Recently in Medrano Category

This just landed in my e-mail inbox:

I read your story on Oscar Medrano and was amazed at the remarks.  As the article stated he pleaded "no contest", however it goes on to say and I quote "Medrano began sexually abusing the female relative in 1999, when she was 9 years old".   You have no proof of this he  pleaded no contest and you have made him out to be guilty.  Its amazing how the justice system works in America if you have money you can prove your innocent however if you do not the media makes you out to be a criminal.  You and your paper are a disgrace to this community and to the art of reporting the news.  You make up stuff yet you claim to report the news.  The City of Gardena has had a lot of terrible people running the show and a lot of baggage.  Although these individuals are no longer in charge, you never reported any of their crimes or affairs.  You closed your eyes and turned the other way.  Why because they support your paper and the relationship they had with people like Larry Altman at your paper.  In other words you and that entire paper can be bought.  You might has well call yourself "Star Magazine" as your news is full of holes and it is nothing but gossip trash made up by people who want to get even with others.  

Former Gardena City Councilman Oscar Medrano Jr. pleaded no contest today to one count of lewd and lascivious acts on a minor and one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14. He was immediately sentenced to eight years in state prison.

Medrano took a deal offered by prosecutors instead of going to preliminary hearing, during which details of his crimes would've come to light in the courtroom. Had Medrano been convicted at trial of the nine 12 counts he was charged with, he would've faced a maximum of 34 years in state prison, according to prosecutors.

We'll have a story posted soon on www.dailybreeze.com and a more complete story, hopefully with local reaction, in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

Former Gardena City Councilman Oscar Medrano is scheduled for a preliminary hearing this morning in Torrance Superior Court on charges he sexually abused a young female relative.

Check back here later for an update.

Oscar Medrano, who stepped down from the Gardena City Council dais and stepped into a vat of legal woes, had a brief apperance in Torrance Superior Court today for his child molestation case. A preliminary hearing, where evidence against him will be laid out, was scheduled for June 24.

Medrano, 48, was charged in March with 12 counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a young female relative. Two days before his arrest, he resigned from the Council, citing health concerns.

That’s Devan Jackson. He’s the other victim of the El Segundo theaters shooting.

He and his fiancee decided to see a movie last Friday night. Before they even bought their tickets, two cops were seriously wounded, a gunman was dead and Devan had a bullet lodged in his leg.

I was a bit surprised when I was invited into his apartment and found him wearing a dress shirt and tie over a cast that covered his entire left leg.

Devan, an El Camino College student, tells us the story of the night he and his girlfriend went to the movies. He ended up in a hospital bed and in handcuffs.

Read Devan's story here or pick up Friday's Daily Breeze.

Photo by Bruce Hazelton/Daily Breeze

A preliminary hearing is scheduled today for former Gardena City Councilman Oscar Medrano, who is charged with lewd and lascivious acts on a minor. However, sources say that the hearing will likely be postponed. We'll have the details later.

**UPDATE: Medrano was ordered to return to court May 8 for a preliminary hearing setting.

On the online story about a man who planted a camera in his company's restroom so he could videotape a colleague, there was an interesting comment from a reader. Joe Public wrote: "Why does the Daily Breeze allow us to comment on sex crimes agains some Joe Smoe, but the editors decide against allowing the citizens to comment in regards to sex crimes against an elected public official (Medrano)? "

That's actually a pretty good question. Here's why: In sex crimes and those invovling minors, it is the Daily Breeze's policy (like most newspapers) to not identify the victim. However, we don't have control over what people write in the user comments section, and there was information that came very close to disclosing who Medrano's alleged victim is. Erring on the side of caution, we shut down the comments on that story - and didn't allow them on the follow-ups - to avoid this from happening in the high-profile, emotionally-charged case.

If someone were to disclose the name of the victim in the peeping Tom case, we'd do the same.

Former Gardena City Councilman Oscar Medrano appeared in court for the first time since his arrest last week. The story up on dailybreeze.com is just a quick update. Expect a bit more details in the story for tomorrow's newspaper.

Torrance attorney Gary Eto, who represents Medrano, thought it would be unfair to his client to allow cameras in the courtroom. He told Torrance Superior Court Judge William Beverly that the more this case is in the media, the more the jury pool would be tainted. Beverly agreed to allow Breeze photographer Brad Graverson and his camera, but denied requests by all but one of the local television news stations.

Former Gardena Councilman Oscar Medrano is expected to make his first appearance in Torrance Superior Court today. He is scheduled to be arraigned on 12 felony counts involving lewd and lascivious conduct toward a minor. We'll be there, and we're trying to get photographs.