April 2010 Archives

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A Mt. Baldy man convicted of sexually abusing his ex-girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter was sentenced this afternoon to 180 years to life in prison.

Gabriel Jimenez Garcia, 42, was convicted by a jury in February of 12 counts of continuous sexual abuse of a minor. Prosecutors accused Garcia of raping the Montclair girl two or three times a month for a full year in 2007 and 2008.

Each of the 12 counts carries a sentence of 15 years to life, and Judge Stephan G. Saleson opted today to run each prison term back-to-back, bringing the total sentence to 180 years to life, said Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss.

The girl testified in a preliminary hearing last year that Garcia, a former cook at the Mt. Baldy Lodge, would visit her home every Tuesday to see the twins he fathered with the girl's mother.

When the girl's mother picked up her other children from school each afternoon, the girl and Garcia would be alone in the house and he would often force her to have sex, the girl testified.

Garcia's defense attorney, Robert Von Schlichting, said in West Valley Superior Court today that he would appeal Garcia's case, Schmauss said.

LOS ANGELES - An Oct. 4 trial date was set this morning for an Ontario man whose attempted murder conviction was overturned on appeal.

It's been eight months since a federal judge threw out Rafael Madrigal's conviction, citing evidence that indicates the 34-year-old was innocent of the crime for which he was imprisoned for nearly a decade.

Since Madrigal's release on bail in October, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has reviewed evidence and re-interviewed witnesses in preparation for a possible retrial, Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila told a judge this morning.

When asked after the hearing whether prosecutors have made a firm decision to bring Madrigal's case to trial, Avila was noncommittal. "We're evaluating the case as we proceed," he said.

Madrigal's conviction for a 2000 gang shooting in East Los Angeles was based largely on two witnesses who identified Madrigal as the shooter in photos shown to them by Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives.

But according to Madrigal and several of his co-workers, the married father of three children was at work in Rancho Cucamonga until a half hour after the shooting.

In an October order granting bail for Madrigal, U.S. Magistrate Judge Marc L. Goldman faulted Madrigal's original defense attorney for failing to adequately present Madrigal's alibi during his trial.

During this morning's hearing in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, attorneys discussed with Judge Curtis B. Rappe the progress they've made in preparing for trial.

Avila said he's handed over 800 pages of discovery - such as police reports - to Madrigal's three-attorney defense team.

The defense is also seeking reports from the prosecution about a shooting in the 1990s that the defense believes can help prove the actual identity of the shooter in Madrigal's case.

Rappe scheduled a May 24 hearing to rule whether the prosecution must hand over evidence in the prior shooting.

Rappe said he wanted the case to come to trial quickly, so that if Madrigal is acquitted he can move on with his life. And if he is acquitted, prosecutors could then begin work investigating the identity of the actual shooter.

"I think Mr. Madrigal, whether he's innocent or guilty, deserves a swift resolution to this," Rappe said. "... It's been under this cloud for years now."

Rappe, citing the seriousness of the charges Madrigal faces, denied a request by Madrigal's defense to eliminate electronic monitoring as a condition of Madrigal's release on bail.

Madrigal, who is fitted with a GPS-tracking device on his ankle, spends half his income paying for the monitoring program, one of his attorneys, Melanie Natasha Henry, told the judge.

The monitoring condition also prohibits Madrigal from many activities, such having dinner with his wife at a restaurant, "that he has already missed all those years in prison," Henry told the judge.

Rappe said he might reconsider his ruling once there is a firm trial date for Madrigal's case.

CHINO -- Miguel Ramos' wife had left him, and rumors spread in the city that she left because she'd had an affair with another man and was pregnant with his child.

So on May 10, 2008, Ramos took revenge by shooting and killing his wife's alleged lover -- 25-year-old Valentin Barria, Ramos' cousin.

That's what jurors heard this afternoon in a prosecutor's opening statement during Ramos' murder trial in Chino Superior Court.

Deputy District Attorney Anil Kaushal spent nearly half and hour detailing evidence linking Ramos, 29, of Chino, to Barria's killing at a party on Fifth Street.

"(Ramos) was enraged at (Barria)," Kaushal told jurors. "He blamed him for many things. ... Whether it was jealousy or pure anger, that will be for you to decide."

Ramos' defense attorney declined to give an opening statement. Judge Gerard S. Brown told jurors Ramos' attorney will speak at the start of the defense portion of the trial.

The night of Barria's killing, several witnesses watched Barria greet Ramos outside the party -- a girl's quinceañera or confirmation celebration -- and hand him a beer, Kaushal said.

Ramos opened the beer, took a sip, and set it down. He told Barria, "You owe me something," then took out a revolver and opened fire on his cousin, Kaushal said.

Ramos shot Barria four times -- with three shots to Barria's chest and a defensive wound to his hand. After Barria fell to the ground, Ramos shot him in the head, Kaushal said.

Immediately after the killing, Ramos drove to Orange County, where his parents and other relatives live, Kaushal said.

Chino police detectives arrested him about a week later at a home in Stanton where he had rented a room for $200 to $300 a month, Kaushal said.

After his arrest Ramos confessed to killing his cousin. When asked how he felt about Barria's killing, Ramos said he was both relieved and sad, Kaushal said.

According to Kaushal, Ramos told told detectives he purchased a loaded revolver for $100 at a swap meet in Pomona.

"He planned the killing, knew exactly how he was going to do it, knew exactly where he was going to do it," Kaushal said.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Testimony ended this morning in the trial of a former Upland elementary school teacher accused of molesting students, with defense attorneys calling their final witnesses in West Valley Superior Court.

Today's defense testimony appeared designed to undermine claims by two alleged victims that their teacher, 43-year-old James Andrew Megaw, touched them sexually or made lewd comments.

Megaw's trial will next be in session Monday, when attorneys in the case are scheduled to give closing arguments to a jury of six men and six women. After closing arguments, jurors will begin deliberating.

Megaw, of Rancho Cucamonga, is charged with four felonies for allegedly committing lewd acts with students at Valencia Elementary School in Upland.

Six of Megaw's former students detailed abuse claims during the trial -- three from Megaw's 2008-2009 class, one from three years ago, and two from Megaw's classes nearly a decade ago.

The students' accusations vary. Some said Megaw rubbed their genitals through their clothing during class time, while others said he pressed their hands to the crotch area of his pants.

The school's custodian took the witness stand today to undermine testimony last week by a former student that Megaw made a sexually suggestive comment to him as both stood at side-by-side urinals in a school bathroom.

The custodian, Royl Kneezle, testified that there is only one urinal in each school bathroom. And he said it's always been that way in the 26 years he's worked at the school.

Jurors were shown photos in court of one of the school bathrooms. There were nearly 6-foot-high partitions on either side of the urinal.

Megaw's defense also sought to undermine the credibility of a girl who testified last week that Megaw held her hand during class hours and forced it near the crotch area of his pants.

When the girl was interviewed at the San Bernardino County Department of Children's Services, she said she saw Megaw touch some of her classmates, and she named several girls as alleged victims, according to testimony by Forensic Interview Specialist Kim Lowenberg.

One of the girls named by the alleged victim testified today, and denied that Megaw ever touched her. The girl also said she never saw Megaw touch the alleged victim.

CHINO -- An alleged marijuana dealer accused of shooting a customer in a robbery attempt was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Wednesday after pleading no contest to criminal charges.

Prosecutors accused Christopher O, 20, of luring the victim to the Chino Spectrum shopping center with a promise of drugs, and instead shooting the man twice as he tried to rob him.

The alleged victim in the Nov. 4 incident was shot in the thigh and ankle, and suffered a fractured bone and severed artery.

O, of Ontario, pleaded no contest to attempted robbery in a plea agreement with prosecutors in Chino Superior Court. Judge Gerard S. Brown sentenced O to seven years and four months in prison.

O was initially charged with attempted murder and attempted robbery in the case, but in exchange for his plea prosecutors agreed to dismiss the attempted murder count.

About two hours before the shooting, O sent a text message to his girlfriend complaining that he'd lost money at a casino the night before, and planned to "jack somebody," according to police reports attached to O's court file.

According to the report, O met the alleged victim at about 3:45 p.m. in a parking lot near Mimi's Cafe.

About a minute after O entered the buyer's parked car, O allegedly said, "Sorry man, you're getting jacked," and pulled out a pistol.

The men then struggled over control of the gun, and O allegedly opened fire, the report says.

The men left the car and continued to fight for control of the gun. The weapon dropped to the ground and O fled, the report says.

Chino police officers arrested O that night near his home in the 3200 block of Stallion Street, and the alleged victim identified him as the shooter.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- In the second day of defense testimony today in a former elementary school teacher's molestation trial, colleagues, former students and their parents took the witness stand and said they never saw James Andrew Megaw sexually abuse students.

"I feel he's innocent," testified Karen Tanner, one of Megaw's former colleagues at Valencia Elementary School in Upland.

Megaw, 43, is charged with four felonies for allegedly touching students' genitals in his class of second- and third-graders.

Megaw's defense team contends one of the alleged victims lied about the abuse, while other children are mistaken.

Most of the alleged victims were students in Megaw's 2008-2009 class.

This afternoon in West Valley Superior Court, several people who observed Megaw's class that year testified that they never saw any abuse take place.

Renee Noble said she taught in the classroom next to Megaw's, and the two classrooms were connected by an adjoining door.

"Those doors can't be locked," Noble testified. "They don't have locks on them."

Noble testified that she often visited Megaw's class, and she never knocked or asked permission before entering.

She said she never saw Megaw, of Rancho Cucamonga, have inappropriate contact with students.

Under cross-examination by Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson, Noble said she typically spent less than one percent of the school day in Megaw's classroom.

Besides Noble and Tanner -- whose son was in Megaw's class five years ago -- another teacher and class volunteer also said they never saw Megaw abuse students.

Tanner's son, an eighth grade student at Pioneer Junior High School, testified that he never say Megaw abuse students.

The final defense witness today was a girl who was in Megaw's 2008-2009 class. The girl testified about an episode involving one of Megaw's alleged victims that's central in Megaw's defense.

The girl said she saw a boy in her class pass a note to his friend. A substitute teacher found the note, and the principal was called to the class as if the boys were in trouble.

That night, the boy who passed the note told his parents Megaw had been molesting him since the first week of the school year.

Megaw's defense attorneys allege the boy concocted the abuse allegation to avoid punishment for the note, which contained curse words.

Testimony in Megaw's trial is set to continue Thursday morning.

POMONA -- A 17-year-old boy was convicted of murder this afternoon in the death of 24-year-old Miguel Martin, who was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Mission Avenue market.

Jose Luis Gutierrez was charged as an adult in the case, and he faces 40 years to life in prison when sentenced May 24 for second-degree murder, said Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd.

A jury of eight women and four men deliberated for three days in Pomona Superior Court before reaching their verdict, Dodd said.

"I think it's appropriate," Dodd said of the verdict.

Prosecutors said Gutierrez may have been motivated to kill Martin on Dec. 5, 2008 in retailiation for a previous dispute between Martin and two of Gutierrez's friends.

A convicted accessory in the case, Albert Matthew Sandoval, testified during Gutierrez's trial that he and Gutierrez were together during Martin's killing.

Sandoval testified that Gutierrez left Sandoval's car, which was parked on the south side of Mission, and ran across the street to Guadalajara Market, in the 1100 block of West Mission.

Sandoval testified that he saw people scatter in the market's parking lot, and then Gutierrez ran back to his car holding a handgun. An eyewitness to the shooting also identified Gutierrez as the possible shooter.

During the defense portion of the case, two of Gutierrez relatives provided an alibi for him. Gutierrez's aunt and cousin testified that Gutierrez was visiting their home -- about a mile away from the market -- when Martin, of Pomona, was shot.

POMONA - The accused getaway driver in the shooting death of barber Larry Hammett was sentenced this morning to 11 years in state prison.

Breeana Finley's sentencing in Pomona Superior Court came after Judge Bruce F. Marrs rejected a request by the Los Angeles woman to back out of a plea bargain she struck with prosecutors.

Finley, 21, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in February in the death of Hammett, 46, who was shot and killed July 27, 2008 at the Groom Time barbershop in Pomona in what prosecutors alleged was a robbery.

Though she pleaded no contest in the case, Finley maintained she was innocent and knew nothing of the shooting and alleged robbery either before or after it occurred.

