Results tagged “Rape” from Crime & Courts

Do you know this guy? Police say he is Kjonna Oggs, a 31-year-old San Pedro man charged with attacks on three woman.

Detectives say he enticed homeless women or women suffering from drug problems to his home, then beat, sexually assaulted or robbed them.

They have tied him to three victims, but suspect there are more.

A full story will appear soon on dailybreeze.com and in Friday's newspaper.

Police have tied him to these crimes:

• A 47-year-old woman said she was raped March 13 by a man who tried to sexually assault her .
• A 56-year-old woman said she was robbed May 3.
• A 47-year-old woman reported she was sexually assaulted Aug. 9.

The crimes occurred at his home on Armona Court.

Anyone with information about these or related crimes was Orta at (310) 726-7917.
Calls also may be made to 1-877-LAPD-24-7.

A worker at a Jiffy Lube in Torrance was charged Monday with raping a female customer in his locked office while her children and a friend waited in the car.

Johnny Jeffrey Maciel, 22, of Lynwood faces charges that could send him to prison for up to 16 years, prosecutors said.

The crime occurred about 6:30 p.m. Thursday when the 20-year-old woman took her car to the oil change business at 3209 190th St. to be inspected.

As her two children, an adult friend and the friend's child waited, the woman went to speak with Maciel, who asked her to accompany him into the office.

Prosecutors said he locked the door and sexually assaulted her.

The woman immediately called police. Maciel stayed at the business. Officers quickly arrested him.

The victim did not know Maciel, Anderson said.

"She was there for vehicle maintenance and was assaulted during that time," Torrance police Sgt. Bernard Anderson said.

Maciel pleaded not guilty Monday at the Torrance courthouse to one count of forcible rape.
Judge Thomas Sokolov ordered Maciel held in county jailon $175,000 bail and to return to court on March 16.

Prosecutors said Maciel has a prior strike, but did not elaborate on his previous conviction.

Story coming shortly:

A worker at the Jiffy Lube at 190th and Crenshaw in Torrance has been charged with raping a female customer in the office while her two children, a friend and the friend's child waited in the car.

The crime happened last week. More coming soon when I get the details.

We have the story up about the appellate court denying Oscar Dela Cruz's rape and kidnapping convictions appeal, but here is the full text of the opinion. The best part is the discussion about the prosecutor's using some vivid names and descriptions of Dela Cruz during her closing argument. The court says: "Prosecutors are allowed to use colorful descriptions of criminal defendants that are reasonably warranted by the evidence." Uh-huh.

LAPD just put this one out:



Los Angeles: An off-duty LAPD Officer stands accused of sexual assault following a holiday celebration at a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport.

Police Officer Eduardo Bermudez, 29 years of age, assigned to Pacific Area Patrol Division, two years on the Department, was arrested Sunday morning, December 7, 2008, at around 8:00 a.m. by detectives assigned to Internal Affairs Division.  Officer Bermudez was booked for California Penal Code Section 664-261, Attempt Rape.  Officer Bermudez was booked at Men's Central Jail and was held on $100,000 bail.

Based on preliminary information, it appears that a sanctioned LAPD Pacific Area holiday party had concluded and several Department employees were participating in an unofficial "after party" at the hotel.  When allegations of criminal activity came to light, proper notifications were made and on-duty police supervisors and Internal Affairs Division investigators were dispatched.  

Internal Affairs Division has assumed responsibility for the investigation.                    

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to Internal Affairs Division at
(213) 473-3870.  After-hours and on weekends calls may be directed to the 24-hour, toll-free number, 1-877-LAPD24-7 (527-3247) or texting CRIMES (274637) and beginning the message with LAPD.  Tipsters may also submit information on the LAPD website, and can remain anonymous.

A high-risk sex offender who moved into a Torrance motel last week was arrested Tuesday when police found methamphetamine on him.

Bryan Eugene Thompson, 59, was taken into custody on a parole violation.

Thompson is listed on the California Megan's Law Web site as a high-risk sex offender. He served time in prison since the late 1960s for forcible rape, robbery and other charges.

Police issued a warning about his arrival last week when he registered at the police station, citing his address as the Del Amo Inn at 20534 Hawthorne Blvd.

He moved out on Friday, but remained in the area.

Police officers arrested him at 1:15 a.m. after finding him in an illegally parked vehicle at Sepulveda Boulevard and Western Avenue, Torrance police Sgt. Bernard Anderson said.

He was arrested when officers found the drugs.

This topped this week's blotter from Redondo Beach:

It happened Aug. 10:

1800 Block of S. Pacific Coast Highway:
A female was kidnapped in the area of East LA. While being driven in the suspects' vehicle she was raped somewhere near where she was kidnapped.

 At about 10:45 p.m., she was driven to Redondo Beach where the suspects pushed her out of the vehicle. She ran to 1890 S. PCH and called 911. Redondo Beach police officers took the victim into protective custody and stood by for a response by the jurisdictional police agency. The crime is under investigation by the East Los Angeles station of the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department.

Sigh. Through these "postponement" entries, you kinda get a taste of how the court beat goes. Daniel Ramsey was scheduled to be sentenced today for robbing and kidnapping a Lawndale woman and her 11-year-old daughter, who was tied up during the July 5, 2006 ordeal, and for raping a 19-year-old college student in her Lawndale home several days later.

But for the third time, his defense attorney had a scheduling conflict, and it looks like Ramsey will be back Thursday. Ramsey was convicted of 10 counts on March 14 and faces life in prison when he's eventually sentenced.

Denise Nix reports that a Torrance Superior Court jury today found Daniel Ramsey guilty of 10 counts including kidnapping and rape for two crimes committed in Lawndale.

One crime involved kidnapping a woman so she could get cash while her daughter was tied to a chair in their apartment. He also raped a 19-year-old woman.

Denise is in court and will have more details later......

 

The Torrance Superior Court jury deliberating in the Daniel Ramsey trial announced late Thursday they had reached verdicts. They are scheduled to return to Judge Eric Taylor's courtroom Friday at 10 a.m. to have them read. Ramsey is charged with 10 counts for two crimes in Lawndale. The first crime involved kidnapping a woman so she could get cash while her daughter waited - tied to a chair with another suspect - back at their apartment. The second crime, a few days later, involved a 19-year-old woman who said she was raped by a gun-wielding intruder in her home.

The jury in the Daniel Ramsey robbery, kidnapping and rape trial is reaching the one-day mark in its deliberations, but has yet to reach a verdict. This morning, they asked to hear the rape victim's 911 call, which Deputy District Attorney Jodi Link argued corroborated the woman's allegations. The defense attorney, who argued that any sex between the alleged victim and his client was consensual, suggested that the woman was faking her crying and claims in the call.

The jury in the Daniel Ramsey trial are expected to begin deliberating this afternoon. Our story in the Daily Breeze today barely scratches the surface of the issues raised in this case. For instance, defense attorney Kevin Greber implored the jury to set aside emotions and judge the case soberly. He attacked the prosecution and her witnesses for wrongly injecting passion into the process. Greber took issue with their refering to the rape victim as "victim," suggesting the sexual exam nurse and emergency room doctor should have labeled her "patient" because, to do otherwise, shows bias. He feared that bias would transfer to the jury in their deliberations.

This isn't a new issue. It comes up in rape cases where consent is an issue, such as in the high-profile Kobe Bryant case.

What do you think? Is it wrong to refer to people as victims when they allege that they are? What could be done in its place. We welcome your comments....