Results matching “sisneros” from Crime & Courts

No one seemed more annoyed about the delay in sentencing Ricky Sisneros than Sisneros himself. The hold-up seems to be new information received from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation by prosecutors regarding Sisneros' criminal history. Before the 47-year-old can be sentenced, a "priors trial" must be conducted to see if the convictions and prison record attributed to him are, indeed, accurate. The judge must take his history into consideration in deciding penalty - especially if any strikes are involved. The strike issue looks like it will be a point of contention when the two sides get to it at it's new time - next Friday, Jan. 30.

Torrance Superior Court Judge Steven Van Sicklen asked Sisneros if he agreed to the delay. "We're not gonna come back and have something else pop up?" Sisneros asked. He was convicted more than five months ago and now seems eager to know how long he'll spend behind bars. It's not clear what his maximum is for the 10 weapons and drugs convictions, but it did come out in court today that he has 15 convictions dating back to 1980. We had previously only reported on the three that we knew about.

Previously: Did you hear the one about the gang member, the journalist and a bunch of attorneys?

I know, I know. It's 2009. Who cares about 2008, that's the past, right? Well, this exercise was as much to satisfy my curiosity as it was to be informative, so I'm taking a look at what were the most popular items posted during the Crime & Courts Blog's inagural year. We launched in March, so this doesn't cover a whole year, but it was interesting to see from a statistical standpoint what you're reading. We don't get statistics on individual entries, only on the day. So these are the most popular days here in 2008, and what Larry and I wrote about.

1.) April 12: Larry broke news as it happened on an officer-involved shooting at an El Segundo movie theater, during which two officers and an innocent bystander were shot.

2.) April 30: A "Marine" was beaten in Redondo Beach and a reader wanted to know more about the suspect; a boy steals an SUV; follow up to Pick family's tragic murder-suicide in Torrance; questions arise about Councilwoman Janice Hahn giving money to gang members and workers trapped.

3.) April 29: Several updates about the Pick family as details began to come in while we reported them.

4.) May 1: A pick-up about Dennis Rodman being arrested; vigil for Tyler Pick; defendants testify in the Carson double murder of gas station clerks and Medal of Valor script and notes. 

5.) May 5: Follow-up on the El Segundo shooting and sentencing for Cristina Castaneda, who killed her four young passengers in a crash.

6.) Aug. 25: A new judge on American Idol; a bomb scare at the Manhattan Beach Target; would-be terrorist was sentenced; LAPD officer accidentally discharges weapon; former ILWU bookkeeper accused of embezzlement in court and Wilmington homicide suspect sought.

7.) Aug. 18: Follow-ups to former youth coach Barry Sacks charged for child molestation; woman kidnapped, raped and dumped in Redondo Beach; California crime artifacts on display at National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington D.C.; Torrance gang leader Ricky Sisneros convicted of weapons charges; Harbor-area neighborhood watch makes lunch for cops and activist Najee Ali gets prison.

8.) Oct. 15: Map and names for Ghost Town gang injunctions; TSA screener steals gadgets from luggage; Redondo Beach man wanted for stabbing girlfriend; lawsuit against God dismissed; Hermosa Beach man discovers his family in Northern California bbq'd his mother; prosthetic penis manufacturers sued in federal court and suspect sought in San Pedro kidnapping attempt.

9.) Sept. 8: Follow up on an attempted sexual assault at El Camino College; Redondo Beach Police crime blotter; comments to a previous entry about taggers in Redondo Beach and Carson; follow to a body found in an SUV in Hawthorne and Erwin Howard decides to take plea deal in former wife Julie "Deede" Keller's murder.

10.) Aug. 19: Barry Mosley convicted for three murders and other crimes; former South Bay gastroenterologist Mahendra Udani in court; child molester Wynford Murray arrested for failing to register and the Backpack Bomber bank robbers are arrested.

Here's to a great 2009. Happy New Year and thanks for reading!

It began on Dec. 3 when a process server left a subpoena for me at the front desk at the Daily Breeze for Ricky Sisneros' hearing the next morning. Sisneros is a Torrance gang leader who was convicted of being a felon in possession of weapons. I didn't know what the subpoena was about, but my new attorneys at Davis Wright Tremaine sent a letter to Sisneros' attorney, Caree Harper, and the prosecutor informing them I would not be coming to the hearing and the subpoena was improperly served.

The next day, the prosecutor asked Torrance Judge Steven Van Sicklen to contninue the hearing on Sisneros' motion for a new trial because Harper filed a 50-plus page motion the day before. Apparently, the issue of my subpoena was brought up and, since I wasn't there, Harper asked Van Sicklen to issue a body attachment (basically, an arrest warrant) for me. Since the prosecutor had my attorney's letter, the issue was moot and nothing more came of it.