She made a motion to withdraw her plea after a jury in March convicted Hammet's shooter, Omari Ali, of voluntary manslaughter, and acquitted an alleged accomplice, Keyon Rasheed Hill.

In denying Finley's motion to withdraw her plea, Marrs said Finley was suffering "buyer's remorse" following the jury's verdicts.

"A plea should not be withdrawn because a defendant changes her mind," Marrs said.

In her trial testimony, Finley said she traveled to Pomona with Ali and Hill to look at apartments in the city. She was pregnant by Ali, her boyfriend, and the couple wanted to have their own home before the child was born, Finley testified.

She said she drove Ali and Hill to Groom Time, 924 E. Holt Ave., because Ali said he wanted to purchase marijuana from Hammett, who sold the drug out of a back office at the barbershop.

Ali said in his testimony that Hammett was the aggressor in the incident that led to his death.

Ali testified that Hammett threatened him with a gun after Ali declined to purchase his marijuana. Ali said he feared for his life, so he grabbed the gun from Hammett and shot at him indiscriminately, hitting him seven times.

Finley maintained in her trial testimony that she drove Ali and Hill back to Los Angeles afterward knowing nothing of the shooting.

Finley's attorney, Duane Dade, said in court that Finley was urged to take the plea bargain by her father to avoid a life sentence. But she always claimed she was innocent, and was crying when she pleaded no contest Feb. 11, Dade said.

Deputy District Attorney Ian Phan told Marrs that Finley's decision to enter into a plea bargain was a "calculated move" motivated by worry that she'd be convicted at trial and face a longer sentence.

But Finley "sees Hill's been acquitted, and she wants to change her mind," Phan said.

As Finley was led out of court, handcuffed and shackled and wearing blue jail scrubs, she turned to her attorney said, "You just ruined my life, you know that?"

From the audience, Finley's father said, "You'll get through it."

POMONA -- A man accused of shooting and killing someone to avenge his brother's death pleaded not guilty this morning to murder.

Prosecutors accuse Joel Martin, 23, of shooting and killing Carlos Espinoza on Feb. 4, 2009 because he believed Espinoza was involved in the killing of Martin's brother, 24-year-old Miguel Martin.

Joel Martin pleaded not guilty this morning in Pomona Superior Court, and is next scheduled to appear in court May 13 for a preliminary hearing, said Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd.

At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors must present evidence -- typically through testimony -- for a case to proceed to trial.

Joel Martin allegedly shot and killed Espinoza at a bus stop in the area of Mission Boulevard and Buena Vista Avenue in Pomona -- about a block east of where Miguel Martin was shot and killed two months earlier.

The murder case of Miguel Martin's alleged shooter, 17-year-old Jose Luis Gutierrez, is currently in trial. A jury started its third day of deliberations in the case this morning.

Pictured: Ivory seized from Chau's doughnut shop in Claremont (photo courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office).

LOS ANGELES -- A Claremont doughnut shop owner has pleaded guilty to charges that he illegally purchased ivory from endangered African elephants on eBay.

Moun Chau, 50, will face up to five years in federal prison and up to $250,000 in fines when he is sentenced Oct. 18 in Los Angeles federal court.

Chau, who owns Pixie Donuts in Claremont and lives in Montclair, pleaded guilty April 8 to one count of importing ivory in part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors accused Chau of conspiring with a seller in Thailand between May and November 2006 to import endangered African elephant tusks.

Chau allegedly purchased ivory though eBay, a popular auction website, from Samark Chokchoyma, who would allegedly ship the goods to Chau in disguised packages, including one shipment that Chokchoyma described in a customs declaration as a gift containing toys.

Chau imported about about $2,750 worth of ivory in the course of the conspiracy, prosecutors allege. Chokchoyma has been arrested in Thailand in connection with the alleged scheme and faces criminal charges there.

A woman working at the doughnut shop told a reporter today that Chau wasn't there, and Chau did not respond to a request for comment. The doughnut maker has been free on $5,000 bail since his March arraignment.

In exchange for Chau's guilty plea, federal prosecutors have agreed to drop a conspiracy charge against him, as well as recommend leniency in his sentencing, according to the plea agreement filed March 24.

Pictured (L-R): Orban and Jelinek.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Attorneys for two law enforcement officers charged in the alleged kidnap and rape of a woman at Ontario Mills are set to argue before a judge Wednesday morning that bail should be lowered for the two men.

Anthony Nicholas Orban, 30, and Jeff Thomas Jelinek, 31, have been jailed in lieu of $2 million bail since they were charged in the alleged rape.

Orban, a Westminster police detective, is accused of kidnapping a 25-year-old waitress at gunpoint in the mall parking lot April 3, then raping her for at least an hour in the parking lot of a Fontana shopping center.

Prosecutors accuse Jelinek, a state corrections officer assigned to the California Institution for Men in Chino, of watching Orban kidnap the woman in daylight, and later picking up the detective after the alleged rape.

In a written motion filed last week, Jelinek's attorneys ask Judge Michael Libutti to lower Jelinek's bail to $500,000 or allow Jelinek to go free on his "own recognizance" -- meaning he would be released from custody with a promise to appear in court.

At the men's April 7 arraignment in West Valley Superior Court, Orban's attorney, James E. Blatt, asked Libutti to lower Orban's bail to $1 million.

Deputy District Attorney Debbie Ploghaus said this afternoon that she will oppose the request for reduced bail.

The prosecutor called Jelinek's request to be released on his own recognizance "completely unreasonable" considering how serious the allegations are in the case.

The alleged victim told police that Orban, of Irvine, beat her during the alleged rape, threatened to kill her several times, and put the barrel his service pistol in her mouth.

Orban also allegedly took photos of the assault with his cell phone and sent them to Jelinek, his childhood friend, according to a police report attached to the men's court file.

In Jelinek's motion for reduced bail, his attorneys argue that Orban and Jelinek "played vastly different roles" in the alleged crime. Jelinek, the attorneys note, did not threaten the woman or take part in the alleged rape.

In support of their request, the attorneys note Jelinek's lack of a criminal history, as well as the support he's received from family, friends and his girlfriend.

If released on bail or his own recognizance, Jelinek, of Ontario, would agree to be fitted with a GPS tracking device and be monitored for alcohol intake, the attorneys said.

Ploghaus, when asked her reaction to claims by Jelinek's attorneys that his role in the alleged crime was less than Orban's, said: "To a certain degree they have a point, however I think that doesn't relieve him ... of his part that he did play."

Jelinek was born in Southern California and has lived in the region his entire life, according to the motion filed by his attorneys.

He graduated from Arroyo High School in El Monte, and after graduating worked for eight years at Sam's Club in the city, the motion says.

He left his job at Sam's Club after he was hired as a corrections officer, a job that pays him a yearly salary of just under $57,000, the motion says.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A transient convicted of breaking into lockers at local gyms has been sentenced to more than six years in state prison.

Randy Alan Larkins, 41, was convicted of 10 felonies last month in connection with five burglaries since September 2008 at gyms in Upland, Montclair, Rancho Cucamonga and San Bernardino.

Judge Stephan G. Saleson sentenced Larkins in West Valley Superior Court on Friday to six years and four months in prison.

FONTANA -- A former Fontana High School student convicted of hitting a classmate in the head with a hammer has been sentenced to seven years to life in prison.

Jose Quintero, 19, was sentenced Monday in Fontana Superior Court by Judge Dwight W. Moore. Quintero pleaded no contest to attempted murder March 25 as part of a plea bargain.

Prosecutors accused Quintero of attacking a romantic rival Dec. 11, 2007 in his high school woodshop class. At the time, both Quintero and his alleged victim were 17.

The morning of the hammer attack, Quintero allegedly asked the woodshop teacher what the penalties were for murder.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A former elementary school teacher on trial for allegedly molesting students had his first opportunity today to call witnesses in his defense.

Attorneys for James Andrew Megaw, 43, called seven character witnesses in West Valley Superior Court, including two retired teachers, Megaw's pastor, as well as three former students and their mother.

Prosecutors rested this morning after drawing testimony in Megaw's trial from six children who accuse the former Valencia Elementary School teacher of touching them sexually in class.

Megaw, the former head of Upland's teacher's union, is charged with four felonies in the case. He, along with the Upland Unified School District, is also the target of a civil lawsuit brought by the alleged victims.

The character witnesses who testified today said they never saw Megaw, of Rancho Cucamonga, molest children, nor did they ever hear any children complain of touching by Megaw.

The witnesses said Megaw never locked his classroom door during school hours, and one teacher who worked closely with Megaw said Megaw had a personal policy of never being alone with students in small numbers.

"I can't see any way that he could do it. I just don't," said Ron Thomas, pastor of Mt. Baldy Village Church, where Megaw has been a member since 2004.

"I would trust him with my grandchildren," Thomas testified.

The children who accuse Megaw of molesting them told of multiple techniques the teacher allegedly used in the alleged touching.

Some students said Megaw would rub their genitals through their clothing when they would walk up to his desk seeking help on classwork. Others said he touched them when he would come to their desk when they raised their hand seeking assistance in class.

Some of the students said Megaw would press their hands to the genital area of his pants, while others said Megaw would touch himself while touching them.

The behavior described in those alleged acts was directly at odds with Megaw's conduct as described by the character witnesses who testified today.

"It's inconsistent with anything I ever saw him do," said Catherine Norell, a teacher who worked with Megaw and who described herself as a "family friend."

"I've been with him a lot and I've never seen any of this occur," Norell said.

Tammi Strasen and her three sons -- who all had Megaw as a teacher -- supported Thomas and Norell's testimony.

Strasen said she often volunteered in Megaw's class, and often observed him interact with students. She said she never saw any inappropriate behavior by Megaw.

"Would you still have him teach your children?" Megaw's attorney, Leonard Levine, asked Strasen on the witness stand.

"Yes, I would," she responded.

In his opening statements to jurors, Levine said the first child in Megaw's 2008-2009 class to make abuse allegations did so to distract attention from a note he claims the boy wrote and feared would lead to punishment.

After the boy came forward, school and police officials sent letters to parents of Megaw's students describing the alleged abuse. After the letter was sent, additional children made allegations.

Megaw's defense contends that the later allegations were prompted by the letter and are false -- a result of dishonesty or false memory.

In his trial testimony, the boy said he found the note, which contained curse words, on the playground and did not fear he'd be punished.

The boy's best friend testified today that he saw the alleged victim pick the note off the ground at the school's playground.

Megaw's defense has also faulted police interview techniques, with Levine implying in his questioning today of Upland police Detective William Chani that one girl detailed abuse allegations only after her mother entered a police interview room and demonstrated sexual touching.

Testimony in Megaw's trial is scheduled to resume Wednesday.

INDIO -- A mistrial was declared this afternoon after jurors deadlocked in the trial of an off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy accused of holding a gun to a man's head in an alleged fit of road rage.

Richard Charles Heverly, 43, of La Verne, was accused of threatening to kill a tow truck driver in 2008 who blocked lanes on the 10 Freeway to divert traffic around a burning big-rig truck.

Jurors deliberated for about six hours in Indio Superior Court before announcing they were deadlocked. Judge Stephen Gallon declared a mistrial, then scheduled a trial readiness hearing for May 4.

Prosecutors accused Heverly, who is assigned to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, of confronting the tow truck driver on Aug. 10, 2008 after encountering the accident scene about 50 miles east of Indio.

According to the tow truck driver, Roger Gilstrap of Blythe, Heverly flashed his badge, said it entitled him to "do whatever the (expletive) I want," then ordered Gilstrap to move his truck.

Gilstrap refused Heverly's demands, and told Heverly he was on the phone with the California Highway Patrol.

When Gilstrap refused further demands from Heverly, the off-duty sheriff's deputy allegedly handcuffed the driver, drilled the barrel of his pistol into Gilstrap's ear, and said he would kill him.

After Heverly was arrested for the alleged threats, he told CHP officers that he felt threatened by Gilstrap, according to testimony from a CHP officer in Heverly's preliminary hearing.

WEST COVINA -- A high-ranking Los Angeles city official who lives in Claremont was charged today with misdemeanor drunken driving.

Miguel Santana, 40, is scheduled to be arraigned May 25 in West Covina Superior Court, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Santana is Los Angeles' city administrative officer.

