. But his fingerprints did him in: they matched a wanted out of Santa Ana for the attempted murder of his wife.

Aparicio is getting deported....to Santa Ana. He'll face the criminal charges. It will be interesting to see if the District Attorney tries to charge it as a gang offense, which this incident doesn't smack of. In either event, Mr. Aparicio is going to need good legal representation, because like it or not, his gang background will come up and may work against him.

Whether you live in Newport Beach, Fullerton or San Clemente, if you are charged with domestic assault or battery, call an experienced defense attorney right away to assist you.

Continue reading "Santa Ana California Gang Member Claims Illegal Alien Status to Avoid Arrest" »

Last week, at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas, five junior high students were kicked by fellow students. These attacks came after a Facebook group sent a message around to students claiming it was "Kick a Ginger Day" which meant students were supposed to kick redheads at their school. Police believe the kids got the idea from a "South Park" TV episode. No arrests were made and it is unclear if these suspects will be prosecuted.

Committing a crime against someone based on their hair color may be viewed as a hate crime. It's likely, though, that these suspects will be treated informally by the court, rather than be charged with a crime since they were so young and likely had no prior criminal record. Juveniles are increasingly prosecuted more frequently because parents cannot or will not supervise their own children and teach acceptable social values. Now the courts deal with misbehavior and crime, a task for which they are ill-suited. Whether you live in Laguna Hills, Orange, or Yorba Linda, if your child has been charged with assault or battery, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

Continue reading "California Junior High Students Assault Red-Haired Students" »

On Wednesday of this week, Mike Tyson was at LAX airport and was being followed by paparazzi. He exchanged words with one of the photographers, Tony Echevarria. The two men got into an altercation and both claimed the other one hit them first. Eventually, both men got into a physical fight and Echevarria was punched in the face four times. Tyson claims he was defending his family who was being swarmed by the paparazzi. They were both arrested on suspicion of battery and want to press charges.

Battery can be either a misdemeanor or felony offense, depending on the severity of the incident and if weapons were used. Here, there were no weapons used, but Tyson, a former boxer, clearly had an advantage over the photographer. Often, photographers get too close to celebrities and their families or they say something that the celebrity finds offensive and the celebrity will get physical with the photographer. A similar incident to this one involved rapper Kanye West and another photographer at LAX airport. It is likely that Tyson and the photographer will have to take anger management classes as part of their punishment.

Whether you live in Newport Beach, Fullerton or San Clemente, if you are charged with assault or battery, call an experienced defense attorney right away to assist you.

Continue reading "Boxer Mike Tyson Charged With Battery For Fight in Los Angeles" »

A woman in Lake Forest called officers to her house this weekend, claiming that her long time boyfriend had assaulted her. When officers arrived, the suspect was no longer at the home. Since officers thought there was clear and present danger, they called his cell phone company to assist them in finding the suspect. Jesse Tuomi was located in Mission Viejo and was arrested on suspicion of spousal abuse and assault with force to produce great bodily harm.

Normally, police officers need a search warrant to look through your house or any personal records. However, there is an exception when officers do not need to get a search warrant and that is in the case of clear and present danger. Officers feared that Tuomi was a dangerous man on the loose and therefore got to bypass the warrant requirement in order to obtain phone records. Cases in which officers bypass requirements are helpful to a defense attorney in arguing for their clients. A good attorney may be able to argue that a man that allegedly assaulted his girlfriend does not present a clear and present danger to the public and therefore, the warrant requirement should not have been bypassed.

Whether you live in Tustin, Santa Ana or Garden Grove, if you are charged with assault, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away to assist you.

Continue reading "Lake Forest Assault Suspect Found Using Phone Records" »

In September of this year, Dustin and Austen Sprague were at a house party in Cypress playing beer pong. Guests thought that the brothers were being too loud and obnoxious, so they were asked to leave. Half an hour later, the brothers and a few friends came back to the party holding miniature baseball bats, metal pipes, golf clubs and tire arms. The men then started to attack a few of the party guests. They also vandalized a car and stole a wallet from one of the guests. Troy Lacayo, a guest who was attacked, was injured so badly that he had to be taken to the hospital to get his head stapled.

After the assault, the suspects fled in a car and were caught by police. The Spragues, along with three other co-conspirators have all been charged with three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, as well as felony vandalism, robbery, and burglary charges.

