Results tagged “torrance” from Crime & Courts

Just got word that a federal judge declared a mistrial in the insurance fraud case against Lawrence Saks, a former plastic surgeon who practiced in Torrance and San Pedro. No details yet, but check later for a story on dailybreeze.com.

Jurors in the Lawrence Saks insurance fraud trial sent a note to a judge on Wednesday indicating that they are deadlocked on all 16 counts, according to a court clerk.

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California jury will return to court Thursday. It is expected Judge Consuelo Marshall will speak to them and they will continue their discussions, the clerk added.

The jury has deliberated about two days on the charges.

The Rolling Hills resident, who practiced plastic surgery in Torrance and San Pedro, is accused of double-billing insurance companies on four procedures.

He claims the procedures were medically necessary and the documents he filed were accurate.

So, officially, here's what I got on this:

Torrance police said Tuesday they are investigating an alleged hit-and-run involving a car crashing into a house late last week.
The car hit a home in the 200 block of Paseo De Las Delicias about 8 p.m. on Thursday night, according to Sgt. Bernard Anderson.
A suspect was scheduled to be interviewed by investigators Tuesday afternoon and the investigation is continuing, Anderson said.
He would not give any more details about the incident or the suspect.

Of course, you, me and everyone knows there's more to this story than that. Unfortunately, as a news reporter, I'm obligated to report only what I can confirm. We do this to protect ourselves from liability and our subjects from untrue accusations. It's fair and it's right.

Now, there are two problems: 1.) Our readers are not bound by the same obligations, and can anonymously and freely say whatever they want in the user comments underneath our stories. 2.) Law enforcement and other officials are not always forthcoming with information, leaving us with unfilled holes in our reports, and can take some time getting back to us once we've made inquiry.

It appears there is nothing we can do about either of these problems. So when you wonder why the Daily Breeze didn't report this or that on this story, or any others, now you know why. 

Just got word that opening statements were this morning at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in downtown Los Angeles, and that the first witness is on the stand. Lawrence Saks, whose medical license was taken away last December, is on trial before Judge Consuelo Marshall for two indictments - one alleging he worked while collecting disability payments and the other claiming he double-billed insurance companies for procedures.

The former plastic surgeon and Rolling Hills resident, who had offices in Torrance and San Pedro, served six months in a federal penitentiary for a 1990 tax evasion case.

Many of the issues raised in Ashton Hurst's appeal were litigated at the trial level. And re-litigated. And litigated some more. Click here for my very brief brief on the 2nd District Court of Appeal's opinion issued yesterday. For those wanting to see more, the 25-page opinion is here.

Three West Torrance homes were burglarized in one afternoon, probably by the same suspect, police said Tuesday.

The break-ins were Oct. 15 between 2 and 4 p.m.

They were in the 5500 block of Halison Street, the 20000 block of Saltee Avenue and the 4100 block of Konya Drive.

In two of the burglaries, the perpetrator removed screens and slid windows open.
For the third, he entered through an unlocked front door after knocking. However, the resident was home and the suspect fled.

The burglar is described as a black man in his mid 20s with a mustache. He is about 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds.

Investigators believe he was driving a gold newer Nissan Pathfinder, which he backed into the third victim's driveway.

He got away with small electronics, a wallet and jewelry.

Police want residents to pay attention to strange people and cars, and warned that a common technique by burglars is to knock on a front door before trying to get inside through a side or back door or window.

Anyone who sees suspicious activity is urged to call the police.

The family of a man killed in a 2007 helicopter crash has filed a wrongful death lawsuit that names Robinson Helicopter as a defendant. The Yakima Herald has the report.

Tony Lopez Perez pleaded not guilty to a single murder charge this morning during his first court appearance for the slaying of a popular Torrance woman eight months ago.

Perez, 35, of Redondo Beach, appeared for the brief San Bernardino Superior Court hearing via a live television connection from the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino, according to Susan Mickey, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's office.