Santana was driving home a charity event for Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley March 26 when he was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers in Covina on suspicion of drunken driving.

Santana reportedly failed field sobriety tests, and his blood alcohol level was measured at "0.15 percent or higher," according to the news release.

A reputed gang member was charged with attempted extortion this week for allegedly demanding a Chino Hills parolee either participate in gang activity or pay him $1,000.

Ruben Johnny Gonzales, a 56-year-old alleged Chino Sinners gang member, is accused of meeting the alleged victim at a Pomona parole office, then stalking the man's apartment demanding payment.

In a note left at the man's home, Gonzales allegedly wrote, "I don't want to play games. So don't play with me!!!"

Gonzales was arrested outside the alleged victim's home April 16 by San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputies. Prosecutors charged him Tuesday with attempted extortion and street terrorism.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is next due in court Wednesday. He remained jailed in lieu of $300,000 bail Friday at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

According to an investigative report obtained today, the alleged victim in the case recently moved to Chino Hills from Arizona, where the 38-year-old was imprisoned for burglary.

As part of his parole program, the alleged victim was enrolled in drug treatment classes at a parole office in Pomona.

While attending a treatment course in late March, the alleged victim was asked by another parolee in the program where he lived.

After the conversation ended, Gonzales approached the alleged victim and told him he overheard him say he lives in Chino, according to the report. The man told Gonzales he lived in Chino Hills, not Chino.

Gonzales then allegedly said that because the man lived within Chino Sinners gang territory, he had to "play or pay," meaning participate in gang activity or pay the gang $1,000.

The alleged victim told Gonzales he wasn't a gang member and dismissed his demand, and "did not think much of it at the time," the report says.

On April 13, while the alleged victim as attending drug treatment class in Pomona, Gonzales allegedly visited the man's apartment in Chino Hills.

The alleged victim's girlfriend was home at the time, and she told sheriff's investigators a man knocked on the door but she didn't answer.After the man left, she found the note demanding payment allegedly written by Gonzales.

Three days later, Gonzales and two other men came to the alleged victim's home and tried to collect the $1,000.

The alleged victim called the Sheriff's Department and the three men were arrested at the scene, though prosecutors have filed charges only against Gonzales.

After his arrest Gonzales admitted to a sheriff's investigator that he left the note at the alleged victim's home, the report says.

When the investigator asked Gonzales whether he was "charging" the alleged victim $1,000 for living in Chino Sinners gang territory, Gonzales reportedly responded, "Come on, you know I'm screwed no matter what I tell you."

"You do what you gotta do," he added. "I'm done."

A computer instructor at Garey High School in Pomona has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to choke his estranged wife to death.

Augustine Anene, 53, allegedly sneaked into his wife's Fontana home last month and attacked her as she slept in the middle of the night, according to a police report obtained today.

One of the couple's four children heard the alleged attack from another bedroom and intervened, allowing Anene's wife to flee and call police at a neighbor's home.

Police arrested Anene in his wife's bedroom. He has remained jailed in lieu of $1.2 million bail since the alleged March 29 attack.

Anene resigned from his job this week after working 18 years at the Pomona Unified School District, said district spokesman Tim McGillivray.

Anene moved to the United States from Nigeria 22 years ago, and has been married to the alleged victim for 19 years.

Anene's wife told police she filed for divorce in December after a "long history" of unreported domestic violence. She also obtained a restraining order against Anene, who after the separation moved into an apartment in Upland.

It appears Anene may have completed extensive planing prior to the alleged attack in the 17500 block of Firethorn Road.

Anene's wife told police her husband sneaked into the family's home and likely hid in her bedroom closet.

One of the couple's sons told police he heard noises coming from his mother's bedroom about five hours before the alleged attack.

Anene's wife told police she went to bed at about 10 p.m. March 28. She was awakened just after midnight by her husband strangling her, she told police.

As her husband allegedly choked her and repeatedly punched her in the face, the alleged victim said she was able to scream for help.

The woman "said she was trying to breathe, and remembers thinking she was 'going to die,' when she heard her boys trying to get into her room," the police report says.

One of the couple's sons kicked open the bedroom door -- which had been locked -- and forced his father off his mother. He held Anene down until police arrived.

With her husband thrown off her, the alleged victim ran from the room and looked for a telephone to call police.

She later told police she couldn't find any of the phones where they're usually kept, possibly because Anene hid them before the incident.

After Anene was arrested, police found a yellow crow bar in Anene's wife's bed.

They also found Anene's car parked about three blocks away from the home. The car's license plates had been removed, possibly "to conceal his vehicle being at the location," according to the police report.

Anene has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, burglary, false imprisonment, and a misdemeanor filed for allegedly violating a restraining order.

He is next due May 3 in Fontana Superior Court.

View Garey High School in a larger map

INDIO -- Jurors began deliberating this afternoon in the trial of an off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy accused of holding a gun to a man's head in a fit of alleged road rage.

Court records show jurors deliberated for about two hours without reaching a verdict in the Indio Superior Court trial of Richard Heverly.

The jury is scheduled to resume deliberations Monday morning.

Heverly, 43, of La Verne, is charged with four felonies for allegedly threatening to kill a tow-truck driver who blocked traffic on the 10 Freeway about 50 miles east of Indio.

The sheriff's deputy was in traffic during the August 2008 incident, and he allegedly threatened the driver after the Blythe man refused to move his tow truck to allow traffic to pass.

Heverly was hired by the Sheriff's Department in 2006, and is assigned to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

POMONA - Jose Luis Gutierrez couldn't have shot and killed Miguel Martin, because the 17-year-old was at his aunt's house at the time of Dec. 5, 2008 shooting, according to testimony today from two of his relatives.

Gutierrez's aunt and cousin testified in Pomona Superior Court that Gutierrez came over to their Palomares Street home at about 2:30 p.m. and didn't leave until after 6.

"They said my cousin was there at the shooting or something, but he was there with me," testified Juan Ramos, Gutierrez's cousin.

Prosecutors accuse Gutierrez of shooting Martin, 24, at about 4:45 p.m. in the parking lot of Guadalajara Market, 1134. W. Mission Blvd. in Pomona.

A convicted accessory testified in Gutierrez's murder trial this week that Gutierrez, of Pomona, was the shooter.

And in his cross-examination of Gutierrez's alibi witnesses, Gutierrez's prosecutor seemed to find inconsistencies between their stories and Gutierrez's statements to police.

At one point in Juan Ramos' testimony, Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd confronted him with an apparent inconsistency in his story.

When Ramos corrected himself, Dodd responded by asking Ramos whether his testimony was rehearsed.

"Is that what you and your mother discussed?" the prosecutor said.

"No," Ramos said. "I was mistaken."

Today was the final day of testimony in Gutierrez's murder trial. Attorneys are scheduled to give closing arguments Monday, and when the arguments are completed a jury of eight women and four men will begin deliberations.

Gutierrez's aunt testified that when she returned home at about 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 5, 2008 from picking up her kids and grandkids from school, Gutierrez was in her front yard.

Gutierrez's cousin testified that he and Gutierrez spent the next few hours playing video games and watching a movie. Gutierrez didn't leave the home until 6, when he left with his aunt to pick up dinner, Gutierrez's relatives testified.

"He was with me all day," Juan Ramos testified.

Meanwhile, about a mile away from Gutierrez's relatives' home, Martin, of Pomona, was shot several times in the Guadalajara Market parking lot, where police found him unresponsive.

Besides testimony from the alleged accessory, Albert Matthew Sandoval, identifying Gutierrez as the shooter, a person who witnessed the shooting identified Gutierrez as the possible gunman when shown his picture.

Police found bullet casings after the shooting in the bedroom Gutierrez often shared with his cousin.

In testimony this morning, Gutierrez's cousin and aunt said the bullet casings may have belonged to another one of Gutierrez's cousins, who had slept in a half-bedroom and kept many of his belongings in the room where the bullets casings were found. He was incarcerated at the time of Martin's killing.

Gutierrez's aunt, cousin and mother testified that Gutierrez spent the night at his aunt's home the day of the shooting.

But when Gutierrez was arrested, he told police he slept over at his mother's home, according to testimony this afternoon by Pomona police Detective Mark McCann.

POMONA -- A convicted accomplice in a Mission Boulevard killing took the witness stand this week in the murder trial of a man accused of shooting Miguel Martin, 24.

Albert Matthew Sandoval testified Tuesday that he was putting himself in danger for identifying 17-year-old Jose Luis Gutierrez as Martin's killer.

Cooperating with authorities is against the "code" of his Pomona neighborhood, and he initially lied to police about the December 2008 shooting, Sandoval said.

But facing a life sentence if convicted of murder, Sandoval, 22, said he opted to cooperate with authorities in exchange for leniency.

"I wasn't just hurting myself," said Sandoval, who last month struck a plea bargain with prosecutors that carries a three-year prison sentence. "I was hurting my family."

After jurors heard testimony Tuesday afternoon from Sandoval and three police officers, the prosecution rested its case against Gutierrez, said Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd.

Gutierrez's defense attorney will have an opportunity to call witnesses Thursday in Pomona Superior Court, and afterward attorneys will give closing arguments, Dodd said.

Shortly before dusk on Dec. 5, 2008, Sandoval sat in the driver's seat of his parked car in the 1100 block of West Mission as his friend Gutierrez, of Pomona, went to the nearby Guadalajara Market.

Sandoval testified that he heard gunshots and saw muzzle flashes come from the market's parking lot, and saw people scatter from the area.

Gutierrez ran back to Sandoval's car and the two drove away. Martin, of Pomona, had been shot several times, and police found him lying unconscious in the parking lot, according to testimony Tuesday.

Sandoval testified that Gutierrez was the shooter in the incident, but he didn't know whether anyone had been shot until he was arrested the next day and police told him Martin was dead.

But Sandoval did know, according to his testimony, that Gutierrez believed Martin was among a group of people who had previously shot at Gutierrez and Sandoval's brother.

The earlier shooting was what motivated Gutierrez to kill Martin, Sandoval testified.

After Sandoval's testimony ended, Pomona police Detective Andrew Bebon testified that a witness to the shooting provided police three digits from Sandoval's license plate, and identified Gutierrez in a photo as Martin's possible killer.

Bebon also testified that police found bullet casings in a bedroom dresser at a house in Pomona where Gutierrez had been living.

About two months after Martin's death, his younger brother allegedly shot and killed Carlos Espinoza, who he believed was involved in the incident, according to prosecutors.

Joel Martin, 23, was extradited from to New Mexico last month, and is due in court next week to be arraigned on murder charges for the Pomona killing.

A 70-page transcript of Monday's argument in the U.S. Supreme Court case involving Ontario PD has been posted to the court's website.

Click here for background on the case.

Court takes up Ontario employees' privacy case

By MARK SHERMAN (AP)

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court appears likely to rule against public employees who claimed a local government violated their privacy by reading racy text messages they sent on their employers' account.

Several justices said today that the employer, the Ontario, Calif., police department, acted reasonably in monitoring the text messages in view of its written policy warning employees they have no guarantee of privacy in the use of office computer and electronics equipment.

Justice Stephen Breyer said he didn't see "anything, quite honestly, unreasonable about that."

While the case involves government workers, the decision could have broader privacy implications as courts continue to sort out privacy issues in the digital age. Many employers, including Ontario, tell workers there is no guarantee of privacy in anything sent over their company- or government-provided computers, cell phones or pagers.

The case arose when the Ontario department decided to audit text message usage to see whether its SWAT team officers were using them too often for personal reasons. Three police officers and another employee complained that the department improperly snooped on their electronic exchanges, including many that were said to be sexually explicit.

INDIO -- Attorneys are scheduled to resume closing arguments Thursday morning in the trial of an off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy accused holding a gun to a man's head in an alleged fit of road rage.

Richard Heverly, 43, is charged with four felonies for allegedly threatening to kill a tow-truck driver who blocked lanes on the 10 Freeway east of Indio to divert traffic around a burning freight truck.

Heverly was sitting in traffic when the driver blocked the roadway. He allegedly threatened to kill the driver after the driver refused to move his truck to open the blocked lanes.

Jurors will begin deliberations in Indio Superior Court after attorneys complete closing arguments.

In four days of testimony, prosecutors called six witnesses and Heverly's defense attorney called three. Heverly did not testify, according to court records.