Often when people drink alcohol, they do not think rationally and they do something stupid. Unfortunately for these guys, because of their stupid actions, they all will likely face some jail time as well as have to take anger management classes. Whether you live in Garden Grove, Orange or San Clemente, if you are charged with assault or battery, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

Continue reading "Cypress Party Ends in Assault & Battery" »

Rigoberto Contreras, of Santa Ana, was in the Piccolo Bar on Sunday night. Allegedly, Contreras was harassing female employees at the bar so the security guard told him to leave. While Contreras was being escorted out, he started becoming violent with the security guard and called out to his friends at the bar to help him. About six men got into the fight and started assaulting the guard. At one point, Contreras grabbed the security officer's baton and started hurting him with it. Police arrived and the security guard and Contreras were taken to the hospital. Contreras was then arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and is now in jail on $25,000 bail.

Assault with a deadly weapon is defined as an assault done with a deadly weapon or with an amount of force that is likely to cause great bodily injury. Assault with a deadly weapon can be a misdemeanor or felony and penalties depend on the type of weapon used and the amount of harm to the victim. Additionally, a conviction could lead to a strike under the California Three Strike's law. Whether you live in Tustin, Newport Beach or Fullerton, if you are charged with assault, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

Continue reading "Assault With a Deadly Weapon at Santa Ana Bar" »

William Shoop, Charlies Durliat and Jodie Brummet were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, hate crime and conspiracy to commit a crime for a fight they had with a black homeless man in Costa Mesa. The three suspects were outside of a bar on Harbor Boulevard, when a homeless man asked Brummet for a cigarette. The two men chased the homeless man two blocks down the street, while they yelled racial slurs and threats at him. When police arrived, Shoop was kicking the homeless man in the head.

A hate crime charge is given to anyone who uses race, sex, religion, etc., as the motivation for committing a crime against someone. The charge carries with it a stigma that the person is not tolerant of other people and comes with serious penalties. Besides jail time, people convicted of hate crimes may have to pay between a $5,000 and $10,000 fine. Additionally, a person convicted of a hate crime may be sued by their victim.

Whether you live in Brea, Laguna Beach or Tustin, if you are charged with assault, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

Continue reading "3 Californian's Charged with Hate Crime for Beating Homeless Man" »

Chidi Benjamin Uzomah, Jr. pled guilty to misdemeanor assault, battery and possession of a switchblade knife. Uzomah was at the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) on Tuesday because Ryan Seacrest and other KIISfm radio hosts were there for a fundraiser. Seacrest was about to get in his car to leave when Uzomah tried to get in with him. Seacrest's body guard stopped Uzomah from entering the car and Uzomah was so mad that he put his arm around the body guard's neck and started choking him. He was immediately arrested. In court, Uzomah pled guilty to the assault, battery and weapon charges and was sentenced to 15 days in jail, three years of probation and an order to stay away from Ryan Seacrest and CHOC hospital.

Assault is the unlawful attempt, coupled with present ability, to commit a violent injury upon another. Battery is the willful and unlawful use of force against a person. These are both criminal charges that can also be brought against you in a civil suit. Whether you live in Laguna Niguel, Orange or Fullerton, if you are charged with assault or battery, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you fight these charges.

Continue reading "Ryan Seacrest Fan Assaults Security Guard" »

Nicolas Alex Duran, Alejandro Justin Duran and a 16-year-old boy were all arrested this week for allegedly stabbing a man twice in the stomach after the man tried to stop the 3 gang members from tagging a wall. After the victim yelled for them to stop tagging, the three suspects kicked, punched and stabbed him, likely because they thought he was going to report them to authorities. They will all be charged with assault with a deadly weapon and if convicted, will face between 3 and 12 years in prison.

A violent felony will count as a strike on your record. If you get three strikes, you are sentenced to life in prison. Since these suspects were in a gang, they may get a sentencing enhancement if they were assaulting the victim in furtherance of the gang. Additionally, if they were actually tagging the wall, they will face more time in prison.

Whether you live in Irvine, Fullerton or Huntington Beach, if you are charged with assault with a deadly weapon, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you fight your charges and help lower your sentence.