In the coming days, Harper contacted one of my attorneys, Kelli Sager, to see if she would accept service for me. When Sager asked what this was all about, Harper hung up the phone after telling her I had "opened the door" by publishing articles about her client's case.

On Dec. 15, around 7 p.m., as I unloaded my family from a weekend away in my driveway, a baseball-capped figure appeared with a poinsettia, a bottle of champagne and a subpoena. She told me she had a delivery for me and "it was nothing personal." I took the subpoena - but not the plant and booze.

Last week, my attorneys attempted to get from Van Sicklen's courtroom Harper's motion for a new trial, but was told the judge had it in chambers. They were able, however, to get the prosecution's opposition to the motion - and we were finally getting an idea of what the subpoena was about.

Among the contentions in the new trial motion was that Deputy District Attorney Jeff Stodel engaged in prosecutorial misconduct by giving me Sisneros' rap sheet. In his opposition, Stodel included a sworn and signed declaration in which he said I inquired about Sisneros' criminal history and he directed me to the Information (the filing complaint) filed in court in June.

Which is exactly what happened.

Ricky Sisneros' sentencing hearing was postponed from today until Dec. 23. He is the gang leader convicted by a jury of having weapons in his possession. Here's some of our previous entries about the case.

Yesterday afternoon, a process server left a subpoena for me to appear at the hearing this morning. According to my attorney, Kelli Sager, I was improperly served because it wasn't handed to me personally and it was not served in compliance with the law that requires five days notice for journalists. When, and if, I am served properly, then we'll have to fight it.

No, it's not clear why Sisneros' attorney, Caree Harper, has subpoenaed me to appear at the hearing.

For now, though, Sager has advised that the subpoena issue is moot until properly served. Since I've learned that no warrant was issued for my arrest for failing to attend the hearing this morning, I now feel safe to go run some errands on my lunch break!

Ricky Sisneros' sentencing hearing was postponed from today until Oct. 29, according to a court clerk. He was the alleged La Rana gang shot caller convicted of having a bunch o' weapons in his home.

Previously:

Torrance gang leader convicted

Torrance gang leader trial

A jury deliberated about half a day a today before finding Ricky Sam Sisneros, 45, guilty of 10 weapons and drug charges. The jury also found true allegations that the crimes were gang-related. Sisneros returns to Torrance Superior Court Sept. 29 for sentencing.

Prosecutors argued that Sisneros was the "shot caller" of the violent Torrance street gang La Rana. He was under surveillance and arrested after he was seen leaving a home in the 2300 block of Del Amo Boulevard on March 14, 2007.

The defense argued he was not a gang member - let alone a leader - just a drug-addicted old man. The main question was whether or not the guns that were found in the home belonged to him or others.

After a story on the trial ran last week, several people who live in that area contacted me to say there is no La Rana gang. Wrote one 36-year-old Del Amo Boulevard resident:

You called the gang a violent street gang. When was the last time this so called violent street gang was violent? It's been a long time, the area has changed but of course you fail to mention that, or how many many of the residents on this street are good.

[snip]

Some of the residents on the street are harassed by the TPD on a regular basis, I have been pulled over by the TPD about 10-15 times in the last year and a half and have never been given a ticket.

It's always a weird scene when seven or so guns are spread out on the attorney's table, all lined up like good little soldiers. As Ricky Sam Sisneros' trial got underway yesterday, the table was littered with rifles and pistols. However, one was missing, which left the attorneys and investigating officer scrambling around at the end of the day trying to find out what happened to the assualt rifle between Sisneros' last trial and this one. It was eventually found in the court's storage room.

Not available last night, but known now, is Sisneros' criminal history. He has three strikes for shooting at an inhabited dwelling, assault with a deadly weapon and residential burglary, according to prosecutors. He also has convictions for possession of a controlled substance and weapons charges.

The hold-out juror in his last trial, by the way, reported to the judge that her car was vandalized in the court parking lot during the trial. While it's never been proven if the vandalism was linked to her role in the trial, the situation prompted Deputy District Attorney Jeff Stodel to ask for extra security in and around the courtroom for this trial. Judge Steven Van Sicklen, though, refused the request.

Van Sicklen's kind of the new guy on the bench at the Torrance Courthouse. However, he already won the heart of one juror when, during a lull in the proceedings, he asked the panel: "For those jurors who watch TV, who do you think is going to win tonight?" A couple wondered aloud what he was talking about - maybe the Dodgers? Until a young woman in the front row asked excitedly: "Are you talking about 'So You Think You Can Dance?'" Then, they shared a very nice moment.