Heverly, of La Verne, was hired by the sheriff's department in 2006 and is assigned to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

From our sister paper the San Gabriel Valley Tribune:

POMONA -- A man pleaded no contest this week to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter stemming from a crash that killed a 3-year-old girl who was walking with her father and 5-year-old sister outside a school in Diamond Bar in 2008.

Pomona Superior Court Judge Christian Gullon immediately sentenced Conrado Pantig Maglonzo, 69, on Monday to serve three years probation and perform 400 hours of community service at a hospital, said Shiara Davila-Morales of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Maglonzo also was ordered to pay restitution to Michelle Kwon's family. The amount will be determined at a future hearing, Davila-Morales said.

Authorities said the girl was struck by Maglonzo's Nissan Pathfinder when it went over a curb near Maple Hill Elementary School on Nov. 26, 2008. The toddler died about 24 hours later.

A Los Angeles County sheriff's sergeant said after the crash that the man was parking his vehicle as he was dropping his children off and lost control of the SUV.

Photo: Michael McKee and his girlfriend Julie Finneran (from MySpace).

POMONA - A man convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting death of 30-year-old Michael McKee was sentenced this afternoon to more than a century in prison.

Before Louis Wilson, 34, was sentenced in Pomona Superior Court, seven of McKee's family members and friends spoke in court, lamenting McKee's loss and blasting his alleged killer.

"I would have died for Michael," said McKee's sister, Catherine McKee. "I would have given anything to save him that night."

McKee was shot six times - with three bullets hitting his head - as he sat in his car on Dec. 6, 2008 in the 2500 block of South Virginia Avenue in Pomona.

During Wilson's trial last month, prosecutors accused him of targeting McKee, of Pomona, because he believed McKee molested his best friend's young daughter, and because McKee's girlfriend rebuffed his sexual advances.

One of McKee's family members said in court today that the molestation allegations, which police investigated without bringing charges, were false.

"We know Michael," Lance Townley said. "He genuinely cared for all children."

In his trial testimony, Wilson said he was with McKee during the shooting, but he denied he was responsible. He said a man he didn't recognize opened fire after shouting that he was avenging the alleged molestation by McKee.

One of Wilson's friends who attended his sentencing hearing said afterward that she believes Wilson is innocent.

"I think this is wrong," said Christina Salaz, who said she's known Wilson for 15 years. "I don't think he's that kind of person."

"They make him out to be like an animal or something," said Salaz, 31, of Rancho Cucamonga. "That's not him."

Prior to sentencing Wilson to 107 years to life in prison, Judge Robert Martinez told the frequent lawbreaker - he has served four prior prison terms - that Wilson has wasted his life due to his "disastrous" actions.

"Your bullet didn't stop at Michael McKee," Martinez said. "It continued and it injured multiple people. You wounded many."

Wilson's only statements in court came with Martinez asked him his age, and asked whether he had any children. Wilson said he had none.

Martinez told Wilson that because of McKee's killing, Wilson will never have the opportunity to become a father, to wed, or to see his children marry.

"All that you're going to miss because you blew it," Martinez said. "And why?"

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Testimony continued today in the trial a former Upland elementary school teacher accused of inappropriate sexual behavior toward students, with at least two children taking the witness stand to detail their allegations.

A 16-year-old boy testified that James Andrew Megaw, the 43-year-old former head of Upland's teachers union, stood beside him at a bathroom urinal and asked if the boy wanted to touch his genitals.

After the boy's testimony, a 10-year-old girl took the witness stand and said that when she was in Megaw's class at Valencia Elementary School from August to October 2008, he regularly rubbed her buttocks and genitals over her clothes.

In prior testimony, two other children made similar allegations against Megaw, who is charged with four felonies.

In his opening statement last week, Megaw's attorney told jurors the allegations against the former teacher were false.

Attorney Leonard Levine told jurors that Megaw was affectionate toward his students, and often gave them "high fives and pats on the back."

The 16-year-old boy, who is now a high school junior, testified this morning that he was in Megaw's class at Valencia for first and second grade.

During his second-grade year, when he was 8, the boy said Megaw followed him to a school bathroom and stood beside him as both were using urinals.

"He turned to me and asked me if I wanted to touch it," the boy testified.

The boy said he told his two older brothers about Megaw's alleged comment later that year, then remained silent about the episode until October 2008, when Upland police sent a letter revealing allegations against Megaw to parents of his current students.

The boy's younger brother was in Megaw's class that year, so his family received the letter, the boy testified.

His younger brother said Megaw hadn't touched him sexually, but the 16-year-old, when asked about Megaw by his father, disclosed the comment his former teacher allegedly made nearly a decade ago.

Under cross-examination by Megaw's attorney, the boy acknowledged he told police he didn't like Megaw because he would separate the boy and his friends when they talked too much in class.

The 10-year-old girl who testified today that she was in Megaw's class in the 2008-2009 school year.

The girl, who was 8 at the time, said Megaw would rub her buttocks and genitals when she would walk up to his desk seeking help on classwork.

She testified that Megaw first touched her the second day of school in August 2008, and continued regularly until he left the school two months later amid abuse allegations.

When asked why she continued to go up to Megaw's desk when he kept touching her the girl said: "I didn't know it would happen again, and I needed to ask questions."

The girl testified that she told her mother of the touching before her family received the letter from police about Megaw's alleged touching.

But during his cross-examination, Levine emphasized the timing of the girl's first visit to police - it didn't occur until after her family received the letter.

Several times during his cross-examination, Levine questioned whether the girl was being truthful in her accusations.

"Nothing bad had happened," Levine said to the girl. "Isn't that the truth?"

The girl responded by shaking her head back and forth.

Later, Levine asked, "He wasn't touching you in a bad way, was he?"

"Yes, he was," the girl responded.

Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson said that after the girl finished her testimony this afternoon, he planned to call as witnesses another alleged victim and the alleged victim's mother.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A pastor at a Bellflower church accused of marrying a woman while still legally wed to his estranged wife pleaded no contest today to felony bigamy charges.

Melvin Lynn Silas, a 55-year-old former Upland resident, reached a plea bargain with prosecutors in West Valley Superior Court that carries a 180-day jail sentence and three years of probation.

Silas, who now lives in Hawthorne, is scheduled to be sentenced May 27.

After Silas and his wife separated in August 2007 he asked her not to seek a divorce and she granted his request, the woman told San Bernardino County sheriff's investigators.

In April 2008, while still legally wed, the pastor of Church of the Great I Am married another woman in Las Vegas, according to investigative reports.

When Silas was arrested in January, he told detectives that his wife told him in early 2008 that their divorce would soon be finalized, so he believed he was divorced when he wed his new 51-year-old bride in Las Vegas.

In addition to his jail time - which he will be able to serve on weekends - Silas will be required to donate $500 to House of Ruth, a Claremont-based organization that assists battered women and children, said Deputy District Attorney Theodore J. Smith III.

INDIO -- The prosecution rested its case today in the trial of a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy accused of holding a gun to a man's head in an apparent fit of off-duty road rage.

Prosecutors called six witnesses in three days of testimony in Richard Heverly's trial in Indio Superior Court, court records show.

Heverly, 43, of La Verne, is accused of threatening to kill a tow-truck driver who blocked lanes to divert traffic around a burning big-rig on the 10 Freeway about 50 miles east on Indio.

Heverly, who is assigned to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, apparently became enraged after the tow-truck driver refused Heverly's demand that he move his truck.

After prosecutors rested, Heverly's defense attorney called three witnesses to testify, including expert witness Thomas Streed, according to court records.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- When the first-grader would raise her hand in class, James Andrew Megaw would come to her desk, squat beside her, and press her hand against his crotch.

That was the testimony this afternoon of a 15-year-old Arizona girl, one of several children who accuse former Valencia Elementary School teacher Megaw, 43, of touching them sexually.

The girl, a student in Megaw's class at the Upland school nearly 10 years ago before moving to Arizona, is the second child to testify so far in Megaw's trial in West Valley Superior Court.

The Prescott, Ariz. girl testified that the alleged abuse by Megaw's occurred "numerous times" during the school year. She said she couldn't remember the exact number of times Megaw touched her.

"He would come take my hand and put it over his genital area on his pants," the girl testified.

The girl testified that she would pull her hand away from Megaw, "but he'd just pull it back."

The girl said she didn't tell authorities of Megaw's alleged actions at the time because, as a first-grader, she said she believed that by touching her Megaw was being unfaithful to his wife.

The girl said she didn't want to split up Megaw's family by going public with her allegations. She said she also made a pact of silence with a girl in her class who also said Megaw abused her.

She first told her mother of Megaw's alleged abuse in third grade, the girl testified.

And in June 2008, during counseling sessions in Arizona, the girl told counselor Carol Kibbee of the alleged abuse.

Kibbee testified today that she reported the allegation to authorities.

The counseling session was prior to Megaw's arrest, and the girl said she hadn't heard of any recent abuse allegations against the teacher.

Kibbee also testified that she didn't know Megaw and hadn't heard of any allegations against him.

The timing of the girl's statements to her counselor undermines one of Megaw's defenses against the allegations -- that alleged victims came forward only after learning of the initial allegation in October 2008.

Last week, a 10-year-old boy took the witness stand and accused Megaw of rubbing his genitals when he would stand beside Megaw's desk seeking help with classwork.

Testimony in Megaw's trial is scheduled to continue Tuesday morning.

By MARK SHERMAN (AP)

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court appears likely to rule against public employees who claimed a local government violated their privacy by reading racy text messages they sent on their employers' account.

Several justices said today that the employer, the Ontario, Calif., police department, acted reasonably in monitoring the text messages in view of its written policy warning employees they have no guarantee of privacy in the use of office computer and electronics equipment.

Justice Stephen Breyer said he didn't see "anything, quite honestly, unreasonable about that."

While the case involves government workers, the decision could have broader privacy implications as courts continue to sort out privacy issues in the digital age. Many employers, including Ontario, tell workers there is no guarantee of privacy in anything sent over their company- or government-provided computers, cell phones or pagers.

The case arose when the Ontario department decided to audit text message usage to see whether its SWAT team officers were using them too often for personal reasons. Three police officers and another employee complained that the department improperly snooped on their electronic exchanges, including many that were said to be sexually explicit.

An Ontario police official had earlier informally told officers that no one would look further if officers personally paid for charges above a monthly allowance.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the informal policy was enough to give the officers a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their text messages and establish that their constitutional rights had been violated. The appeals court also faulted the text-messaging service for turning over transcripts of the messages without the officers' consent. The court declined to hear the appeal of USA Mobility Wireless, Inc., which bought the text-messaging service involved in the case.

The Obama administration is backing the city, arguing that the written policy, not any informal warning, is what matters. "The computer help desk cannot supplant the chief's desk. That simple, clear rule should have decided this case," Justice Department lawyer Neal Katyal said.

More broadly, Katyal said, the appeals court ruling calls into question policies put in place by governments across the country. "Thousands of employers rely on these policies, and millions of employees," he said.

The court could take a very narrow path out of the case. Because the employees involved are police officers, several justices said that their communications might be sought by defense lawyers in criminal cases.

"I mean, wouldn't you just assume that that whole universe of conversations by SWAT officers who were on duty 24/7 might well have to be reviewed by some member of the public or some of their superiors?" Justice John Paul Stevens said.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wondered whether the reason for looking at the messages mattered. "Let's assume that in this police department, everyone knew, the supervisors and everyone else, that the police department people spoke to their girlfriends at night," Sotomayor said. "And one of the chiefs, out of salacious interest, decides: I'm going to just go in and get those texts, those messages, because I just have a prurient interest."

It wouldn't matter, said Kent Richland, the city's lawyer, and Justice Antonin Scalia chimed that he agreed. "So when the filthy-minded police chief listens in, it's a very bad thing, but it's not offending your right of privacy. You expected somebody else could listen in, if not him," Scalia said.

Chief Justice John Roberts was alone in asking questions that suggested he would side with the officers. Roberts said the department might have allowed officers to black out any messages they were willing to pay for, providing an accurate picture of text message usage without compromising privacy.

The argument also displayed the limits on the justices' mastery of modern communications devices as Roberts tried to figure out the role of the text-messaging service in enabling an exchange between two people.

"I thought, you know, you push a button; it goes right to the other thing," Roberts said.