Perez will return to court Oct. 22, Mickey said. He remains jailed without bail.
Perez was arrested Thursday night for the death of Cori Desmond, 28.

Desmond was last seen alive on Feb. 15 by friends at the Bac Street Lounge in Redondo Beach, where she had gone after finishing her bartending job at Beaches in Manhattan Beach.

Her body was found the next day in a bag in the snow along a Running Springs Highway.
Anonymous tips led San Bernardino County Sheriff homicide detectives to Perez, who was seen scrubbing the inside of his truck shortly after Desmond's death.

He sold it to a dealership and detectives later tracked it down and found unspecified evidence inside that they believe proves Lopez killed Desmond.

No details have emerged about the crime, although detectives said they believe the motive was sexual.

A public defender was appointed to represent Lopez, a single father of two who worked as a restaurant manager.

However, no one from the San Bernardino Public Defender's office was available to comment.

Read the complaint here: perez.doc

The Los Angeles Superior Court's delinquent juror round-up show is once again stopping in the South Bay. Starting this Friday, and for the following three Fridays, citizens who did not respond to their last three juror summons are expected to appear before Torrance Superior Court Judge Alan Honeycutt to explain themselves.

Chances are, for those who appear, they'll be slapped with a fine (it can be up to $1,500 but is usually $200) and Honeycutt will set a new jury duty report date.

"Sanctions are a last resort, but even at that late date, monetary sanctions may not be imposed if a person agrees to serve," said Presiding Judge Charles McCoy Jr. "The court's priority is having the people cooperate with us to ensure that jury service is shared by all elgible citizens in Los Angeles County, as mandated by the Legislature."

McCoy added: "The court has no interest whatsoever in using these sanctions as a source of money."

Failure to respond to the order to appear can only make things worse.

When the court established its One Trial Jury Service (formerly One Day, One Trial) in 1999, the need for available citizens to sit in judgement of others rose. Under the program, citizens need only be present at the courthouse for a single day or one trial. Those not a prospective juror or a seated panelist by the end of the first day are excused for a year.

For more information about jury duty, visit the court's Web site.

According to the Burbank Leader's account of the Friday crime, it sounds like 19-year-old Kenneth Hammond and two juvenile accomplices had quite a day!

For those of you who call and e-mail, then call and e-mail, then call and e-mail some more about the case against former Torrance Parks and Recreation Director Supervisor Dan Halladay and three others - the case is over. Each pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft for the payroll and kickback scheme that netted more than $53,000. They each got three years probation and community service.

There will be a full story later on dailybreeze.com and in Saturday's newspaper.

Brian Flanigan and Patrick German were scheduled for a preliminary hearing today in Torrance Superior Court in relation to charges that they possessed illegal explosives and such for a bust just before Independence Day. The attorneys said it appeared the case would likely settle, and they were ordered back to court on Oct. 13.

An attorney for Norma Bradford told Torrance Superior Court Judge Laura Ellison that her client didn't come to court today for her conditional exam because she checked herself into a hospital. Ellison put the exam over until Monday and agreed to hold-off on issuing an arrest warrant for the 87-year-old woman.

We'll have a fuller story later on dailybreeze.com

Previously:

1979 Torrance murder suspect's mom a no-show in court

The 87-year-old mother of Douglas Bradford, an Orange County engineer accused of the 1979 murder of Torrance registered nurse Lynne Knight, was supposed to appear in Torrance Superior Court this morning so the attorneys could question her and save her statements on video.

The District Attorney's A/V squad was all set-up, along with a camera crew from NBC's Dateline, but Mona Norma Bradford did not show.

A woman who may or may not be her attorney (it really wasn't clear) told Judge Laura Ellison that she called Mrs. Bradford's cell phone, heard rustling and whispering, then someone say, 'I'm in the hospital," according to Los Angeles Superior Court Public Information Officer Allan Parachini.