Continue reading "Santa Ana Men Stabbed For Stopping Taggers" »

In October of 2008, Orlando Mendez, an off duty Long Beach officer, saw his girlfriend in the passenger side of a car with two friends at 3:30 in the morning in Anaheim. He got extremely upset so he followed them, pointed a gun at the car and ordered them to pull over, all while driving on the wrong side of the road. Once they pulled over, he physically assaulted all three of them and shot his gun into the air. Today, he pleaded guilty to felony assault with a firearm, misdemeanor assault with a firearm, misdemeanor discharging of a firearm with gross negligence, misdemeanor domestic violence battery, plus a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to six months in jail, three years of probation and was ordered to enroll in a 52-week treatment program.

Domestic violence is often thought to be just between a husband and a wife, however, it can also occur between girlfriend and boyfriend or between cohabitants. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual or emotional. Whether you live in Fountain Valley, Orange or Tustin, if you are charged with domestic violence, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

Continue reading "Ex-Long Beach Officer Assaults Girlfriend With Gun" »

Police are looking for Erin Brooks and Brian Hanson who police think are white supremacists who beat up a Latino man last month. Michael Powell and Bret Hicks are currently in custody for the same incident. Allegedly, all four suspects were circling a Latino neighborhood looking for someone "non-white" to assault. They saw a man come out of the neighborhood so they yelled racial slurs at him, stabbed him three times, kicked him and punched him. Neighbors from the area jumped into the fight and separated the suspects from the victim. They were all arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and Brooks and Hanson were released on bail. Now they are being charged with attempted murder plus hate crime enhancements and police can no longer find Brooks and Hanson. All of the suspects have criminal backgrounds and white supremacy tattoos.

Hate crimes occur when perpetrators attack a member of a certain group because of their race, religion, sexual identity, gender, disability, age, etc. If a crime is carried out for hate purposes, it will be given a sentencing enhancement because it is such a serious crime that can provoke retaliatory crimes, inflict emotional harm and incite community unrest. Regardless of what city you live in, whether it is Fountain Valley, Fullerton or Newport Beach, hate crimes are serious crimes and if you are charged with one, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney.

Continue reading "Two White Supremacists on the Loose in Orange County" »

On Sunday evening, police were called to University High School in Irvine where two baseball teams, one from Santa Ana and the other from Riverside, had gotten into a physical fight. The fight started after a member of the Santa Ana team stole a base and was tagged out. The teams got into a verbal altercation which eventually got physical. Lopez and Victor Alaniz were taken into custody for felony assault. There were eight victims and four were taken to the hospital with bruises, abrasions and possible concussions.

Anger can lead to serious consequences for you and others around you. Often, anger management classes and therapy can help. If your anger has gotten you into some major legal trouble, whether in Irvine, Newport Beach or Fullerton, call an attorney to help you.

Continue reading "Irvine Baseball Brawl" »

A 17-year-old teenager named Lily Burk was found dead in her car in Los Angeles last week. It looked as if she had died from blunt force trauma to the head. Earlier in the day, Burk had gone to Southwestern Law School to pick up some papers for her mother who was a teacher there. On her way home, she called both of her parents separately to ask them how to use her ATM card. They had no idea that she was asking because she was being robbed. Allegedly, Mr. Charlie Samuel, a transient with a history of drug and violent crimes, tried to rob Burk. A struggle ensued inside the car and hours later, Burk's dead body was found inside her black Volvo. Charlie Samuel had been arrested hours before the body had been found for other crimes. He is now being held without bail for the crime of murder.

Burk was an active student at her high school. She was supposed to star in a play at her school and wanted to become a writer in the future.

This is an unfortunate event and Mr. Samuel will need an experienced criminal defense attorney, whether this happened in Los Angeles, Irvine, or Anaheim. The attorney will need to investigate what Mr. Samuel was doing that day, what events occurred, if he in fact robbed Ms. Burk and how she died. A good defense attorney does not concede that his client did the crime. Instead, they look at all available evidence and defenses and craft well researched arguments to adequately defend their client and ensure them a fair trial.

Continue reading "Suspect Being Held For Murder of Los Angeles Teenager" »

Two juveniles, one 17 and one 13, were shot on a street corner after a green car pulled up to where the boys were standing, exchanged words with them, and then opened fire.

The boys were wounded, but survived. The shooters fled the scene. This sounds like a classic gang "hit-up". It goes something like this: Car pulls up in "enemy" territory, window rolls down.