"You mean it doesn't go right to the other thing?" Scalia said.

A decision is expected later this year.

The case is City of Ontario v. Quon, 08-1332.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court appears likely to rule against public employees who claimed a local government violated their privacy by reading text messages they sent on their employers' account.

Several justices said Monday that the employer, the Ontario Police Department, acted reasonably in monitoring the text messages in view of its written policy warning employees they have no guarantee of privacy in the use of office computer and electronics equipment.

Justice Stephen Breyer said he didn't see "anything, quite honestly, unreasonable about that."

While the case involves government workers, the decision could have broader privacy implications. Many employers tell workers there is no guarantee of privacy in anything sent over their company- or government-provided computers, cell phones or pagers.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A 9-year-old boy who accuses the former head of Upland's teachers union of rubbing his genitals in class was cross-examined by the teacher's attorney for more than two hours today in West Valley Superior Court.

James Andrew Megaw, 43, is charged with four felonies for allegedly molesting students in his class of second- and third-graders at Valencia Elementary School.

In testimony today, the second day of testimony in Megaw's jury trial, defense attorney Leonard Levine pursued lines of questioning in his cross-examination of the boy that seemed designed to challenge his honesty and the reliability of his memory.

And while Levine exposed minor inconsistencies in the boy's statements since he first told his parents in October 2008 of Megaw's alleged abuse, the boy's descriptions of Megaw's alleged touching remained largely unchanged.

With his parents sitting in the courtroom audience, the boy testified that when he would go to Megaw's desk to ask for help with classwork, the teacher would rub the boy's genitals though his pants.

"He said, 'Do you like that?' And I thought he was asking about the question, so I said, 'Yes,'" the boy testified.

Sometimes, the boy testified, he would try to back away from Megaw during the alleged touching.

"But then he would grab my arm, pull me back, and start touching me again," the boy said.

Levine asked the boy why he continued going up to Megaw's desk if he was being sexually abused.

"I kept going up to his desk because every time I went up there I would think he would stop," the boy said.

The only other witness called to testify today was a woman whose 10-year-old daughter, a classmate of the boy who testified today, accused Megaw of rubbing her butt.

The woman said she brought her daughter to the Upland Police Department to report the alleged touching after she received a letter from the department alerting Valencia parents to abuse allegations.

But the woman testified that the girl first told her of the alleged touching -- which also allegedly occurred at Megaw's desk -- two weeks before she received the letter.

The woman said her family hired an civil attorney about three weeks after contacting police, and has filed a lawsuit against Megaw and the Upland Unified School District for the alleged abuse.

Testimony in Megaw's trial is scheduled to resume Monday afternoon.

In his cross-examination of the 9-year-old boy, Levine implied the boy concocted the allegations against Megaw to avoid punishment for being caught in class with a note that had sexually explicit language.

The note was found by a substitute teacher the day the boy told his parents of Megaw's alleged abuse, and the family was scheduled to return to Valencia later that day for "family night."

The boy denied he wrote the note, and said one of his friends found it in the playground. He also said the timing of his allegations weren't connected to the discovery of the note.

When asked by Levine why he didn't report the alleged touching sooner, the boy said, "I don't know how to answer that."

Levine sought to call the boy's memory into question by highlighting inconsistencies in the boy's statements about when the alleged abuse started.

In an initial interview with police, the boy reportedly said Megaw touched him the second day of school in August 2008, and continued three of four times a day each day thereafter until he reported the touching to his parents.

But in his testimony at a preliminary hearing a year ago, the boy said the abuse started on the ninth day of school, Levine said.

In his testimony today, the boy said he couldn't remember when the abuse started because so much time had passed since he first reported the touching.

"I don't know the date he started touching me, but I know it went on until I told my parents," the boy said.

Pictured (L-R): Joel Jaquez and Edward Cisneros

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A judge ruled today that two men must stand trial for murder and 12 other felonies for allegedly robbing a Papa John's restaurant in Chino last year and shooting at police when they arrived.

Joel Anthony Jaquez and Edward Ramon Cisneros, both 29, are charged with murder because a bystander was shot and killed by a Chino police corporal during the Feb. 1, 2009 alleged robbery.

In two days of testimony in West Valley Superior Court, nine law-enforcement officers detailed their investigation into the incident.

Jaquez, of Hacienda Heights, and Cisneros, of La Mirada, are accused of breaking into the Central Avenue pizzeria after 10 p.m., then robbing the manager at gunpoint.

A woman who witnessed two men force open the front doors of the restaurant called police, and when officers arrived Jaquez allegedly shot at them, touching off a gunbattle in which more than 100 rounds were fired.

A Chino police officer was shot in the arm during the shootout. Jaquez was shot 17 times -- including three times in the head -- and Cisneros was shot six times, with one shot to his head.

Two men were eating McDonald's food in a nearby parked car when the shooting began, and they attempted to flee the area.

As they walked quickly toward the back of the pizzeria they passed Chino police Cpl. Claudia Lisner, who said she believed the men may have been the robbery suspects.

She shot one of the men in the chest with an assault rifle. Daniel Balandran, 23, of Riverside, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Judge Sharon Mettler ruled that Jaquez and Cisneros must stand trial for murder, four counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a firearm on a police officer, kidnapping, robbery, burglary and making criminal threats.

Jaquez and Cisneros are next due in court April 22.

The Desert Sun has an update on Richard Heverly's assault trial in Indio. Heverly, a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy from La Verne, is accused of holding a gun to a tow-truck driver's head in an apparent road-rage incident 50 miles east of Indio.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Eight law-enforcement officers testified today in a preliminary hearing for two men accused of robbing a Papa John's restaurant in Chino, and exchanging gunfire with officers when police arrived.

In addition to several counts of attempted murder, Joel Anthony Jaquez and Edward Ramon Cisneros, both 29, are charged with murder because a bystander was killed during the Feb. 1, 2009 shootout.

The bystander, 23-year-old Daniel Balandran of Riverside, was mistaken for one of the robbers and shot with an assault rifle by Chino police Cpl. Claudia Lisner.

In a full day of testimony in West Valley Superior Court, a recurring line of questioning centered on whether Lisner gave any commands before shooting Balandran, who was fleeing the area with a friend after police and robbers began shooting.

Balandran's friend, as well as a man who saw Balandran's killing from the drive-through of an adjacent McDonald's, said Lisner didn't give any commands before opening fire, according to testimony today.

A Chino police trainee who was partnered with Lisner testified that he couldn't hear whether Lisner gave any commands before firing because the sound of gunfire in the shootout was too loud.

Jaquez and Cisneros' preliminary hearing, in which prosecutors present evidence for a case to proceed to trial, is scheduled to resume Thursday morning. Deputy District Attorney Michael Dowd said he has one more witness to call.

Cisneros acted as his own attorney during the hearing, leading to some unusual exchanges with witnesses.

When responding to a question from Cisneros about the aftermath of the shootout, a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy told Balandran he recalled "(assessing) your injuries."

"Did you carry me out of Papa John's?" Cisneros asked the deputy.

"Yes," with assistance from another officer, the deputy responded.

Jaquez and Cisneros, of Hacienda Heights and La Mirada, respectively, allegedly forced open the front doors of the Central Avenue restaurant at closing time, then robbed the manager at gunpoint.

A woman who witnessed the forced entry called 9-1-1, and Jaquez and Cisneros were still inside the pizzeria when officers began arriving, according to testimony today.

Chino police Sgt. Andrew Bjelland testified that police were forming a perimeter around the Papa John's when Jaquez began shooting at officers from the front of the building.

Lisner and Skropos were then positioned at the south end of the building next to the adjacent McDonald's, Skropos testified.

Balandran and Orosco were sitting in a parked car eating McDonald's food when the gunfire started. They left the car and ran toward the back of the pizzeria, away from the shootout.

Skropos testified that he was taking cover near Lisner -- who was crouched behind a parked car -- when he first noticed two men crouching and walking quickly toward the rear the Papa John's.

When Balandran walked past the car where Lisner was hiding, he turned to face the corporal, then began to rise from his crouched position, Skropos testified.

"His hands came up as the upper portion of his body came up," Skropos testified.

As Balandran rose, Lisner shot him once in the upper-left portion of his chest with an AR-15 assault rifle. The bullet passed through Balandran's body and exited his back.

Skropos, who had only been with the Chino Police Department three months at the time of the incident, said he was unsure whether Lisner shouted any commands.

"I couldn't hear anything because of the gun shots," Skropos said.

Lisner told detectives she ordered Balandran more than once to show his hands before shooting, according to investigative reports.

Lisner reportedly believed Balandran may have been holding a gun when he shot him. But when the crime scene was examined, investigators discovered Balandran was holding his McDonald's food when he was shot, according to police reports.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man accused of choking his 84-year-old mother and trying to smother her with a pillow has pleaded no contest to elder abuse charges in a plea bargain that carries a three-year prison sentence.

Lance Martin Nolan, a 50-year-old registered sex offender, entered the plea Tuesday in West Valley Superior Court.

Other charges filed against him -- attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon -- will be dismissed at sentencing on May 12, according to court records.

Nolan's mother told investigators from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department that her son attacked her Feb. 25 in the home they shared in Rancho Cucamonga.

He was "very, very drunk" when he came home at about 10 p.m., and he choked her, then put a pillow over her face to muffle her screams, the woman said, according to investigative reports.

The woman broke free a few minutes after the attack began, and ran to a neighbor's home to call 9-1-1. Nolan was arrested about two hours later when deputies found him in a parked car in a nearby shopping center.

In 1996, Nolan was convicted of forcible sodomy in Orange County.

Brothers (L-R): Jose Luis Rodriguez and Francisco Rodriguez

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A judge ruled this afternoon that two brothers from Los Angeles must stand trial for attempted murder and other criminal charges for allegedly shooting at undercover narcotics officers last year in Ontario, a prosecutor said.

Francisco Rodriguez, 30, and Jose Luis Rodriguez, 28, are accused of taking $100,000 worth of marijuana during an Oct. 20 drug transaction monitored by officers from the West Covina Police Department.

As the brothers fled on the 10 Freeway after the alleged robbery, they reportedly shot at West Covina police officers who chased them in unmarked cars.

The judge's ruling came following a preliminary hearing today in West Valley Superior Court, in which police officers and other witnesses testified.

The brothers are next due in court April 23, said Deputy District Attorney Mike Dowd.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A jury of six men and six women was seated this afternoon to hear the case of an Upland elementary school teacher charged with molesting students.

James Andrew Megaw, 43, is charged with four felonies for allegedly molesting students in his class of second- and third-graders at Valencia Elementary School.

Attorneys are expected to give opening statements Wednesday morning in West Valley Superior Court, and testimony from witnesses will follow, Judge Michael A. Sachs told jurors.

Megaw, known professionally as "Andy," is the former head of Upland's teachers union. He resigned from his teaching position after criminal charges were filed in December 2008.

In a preliminary hearing last year, several of Megaw's former students testified that Megaw rubbed their genitals during class.

Other students accused Megaw, of Rancho Cucamonga, of grabbing their hands and pressing them to the crotch area of his pants.

Pictured (L-R): Orban and Jelinek.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - The attorney for a Westminster police detective accused of kidnapping a woman at Ontario Mills and raping her at gunpoint said today that toxicology tests of his client may "be a factor" in the case.

Anthony Nicholas Orban, 30, may have been medicated on antidepressants during the alleged April 3 sexual assault, James E. Blatt, said in an interview at West Valley Superior Court.

In part because toxicology tests haven't been completed, a motion scheduled for this morning, in which Orban and his alleged accomplice were to ask for bail to be lowered from $2 million, was postponed to April 28.

"There may be a logical, honest explanation as to why these events occurred," Blatt said.

This morning's court hearing was also the first for newly hired attorneys for Orban's alleged accomplice - 31-year-old corrections officer Jeff Thomas Jelinek - and the attorneys were unprepared to argue for Jelinek's bail to be lowered, Blatt said.

Prosecutors accuse Orban, of Irvine, of kidnapping a 25-year-old waitress in an Ontario Mills parking lot following a full day of drinking with Jelinek, then sexually assaulting her for at least an hour in the parking lot of a Fontana shopping center.

The alleged victim told police Orban repeatedly punched and slapped her during the alleged assault, and took pictures of the incident with his cell phone, according to police reports.