Ellison told her that Mrs. Bradford needed to report to court today, or she will issue a $50,000 warrant for her arrest.

I'm standing by and ready to run back to court if I hear she shows up.

Meanwhile, the NBC crew ran into a bit of trouble because they defied the court's order to not film anyone in the audience. Parachini said he demanded the cameraman to delete the recording, but he seemed to be resisting and trying to find a way around it - like "digitizing" the film to obscure faces. Parachini seemed pretty adamant that the recording was not going to leave the courthouse.

This is from Larry, who is out in the field:

The funeral procession for Torrance Officer Steve Kroesen is set to get underway momentarily. The procession will go from the Torrance Police Station east on Maricopa Avenue to Crenshaw Boulevard. It will head south to Palos Verdes Drive North and go east to Rolling Hills Covenant Church.

Kroesen died last week after a lengthy battle with cancer.

If you see Gardena and other South Bay police officers answering calls in Torrance today, they are covering the city so their Torrance colleagues can attend Kroesen's funeral.

Last time I posted a blog about 39-year-old Steven Schneppershoff, lots of people who know him and his family in the South Bay left some interesting comments. Here's the latest in the case from the Peoria Journal Star.

Prosecutors filed explosives charges on Thursday against two men arrested in connection to an illegal fireworks bust in Torrance.

Brian Flanigan, 40, in whose home the 3,400 pounds of explosives were discovered, is charged with possession of ingredients to make a destructive device and possession of an explosive, according to Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's office.
Patrick German, 39, of Redondo Beach, was charged with one count of possession of an explosive, Gibbons said.

They're both scheduled to be arraigned in Torrance Superior Court on July 8, 2004.
The pair were arrested Wednesday following an investigation that began with a tip in Redondo Beach the previous day.

At Flanigan's home in the 1600 block of Beech Avenue, investigators say they found enough explosives to have destroyed surrounding homes had they ignited.

Redondo Beach police and fire have just made a large fireworks seizure in Torrance on Beech near Crenshaw and Torrance. I'm heading over.

**UPDATE:

Police and firefighters have recovered several thousand pounds of illegal fireworks stored at a house in the 1600 block of Beech Avenue in Torrance. Firefighters say the situation was so dangerous it could've caused a catastrophe had it caught fire.

The seizure occurred early this morning following a tip to Redondo Beach Police Department that the resident was selling fireworks. Firefighters say the resident also was manufacturing home-made fireworks, and discovered 400 pounds of black powder in the house.

"Had he had an accident, and had the garage blown up, it would've leveled and killed the people in every house around him," said Redondo Beach fire Division Chief Steve Hyink.

We'll have photographs, identities and more details soon.

Just got word that, as a result of the Michael Sweet case and maybe some other issues, Redondo Beach no longer participates in the Pacific Coast Conference Football and Cheer Corp. Redondo Beach, Torrance and Palos Verdes it appears have pulled away and are in the process or have completed making their own group.

Tonight's checkpoint:

Police will conduct a driver's license and sobriety checkpoint from 8 tonight to 3 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Sepulveda and Palos Verdes boulevards in Torrance.

Checkpoint result:

During a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint June 12 at El Segundo Boulevard and Weber Way in Hawthorne, police officers arrested two people on suspicion of driving under the influence, cited 55 drivers for suspended licenses or no licenses at all, towed 59 vehicles and arrested one person sought on a felony warrant.

Know when you're a DUI risk
From www.chp.ca.gov

(.01 - .04 percent) May be DUI: Anyone who has had one drink during a two-hour period; and people weighing 170 pounds or more who have had two drinks.

(.05 - .07 percent) Likely DUI: People weighing less than 170 pounds who have had two drinks; people weighing 150 pounds or more who have had three drinks; and people weighing 190 pounds or more who have had four drinks.

(.08 percent and up) Definitely DUI: People weighing less than 150 pounds who have had three drinks; people weighing less than 190 pounds who have had four drinks; and anyone who has had five drinks.