SHOOTER: "Where you from?"
VICTIM: "I ain't from anywhere"
SHOOTER: "F___ YOU!" (shout name of own gang-fire weapon-drive off)

Very likely then, this is a case of a young gangster earning his stripes for his gang. A drive-by comes in many forms. The police and the DA treat most people charged with gang crimes as all the same. That is a mistake. Many of the people involved with gangs know each other from the neighborhood where they grew up. Many join the gang because to avoid doing so means getting beaten up repeatedly, or worse.

Gang police officers spend a lot of time making contact with kids in tough neighborhoods. They document their contacts through "F.I.", or field interview, cards, recording date and time of contact, nature of the contact and any statements or admissions by the suspected gang member. After a few contacts the alleged member will get "stepped", meaning the police will advise him that in their opinion he is a gang member and could be charged with a variety of crimes that are gang-related, in the future. These FI cards and STEP notices are used by the DA in their prosecution of suspected gang members.

An experienced Orange County criminal defense attorney who handles gang cases will look to distinguish his client from the gang and look to see if law enforcement had already decided that the suspect was a gang member even before the incident, thus carrying a bias against that person.

In Orange County, whether in Fullerton, Westminster, Garden Grove, Santa Ana or Tustin, a conviction for conduct such as this can sometimes carry a life term in prison.

Continue reading "Santa Ana Gang Shooting Leaves Two Wounded" »

Nothing signals the decline of a community like the presence of gang members and graffiti, or "tagging" on walls, signs, poles, etc. It is always tempting to do something to stop this destruction but a Santa Ana, California man found out the hard way that getting physically involved carries a price tag.

The man, whose name wasn't released, was beaten and stabbed after yelling at some gang members who were tagging a wall. They came after him. They surrounded him, kicking, punching and stabbing him. He's lucky to be alive.

Regrettably, this will send a message to the community not to intervene. Vandalism is a criminal charge usually filed as a misdemeanor. In aggravated cases the Orange County District Attorney will file felony charges. Typically, offenders are given fines and community service. Jail time is rarely meted out.

Criminal vandalism in Orange County has been on the rise in recent years. Various Orange County law enforcement agencies have tried to tackle this problem. But the solutions will always start with families. Raising children means paying attention. Sadly, the victim of this crime will likely keep his mouth shut the next time he sees taggers at work. While I condemn vandalism, not everyone charged with vandalism is a gang member and should be treated as an individual. A qualified Orange County criminal attorney can properly represent someone charged with vandalism.

Continue reading "Santa Ana Samaritan Suffers Stab Wounds In Effort to Stop Taggers" »

Two sale-hungry women took power shopping to a new level this weekend when eight people were arrested at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance after a crowd of 300 to 400 people gathered outside a movie theater to watch the women fight over clothes. The L.A. Times reports that six adults and two juveniles were arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest after the fight.

According to reports, when police arrived to break up the brawl at about 9:15 p.m. Saturday, friends of the combatants began fighting with officers and because of the size of the crowd, all available Torrance units were called. They had to also had to call for backup from units in Hawthorne, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Gardena, El Camino College and El Segundo.

Two Torrance officers were injured, Anderson said. One was hit in the face, and the other hurt his knee. Assaulting a police officer is a felony and if convicted, could subject a person to prison time.

Continue reading "8 arrested for assault and resisting arrest in Torrance mall fight" »

An Orange County sheriff's deputy was indicted for allegedly abusing his authority when he tasered a handcuffed suspect in his patrol car last year. Mike Anton of the L.A. Times reports that Christopher Hibbs, a 12-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, was indicted by an Orange County grand jury on two felony assault charges.

The indictment—which was unsealed today—stems from the September 2007 arrest and subsequent gun charge of Ignacio Gomez Lares. Anton reports that Lares was stopped for walking in public with an open beer bottle and when he tried to resist arrest and flee, Hibbs tasered him. The charges stem from what happened next- after Lares was arrested and in handcuffs, Hibbs tasered him numerous times because Lares kept truthfully telling Hibbs his name was “Ignacio Gomez,” instead of Ignacio Gomez Lares, which was not in authority's database.

If convicted, he could face a maximum of three years in prison.

Continue reading "OC sheriff's deputy charged with assault for unlawfully tasering suspect" »