Jelinek, a correction's officer assigned to the California Institution for Men in Chino, is accused of watching his friend kidnap the alleged victim, then helping Orban after the alleged assault.

Orban and Jelinek both wore green jail scrubs during their brief court appearance today, which indicate the men are being housed in protective custody. It appeared Orban hadn't shaved since his court appearance last week.

After attorneys in the case and Judge Michael R. Libutti had a brief conference at Libutti's bench, a new court date was scheduled.

Orban has worked for the Westminster Police Department for five years, and in the last year was promoted to detective, Blatt said.

"He was doing very well," Blatt said. "He was very well respected at the police department."

Before he became a police officer, Orban was a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was part of group that initially invaded Iraq in 2003, and he was honorably discharged, Blatt said.

When asked whether Orban suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of his combat experience, Blatt said: "Whether that's an issue or not, that needs further development."

Blatt said he's "not indicating at this time that that's a reason for (Orban's) actions." The attorney said "further clinical analysis" would be needed to examine whether Orban suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Several family members and other supporters of Orban and Jelinek attended today's court hearing.

Afterward, one man who came in support of Jelinek said the Ontario resident was "a good guy. That's all I know." The men's other supporters declined to comment to reporters.

Jelinek's attorneys, Michael J. Muñoz and Ciprian Turcu, both declined to discuss the alleged assault.

Turcu said he hadn't received "discovery" in the case, such as police reports. Muñoz said only that the attorneys plan to "defend this aggressively."

Pictured (L-R): Orban and Jelinek.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A request for lowered bail was postponed today for two law-enforcement officers charged in an alleged kidnap and rape.

Anthony Nicholas Orban, 30, and Jeff Thomas Jelinek, 31, are scheduled to return to West Valley Superior Court on April 28, when attorneys for the men will ask Judge Michael R. Libutti to reduce their bail from $2 million.

The motion for reduced bail was postponed today because Jelinek was represented by two new attorneys - making them unprepared to argue the motion today - and the case's prosecutor and judge would like to consider both men's bail motions on the same court date, said Orban's attorney, James E. Blatt.

Prosecutors accuse Orban, a Westminster police detective, of kidnapping a woman at gunpoint the afternoon of April 3 at Ontario Mills, then sexually assaulting her for at least an hour in the parking lot of a Fontana shopping center.

The 25-year-old woman told police Orban repeatedly punched and slapped her during the alleged assault, and took pictures of the incident with his cell phone, according to police reports.

Jelinek, a correction's officer assigned to the California Institution for Men in Chino, is accused of watching his friend kidnap the alleged victim, then helping Orban after the alleged assault.

INDIO -- Jury selection began today in the Indio Superior Court trial of an off-duty San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy accused of holding a gun to a man's head in an alleged road-rage incident.

Richard Heverly, 43, of La Verne, is charged with four felonies for allegedly threatening to kill a tow truck driver.

The tow truck driver blocked lanes on the 10 Freeway about 50 miles east of Indio after an Aug. 10, 2008 traffic accident, and Heverly reportedly threatened the driver after the driver refused to move his truck.

Heverly was hired by the sheriff's department in 2006. He works at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Heverly faces other felony charges in a separate case for allegedly bringing his service weapon to court in an appearance for his road-rage case.

Jury selection is scheduled to continue tomorrow morning, according to online court records.

POMONA -- Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning in the Pomona Superior Court murder trial of a man accused of shooting and killing Miguel Martin in 2008, said Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd.

Jose Luis Gutierrez, 17, is accused of shooting and killing Martin, 24, outside the Guadalajara Market, 1134 W. Mission Blvd. in Pomona, following a dispute between Martin and two of Gutierrez's friends.

An alleged accomplice to the Dec. 22, 2008 killing, 22-year-old Albert Matthew Sandoval, pleaded no contest to criminal charges last week in a plea bargain that carries a three-year prison sentence.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Jury selection continued today in the trial of a former Upland teacher accused of molesting students in his class of second- and third-graders at Valencia Elementary School.

James Andrew Megaw, 43, of Rancho Cucamonga, is charged with 4 felonies for the alleged molestation. Megaw, the former head of Upland's teacher's union, resigned after charges were filed in December 2008

Jury selection in the case started last week in West Valley Superior Court, with jurors filling out a questionnaire.

Using the information in the questionnaire, the number of prospective jurors was lowered from 80 to 50, said Judge Michael A. Sachs.

This afternoon, 18 prospective jurors were seated in the jury box, and attorneys continued asking them questions. Sachs said that "probably 15" jurors - which would include three alternate jurors - will be needed to hear Megaw's case.

Photo caption: Orban and his attorney, James E. Blatt, converse during Orban's arraignment last week. Jeff Jelinek, Orban's alleged accomplice, sits in the back row of the jury box.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A police detective and correction's officer accused in the alleged kidnap and rape of an Ontario Mills employee are scheduled to appear Tuesday morning in West Valley Superior Court.

Attorneys for Anthony Nicholas Orban, 30, and Jeff Thomas Jelinek, 31, are expected to ask Judge Michael Libutti to reduce bail for the two men, who remain jailed in lieu of $2 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Orban, an Irvine resident and detective at the Westminster Police Department, is accused of kidnapping a 25-year-old woman at gunpoint in the Ontario Mills parking lot, then sexually assaulting her in a Fontana shopping center.

His friend Jelinek, of Ontario, is a corrections officer who worked at the California Institution for Men in Chino. He allegedly watched Orban kidnap the woman, then helped Orban after the alleged sexual assault.

Both men could face life prison sentences if convicted of criminal charges filed in the case.

VAN NUYS -- A Chino Hills man has pleaded no contest to three felony sex crimes as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors that carries a prison sentence of nearly five years.

Prosecutors accused Miguel Angel Barrera, 46, of posing as a professional photographer in the Hollywood area to meet young women.

He would allegedly pay the alleged victims -- aged 14 to 23 -- to model for magazines and commercials, then sexually assault them after photographing them at motels in Studio City, prosecutors said.

Barrera was arrested in August 2008 and initially charged with nine felonies. Prosecutors believed he victimized at least three young women.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Barrera pleaded no contest April 2 to three felonies: oral copulation with a person under 18, unlawful sex with a minor, and using a minor for sex acts.

His plea bargain carried a sentence of 4 years and 8 months, and if approved by a judge Barrera will be required to register as a sex offender for life, the spokeswoman said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced May 3 in Van Nuys Superior Court.

...

Here is the story on Barrera's arrest:

Chino Hills man faces sex charges

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

By Lori Consalvo, Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES - A Chino Hills man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of sexually assaulting at least three women in the Hollywood area during the past two years, police said.

Miguel Angel Barrera, 44, was arrested Aug. 14 on suspicion of one count of rape, one count of lewd acts, two counts of obscene matter, two counts of oral copulation, one count of sodomy and two counts of penetration, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. His plea was made in Van Nuys Superior Court.

Barrera, who is from Argentina, was being held without bail at the Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles due to an immigration hold, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

According to police, he met his victims - girls and women ranging in age from 14 to 23 - as they walked along the street in the North Hollywood and Hollywood areas.

He offered them money to be models for magazines and commercials, police said, and told them he had connections with movie studios.

He made it a point to show off his business cards as well as his photography equipment.

When he got them to agree to a photo shoot, Barrera took them to motels in Studio City. He took their pictures, then sexually assaulted them, police said.

Anyone with information on Barrera is asked to call Detective Karen Crawford at (818) 623-4090.

Barrera is scheduled to appear Sept.9 in the Van Nuys courthouse.

POMONA -- An alleged accomplice in a fatal shooting outside a Mission Boulevard market pleaded no contest to criminal charges this week in a plea bargain with prosecutors that carries a three-year prison sentence.

Albert Matthew Sandoval, 22, was accused of serving as the driver for the 17-year-old alleged gunman who shot and killed Miguel Martin, 24, on Dec. 5, 2008 in the parking lot of Guadalajara Market.

Sandoval pleaded no contest Tuesday in Pomona Superior Court to a felony count of being an accessory to a crime after the fact, said Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 20.

The murder case of the alleged gunman, Jose Luis Gutierrez, is scheduled to go to trial Monday, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors believe the shooting was carried out to benefit a gang.

In an interview the week of the shooting, Dodd said that Martin, of Pomona, may have gotten into an argument the day of the shooting with two of Sandoval and Gutierrez's friends.

About two months after Martin's killing, Martin's younger brother shot and killed Carlos Espinoza, who he believed was involved in the incident, Dodd said.

Joel Martin, 23, fled to New Mexico after the shooting but was located by Pomona police detectives and extradited to Los Angeles County last week.

He is due in Pomona Superior Court April 28 for an arraignment.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A Riverside man was sentenced to 11 years in prison this week after pleading guilty to attempted murder and other charges in a knife attack on his wife.

Rafael Ceja Valles Jr. attacked his wife on Jan. 20, 2009 during a visit to the woman's brother's apartment in Ontario, where she had moved in, said Deputy District Attorney Theodore J. Smith III.

Valles, 32, visited to ask his wife whether she was going to come back to him. She told him she wasn't, and also said she and her brother obtained divorce paperwork that day, Smith said.

Valles became enraged, then pulled out a kitchen knife with a four-inch blade and tried to slit his wife's throat, causing a minor cut, Smith said.

On Monday in West Valley Superior Court, Valles pleaded guilty to criminal charges as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors. The conviction counts as a strike as part of the state's three-strikes law, Smith said.

Smith said he believes Valles is a foreign citizen, and will be deported after he completes his prison sentence.

Besides the cut to her throat, Valles' wife suffered defensive wounds to her hands as well as other injuries in the attack, Smith said. Valles also allegedly threatened the woman's brother when he came to her aid.

Smith said that as Valles left the apartment complex in the 1300 block of E. Nocta Street, he nearly ran over his wife and other people.

Police arrested him the day of the attack at his home in the 6200 block of Thunder Bay Trail in Riverside, booking records show.

Photo caption: Orban and his attorney, James E. Blatt converse during Orban's arraignment Wednesday. Jeff Jelinek, Orban's alleged accomplice, sits in the back row of the jury box.

The Orange County Register is reporting this morning that Anthony Nicholas Orban, the Westminster police detective accused of kidnapping a woman and raping her at gunpoint in Fontana, had an exemplary work record.

In an interview with the newspaper, Westminster Police Chief Mitch Waller said Orban was recently promoted to detective. Since his arrest, the department has been reviewing Orban's personnel file "to see if there were any red flags we missed, and we haven't seen any," Waller said.

From the Register story:

Westminster police continue to reel from the arrest of one of their own following Saturday's attack in Fontana, recoiling at the thought that a man sworn to protect the public could carry out such a crime.

"It caught us all by surprise," said Westminster Police Chief Mitch Waller. "The morale right now is low. We take our position of trust very seriously and our officers are concerned of how the community will view this department."

Waller, who became police chief in January and has been with the department for 26 years, said he has never had to deal with an issue of this magnitude.

"At this point they are allegations, but from what I know, the evidence against our officer is mounting," Waller said.

[snip]

Waller said Orban, who has been placed on paid administrative leave, had always been a good officer with an exemplary record who was recently promoted to detective.

"Since we found out about this, we have been compelled to go back to his employment record, background record and polygraph test results," Waller said. "We are checking to see if there were any red flags we missed, and we haven't seen any,"

As part of an internal investigation, Waller said the department is also looking into allegations that Orban had an extramarital affair with a department dispatcher. Waller said the department learned about the possible affair from Ontario police.

[snip]

Waller said the rape accusation against Orban has left officers feeling betrayed by one of their own and concerned about the victim. "If the allegations are true, no woman should ever be subjected to such brutality," he said.

Click here to read the Register's story.

Pictured (L-R): Orban and Jelinek.

A woman's alleged kidnapping and sexual assault Saturday at the hands of a Westminster police detective lasted an hour -- time in which the detective beat the alleged victim and took photos with his cell phone as he sexually assaulted her, according to police reports of the incident obtained today.

The alleged victim, a 25-year-old waitress at Dave and Buster's in Ontario Mills, told police she was leaving work at about 5:15 p.m. when a stranger, off-duty detective Anthony Nicholas Orban, confronted her with a handgun.

In the alleged assault that followed, the 30-year-old former Marine and Iraq War veteran from Irvine allegedly gagged the woman with his fingers, choked her, and repeatedly slapped and punched her.

Orban allegedly rubbed the woman's face with his pistol and put the barrel of the gun in her mouth. Twice Orban threatened to kill her, the woman told police.

As he allegedly raped the woman, Orban took several photos of the assault with his cell phone, the report says.

Before taking one photo, Orban told the woman to smile because she was being photographed, the report says.

Orban and an alleged accomplice, corrections officer Jeff Thomas Jelinek, have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges filed in the case. Both men could face life prison sentences if convicted.

Ontario police detectives continued their investigation into the alleged rape today, said Ontario police Sgt. David McBride.

A plea to the public for information about other potential rapes has yielded at least one promising investigative lead, McBride said.

One of the incidents reported to police has "slight similarities" to Saturday's incident, McBride said.

Two men were allegedly involved in the newly reported rape, said McBride, who declined to elaborate on the ongoing investigation of Saturday's incident.

Daytime drinking

After his arrest Saturday night, Jelinek, who was assigned to the California Institution for Men in Chino, told officers Orban came to his apartment in Ontario between 10 and 10:30 a.m.

The two men, friends since high school, ate lunch together at Chili's in Rancho Cucamonga, where they drank margaritas. Both men had their service weapons with them, Jelinek told police.

From there the men went to Boston's restaurant on Fourth Street. They shared a pitcher of beer there, and shared another pitcher at their next stop -- GameWorks at Ontario Mills, Jelinek told police.

Shortly after 5 p.m. the men were in the parking lot outside Dave & Buster's, where the alleged victim was finishing a four-hour shift as a waitress.

When the men saw the waitress walking from the restaurant's entrance to her car, Orban said, "Let's go meet this chick," Jelinek told police.

Kidnapping

The woman told police she saw Orban and Jelinek standing near the entrance to Dave and Buster's when she left, but paid them little notice on the way to her car, sending text messages as she walked.

She unlocked her SUV with a keyless remote when she approached. As she stood next to the driver's side front door, she heard a door open on the passenger side.

She told police she saw Orban holding a silver handgun at his waist. He pointed it at her and said, "Get in the car," she told police.

Jelinek said he stood nearby watching as his friend confronted the woman at gunpoint. He asked Orban what he was doing, and Orban told him, "Don't worry about it," the woman told police.

Once the woman and Orban were in the car, the woman told police she pleaded with Orban and told him he could have anything he wanted if he let her go.

He replied by saying, "Just drive." He ordered her to drive toward her home, which she told him was in the High Desert, the woman told police.

Sexual assault

As Orban and the woman drove north on the 15 Freeway, he told her he was going to let her go, and she exited the freeway at Base Line Road, she told police.

They drove east toward Fontana and parked in front of a self-storage facility in the 13400 block of Base Line.

Orban still held the handgun in his lap, and he and the woman talked about her child -- the woman had a child's car seat in the back seat -- and other personal details, she told police.

"As Orban continued to speak, he smiled at her and asked her if she was scared. The victim replied yes," the police report says. "Orban then told the victim he would let her go, but she had to do something before he left."

Orban told the woman to perform oral sex on him, then ordered her to go into the back seat of her car, where Orban joined her by climbing between the two front seats, the woman told police.

Once there, Orban ordered the woman to undress, then sexually assaulted her for an hour, according to an estimate the woman provided police.

At times during the assault, Orban would pause and play with his gun and take photos with his cell phone, the woman told police.

When police confiscated Jelinek's phone, they found photos of the assault that Orban sent him. One photo was sent with a text message that read: "Look what I'm doing," according to the police report.

Orban's faulty memory

Orban received a phone call during the alleged assault, and as he talked to a man on the other end of the line he suddenly seemed to get scared, the woman told police.

He asked the alleged victim where they were and why she wasn't wearing any clothes, the woman told police.

Orban told the woman to put on her clothes and apologized. He appeared to be "freaking out," the woman told police.

As the woman got dressed, Orban again stuck his fingers in the woman's throat and gagged and choked her, the woman told police.

Once the woman was dressed, she fled while Orban was distracted by his phone. She ran to a nearby liquor store and told employees to call police.

Orban called Jelinek and had him pick him up and a nearby gas station. He reportedly took the woman's car keys -- Jelinek had them when he was arrested -- and he left his gun in the woman's car.

The gun was Orban's service weapon, and his last name was engraved on it, according to the police report.

Orban told Jelinek to erase the messages on his cell phone, Jelinek told police.

When Orban was interviewed after his arrest, he claimed he didn't remember the incident, the police report says.

"Due to Orban having trouble remembering anything that I was asking him about, no further questions were asked of him," a detective wrote.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An Ontario man who pleaded no contest to molesting children as part of a plea bargain now wants to back out of the agreement, a prosecutor said today.

Jack Edward Andrews, 58, pleaded no contest last month to eight counts of child molestation as part of a plea bargain that carried a 22-year prison sentence.

But at his sentencing hearing this morning in West Valley Superior Court, Andrews appeared with a new attorney who said the Ontario man wanted to withdraw his pleas, Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss said.

A May 21 date was set for a judge to rule on Andrews' request, Schmauss said.

Andrews was arrested in June after two of his daughter's friends accused him of touching their genitals.

After his arrest, Andrews, who worked as a painter for the Chino Valley Unified School District, confessed to molesting several other girls between 8 and 12 years old in the past decade, according to investigative reports.

Photo from Silas' Web site.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A pastor at a Bellflower church has been charged with bigamy for allegedly marrying a woman in Las Vegas while still married to his estranged wife.

Melvin Lynn Silas, 55, is the pastor of Church of the Great I Am, and is a former resident of Upland and Fontana.

When Silas, who now lives in Hawthorne, was arrested in January, he told a San Bernardino County sheriff's detective that his wife, from whom he'd been separated since August 2007, told him in early 2008 that their divorce would be finalized Feb. 10, 2008.

Silas told the detective he believed he was legally divorced with he married another woman on April 26, 2008, according to investigative reports attached to his court file.

But his estranged wife told investigators that Silas asked her not to seek a divorce, and she granted his request. Investigators found nothing to indicate the husband or wife sought divorce.

Silas's estranged wife contacted authorities in December after she found records on the Internet of her husband's new marriage.

Prosecutors charged Silas with felony bigamy in January, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges March 8 in West Valley Superior Court. He is being prosecuted in San Bernardino County because he lived in Upland when married the 51-year-old woman in April 2008.

Silas' eight-page rap sheet includes convictions for pimping, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and other crimes.

He's been arrested more than 25 times, and convicted of more than five felonies and more than five misdemeanors, according to records attached to his court file.

On the Web site for his ministry, Silas describes himself as a reformed former lawbreaker who turned to God while incarcerated in Ohio. He attended ministry school after his release, his Web site says.

"(Silas) spent a great deal of his life on the run from God, which caused him to spend a lot of years within prison going in and out of jail for many different crimes," Silas' Web site says.

He is next due in court April 20.

CHINO - A former administrator at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills pleaded not guilty this morning to criminal charges alleging he embezzled nearly $1 million from the church.

Farrukh Ahmed, 48, entered the pleas this morning in Chino Superior Court. The Ontario resident was charged last week with grand theft by embezzlement and grand theft of personal property.

According to the church's pastor, Jack Hibbs, as much as $960,000 was stolen from the church while Ahmed was an administrator there.

Prosecutors accuse Ahmed of embezzling cash from the church between Jan. 16, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2009. They also accuse him of stealing from two people on Sept. 19, 2009.

Ahmed is free on $50,000 bail and next due in court April 27.

Ahmed's attorney, David D. Diamond, has denied his client embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the church. In a news release last month, Diamond called his client "a good, family man."

Will Lester took these photos in West Valley Superior Court this morning at the arraignment for Anthony Orban and Jeff Jelinek, the police officers accused in the alleged kidnap and rape of a woman Saturday at Ontario Mills.

Click here for today's story on their arraignment, and click here for yesterday's story on charges filed against the men.

The picture below shows Jelinek on the left, with Orban and his attorney James E. Blatt in the foreground. Both men are seated in the jury box.

The following photos show Orban (left) and Jelinek (right).

Pictured (L-R): Anthony Nicholas Orban and Jeff Thomas Jelinek

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - An off-duty police officer and off-duty corrections officer pleaded not guilty to criminal charges this morning in a woman's alleged kidnapping and rape Saturday.

Anthony Nicholas Orban and Jeff Thomas Jelinek, both 30, appeared in West Valley Superior Court wearing green jail scrubs, indicating they're being housed in protective custody.

Click here to see photos from the officers' court appearance today.

Both men potentially face life prison sentences if convicted of criminal charges filed Tuesday, which include kidnapping, rape, sodomy and other felonies.

Orban, a detective at the Westminster Police Department, is accused of kidnapping a 25-year-old woman at random at the Ontario Mills mall, then raping her at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Fontana commercial center.

Jelinek, a corrections officer assigned to the California Institution of Men in Chino, is accused of acting as a lookout during the alleged kidnapping and assisting Orban after the alleged rape.

Orban's defense attorney outlined Orban's personal history in an interview after the hearing, as well as in court as he asked Judge Michael Libutti to lower his client's bail, which is set at $2 million.

Orban was an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps during the Iraq War, and was a member of the force that first invaded Iraq in 2003, said his attorney, James E. Blatt.

After his time in the military Orban joined the Westminster Police Department, where he has worked for five years and is now a detective. Blatt said Orban has no criminal history. Rather, he has a "history up until this time of excellence," Blatt said.

Blatt told the judge that Orban's bail has been raised twice - first from $250,000 to $1 million, then from $1 million to $2 million. Blatt asked Libutti to lower Orban's bail to $1 million.

Blatt said Orban would agree to be confined to his home if out on bail, and would agree to wear a GPS monitoring device. Blatt said Orban's wife and family were in court today.

Blatt acknowledged the seriousness of the charges against Orban, including the allegation that the victim was random. He told the judge alcohol was a factor in the incident.

"We are very well aware of the gravity of this matter," Blatt said.

When Libutti told Blatt his tentative ruling was to keep the bail at $2 million, Blatt withdrew his motion for reduced bail and said he'd like to raise the issue at Orban's next court appearance on April 13.

Jelinek's court-appointed attorney, Renae Carpenter, also told Libutti she'd like to make a motion for reduced bail April 13.

In an interview after the hearing, Blatt said he was contacted Sunday night by Orban's family to represent Orban in this case. Blatt said he visited Orban on Tuesday at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Orban and Jelinek have been friends since high school, Blatt said. The alleged victim in this case has had no prior contact with Orban, Blatt said. The attorney declined to elaborate on the facts of the case.

"All I can tell you is the defendant's family is shocked by the charges, and are deeply concerned for the alleged victim," Blatt said.

Blatt said Orban is married, and has no kids. He declined to say where Orban lives.

The attorney said Orban has "deep concern about his future," and said his family wishes the alleged victim "no ill will."

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man initially charged with felony bribery for allegedly offering money to a sheriff's deputy after a drunken driving arrest pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges today as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

Miguel Antonio Flores, 22, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $1,713 after pleading guilty in West Valley Superior Court to bribing an ministerial officer and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Flores, of Riverside, was arrested for drunken driving Nov. 30 after a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy saw him lose control of his car at Foothill Boulevard and Vineyard Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga.

As he sat in the back of a patrol car, Flores, who failed field sobriety tests, reportedly offered Deputy Steven Cline $100 to let him go.

Cline first told Flores he wouldn't release him, but as Flores insisted on bribing the deputy Cline decided to play along, according to investigative reports attached to Flores' court file.

Cline drove Flores to a bank, removed his handcuffs, and allowed him to withdraw bribe money from an ATM, the report said.

When Flores returned to Cline's patrol car and handed him six $20 bills, the deputy handcuffed him and said he was being booked for bribery as well as DUI, the report said.

In addition to the fine and jail time -- which can be completed through weekend work release -- Flores was placed on probation for three years and ordered to attend an alcohol treatment program.

Flores declined in court today to comment to a reporter.

Cline arrested a woman on suspicion of felony bribery under similar circumstances in September.

The alleged drunk driver in that incident, Marizella Perez of Rancho Cucamonga, has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges.

Pictured (L-R): Anthony Nicholas Orban and Jeff Thomas Jelinek

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An off-duty police officer and off-duty state corrections officer could face life in prison if convicted of criminal charges filed by prosecutors today in a woman's alleged kidnapping and rape.

Anthony Nicholas Orban and Jeff Thomas Jelinek, both 30, are expected to be arraigned Wednesday in West Valley Superior Court in an 11-count criminal complaint.

Orban, a Westminster police officer, is accused of kidnapping a 25-year-old woman Saturday at the Ontario Mills mall, then raping her at gunpoint in the parking lot of a commercial complex in Fontana.

Ontario police accuse Jelinek, a corrections officer assigned to the California Institute for Men in Chino, of acting as a lookout in the alleged kidnapping, then picking Orban up after the alleged rape.

Both men have been placed on paid leave, and they remain jailed in lieu of $1 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Orban was charged today with kidnapping, rape, oral copulation, sodomy, sexual penetration with a foreign object, and making criminal threats.

Jelinek was charged with kidnapping, rape and acting as an accessory to a crime.

Deputy District Attorney Debbie Ploghaus said she filed a motion asking a judge to increase the men's bail to $2 million.

The alleged victim told police she left her job at the mall Saturday afternoon, and was confronted by Orban in the mall parking lot.

When the woman got into her car, she said Orban entered the car on the passenger side, with Jelinek allegedly standing nearby.

Orban allegedly pointed a handgun at the woman and ordered her to drive north on the 15 Freeway.

He told her to exit at Baseline Road and park in a commercial center on the east side of the freeway, according to an Ontario police news release.

He then allegedly ordered the woman to take off her clothes, and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint.

Orban fled the scene after the alleged rape, but he left his service weapon in the woman's car, police said.

The woman ran from her car to a nearby business and reported the assault to police.

Orban called Jelinek from his cell phone and asked him to pick him up at the commercial center, police said.

After then men returned to the mall, Orban called his wife and told her he's lost his service weapon, police said.

Orban's wife called Ontario police, and officers traveled to the mall where they interviewed Orban and Jelinek. The men's statements to police "were inconsistent and somewhat suspicious," according to the news release.

Officers also observed that the men's appearances matched the description given by the woman of her alleged attacker and his accomplice.

The men were further implicated in the incident when police learned the weapon found in the woman's car belonged to Orban.

Ontario police fear Orban and Jelinek may have victimized other women, and have asked potential victims to contact the department at 909-395-2908.

CHINO -- Prosecutors have filed two felonies against an Ontario man accused of embezzling nearly $1 million from Calvary Chapel Chino Hills while he was an administrator at the church.

Farrukh Ahmed, 48, was charged last week with grand theft by embezzlement and grand theft of personal property.

Ahmed is due in Chino Superior Court Wednesday for an arraignment. He was arrested in December but has been out of custody since posting a $50,000 bail bond on Jan. 4.

In the criminal complaint filed Thursday, prosecutors accuse Ahmed of embezzling from the church between Jan. 16, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2009.

Prosecutors also accuse Ahmed of stealing from Ashley and Morgan Lawrence on Sept. 19, 2009. The alleged victims' roles in the church, if any, were unavailable Monday.

Jack Hibbs, pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, has said that between $720,000 and $960,000 was stolen from the church.

Ahmed's attorney, David D. Diamond, denied last month in a news release that his client embezzled from the church.

"This case is upsetting because there is no way in the world that my client embezzled $900,000," Diamond said. "Pastor Hibbs had unfettered access to the church monies and was never responsible to show or explain how or why the money was being spent."

"Pastor Hibbs clearly has no respect for the clergy-penitent privilege," Diamond continued. "He is more of a CEO than a religious leader.

"He has released blatant falsities to the media as it relates to this case. Our investigation will begin with a full and complete accounting of the Church's finances.

"In this time of economic difficulties, the fact that this crime was used as a marketing tool saddens me and more than likely disappoints God himself. My client is a good, family man. While he is not perfect, he did not embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Staff Writer Neil Nisperos contributed to this report.

POMONA -- Prosecutors charged a Pomona man with murder today for the Feb. 4, 2009 shooting death of Carlos Espinoza.

The alleged shooter, 23-year-old Joel Martin, fled Pomona after the shooting, but was located by detectives in Portales, N.M., and extradited to Los Angeles County.

He was booked Friday into a local jail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department records.

Martin allegedly shot and killed Espinoza at a bus stop in the area of Mission Boulevard and Buena Vista Avenue in Pomona, said Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd.

Martin's brother, Miguel Martin, was shot and killed about two months earlier at the nearby Guadalajara Market on Mission, and Joel Martin believed Espinoza was involved in his brother's killing, Dodd said.

Martin appeared Monday in Pomona Superior Court for an arraignment, but he did not enter a plea. The hearing was postponed to April 28, said Shiara Davila-Morales, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Martin, who remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail, could face up to 50 years to life in prison if convicted.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An Ontario man has pleaded no contest to a felony assault charge in his criminal case for allegedly touching a 5-year-old boy's genitals.

Sukhwinder Singh, 18, reached a plea bargain with prosecutors Friday that carries a 240-day jail sentence that he can complete through weekend work release.

In September, a 5-year-old boy told police that Singh touched him several times as both swam in a pool at an apartment complex at 1352 W. Fifth St.

The plea bargain, which must be approved by a judge, includes five years of probation, during which Singh would be required to register as a sex offender.

Singh is scheduled to be sentenced May 3 in West Valley Superior Court.

When he was interviewed by an Ontario police detective, Singh, a native of India, denied he touched the boy's genitals. He told police he tickled the boy because he wanted to make friends with him.

A 7-year-old friend of the alleged victim testified at an October preliminary hearing that he saw Singh put his hands inside his friend's bathing suit.

In plea bargain papers attached to Singh's court file, prosecutors say they will agree to allow Singh to expunge his record if he completes probation without any violations.

Singh, who was born in Chandigarh, India, told police he moved into the apartment complex in mid-August and was a student at Universal Technical Institute in Rancho Cucamonga.

View Sukhwinder Singh apartment complex in a larger map

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning in the West Valley Superior Court trial of a former Upland elementary school teacher accused of molesting several students.

James Andrew Megaw, 43, is charged with four felonies for allegedly molesting students in his class of second- and third-graders at Valencia Elementary School.

Megaw, the former head of Upland's teachers union, resigned from his job after criminal charges were filed in December 2008.

Pictured: Frederic Hoyle Jr.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison this afternoon in the 2005 shooting death of Frederic Hoyle Jr. of Upland.

A jury convicted Alejandro Ahumada, a 35-year-old reputed gang member, of first-degree murder last year for the killing of Hoyle, 37, who was shot at least eight times and left in the passenger seat of his car in Fontana.

Hoyle was flush with cash after selling his home in Upland, and was targeted by people who wanted to rob him, said Deputy District Attorney Daima Calhoun.

In his trial testimony, Ahumada claimed he wasn't responsible for Hoyle's death, but his DNA was found under Hoyle's fingernails and witnesses saw the two arguing about an hour before Hoyle's death, Calhoun said.

"I think it's great," said Hoyle's father, Frederic Hoyle Sr., of Ahumada's sentence. "They can't let these people out. It's just going to continue."

Hoyle, who worked as a manager at a local car dealership, began using drugs shortly before his killing, and was associating with people involved in the drug trade, Calhoun said.

Ahumada, who had served four prison terms prior to Hoyle's death, was a friend of one of Hoyle's drug associates, Calhoun said.

Hoyle was found dead on March 16, 2005 at a trucking facility in 10700 block of Cherry Avenue.

An employee at the facility found him at about 7:30 p.m. slumped over in the passenger seat of his 2003 H2 Hummer. Hoyle had been shot at least eight times, Calhoun said.

Before Ahumada's sentencing in West Valley Superior Court, several member's of Hoyle's family spoke in court.

His father broke down as he recalled the day his son was born. He was unable to continue reading his statement, and he handed it off to a San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office employee to finish reading aloud.

"He not only ruined my son's life, but he ruined his own," Hoyle's father said.

Hoyle's sister, Lorena Hoyle, urged Judge Stephan G. Saleson to sentence Ahumada to the maximum prison term, saying "society should be protected from him."

"Part of my family is forever missing," she said.

Prior to Ahumada's sentencing, Saleson a motion for a new trial brought by Ahumada. The Hacienda Heights man argued that his trial attorney represented him poorly.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A woman initially charged with murder for stabbing her husband to death in Upland reached a plea bargain with prosecutors today that carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

Naomi Valdivia, 35, has long maintained that she was acting in self-defense when she killed 36-year-old Jose Luis Gonzales with a sword on April 26, 2008.

Her prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Nancy Cooper, said the outcome of a trial in Valdivia's case would depend largely on the testimony of her children, who Cooper said might be inclined to support their mother's version of what happened when Gonzales was killed.

Gonzales was killed following an argument between he and his wife in the family's apartment in the 800 block of West Orchid Court, near the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and San Antonio Avenue.

Prosecutors initially charged Valdivia, a mother of five, with murder and other felonies for her husband's death. But according to her family, she has long maintained she acted in self-defense.

"She was beaten that night," Lydia Arias, Valdivia's sister, said last year. "He brandished a weapon, his own personal weapon in the house that night, came at her with it and assaulted her with it first."

Valdivia pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter this afternoon in West Valley Superior Court, and is scheduled to be sentenced May 3.

Her plea bargain carries sentencing "lid" of seven years, which means her sentence can't exceed seven years, Cooper said.

Click here to read past blog posts on Valdivia's case.

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One of Larry Hammett's sons, Larry Trayvon Hammett III, prepared a two-page statement that he was unable to read in court today prior to sentencing for his father's killer. The 10-year-old Upland boy asked that his statement be published in the newspaper.

"First, I would like to thank the court for giving me the chance to share my feelings. It is important for the people who murdered my dad to know how much they hurt my family and me. I feel so much pain because my dad is no longer with us. I really miss him very much and would give anything to see him again. He was a good man, and a wonderful father to my brother and me. There were so many things I was looking forward to doing with him, but it has all been taken away from me.

"I don't understand why my dad was murdered. There is no good reason for anyone to be murdered. All I know is, the pain never goes away, and sometimes it's hard for me to sleep at night. My dad will never get the chance to see me go through college, play sports or become a grown man. He will never get the chance to see me get married and have kids. He will never see his grandchildren. I wish I could spend one more day with my father and tell him how much I love him.

"The Bible tells us that we are to forgive people for the wrongs they do to us. I love the Lord so I will do what the Bible tells me to do. It's not easy to forgive people for the kind of pain my family is now feeling. You came along and took his life. I didn't get a chance to spend time with my dad and his mom, but I pray I get the chance to do so now. I love you grandmother. But we'll all get through it. The people who murdered my dad have been given a second chance to change their lives and to become better people. I hope and pray that they take this opportunity. It will take some time before I can fully forgive the people who murdered my dad, but I will keep them and my dad in prayer.

"Once again, thank you for this opportunity."

Pictured: Larry Hammett

POMONA -- A Los Angeles man convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of barber Larry Hammett was sentenced today to 21 years in prison.

Omari Ali, 21, received the maximum sentence for his conviction in the July 27, 2008 killing of Hammett, who was shot seven times at the Groom Time barbershop on Holt Avenue in Pomona.

Prosecutors accused Ali and two accomplices of orchestrating a robbery at the Pomona barbershop, where Hammett, of Ontario, sold marijuana. Authorities accused Ali of killing Hammett, 46, because he resisted.

But in his trial testimony in Pomona Superior Court, Ali said Hammett was the aggressor in the incident. The barber, Ali said, pulled out a handgun and threatened to kill him after Ali refused to purchase Hammett's marijuana.

Ali testified that he feared for his life, so he pulled the gun out of Hammett's hands and shot at him indiscriminately.

Before his sentencing, Ali spoke in court and called Hammett's killing "a mistake."

"I am sorry for what happened to Mr. Hammett," Ali said. "I'm not a monster. I'm not an animal."

In statements in court prior to Ali's sentencing, Hammett's friends and family members urged Judge Bruce F. Marrs to sentence Ali to the maximum term allowed.

Tony Brown, Hammett's close friend of more than a decade and co-owner of Groom Time, said he has been treated for depression because of grief over Hammett's death.

"I watched you lie under oath," Brown said to Ali. "God watched you lie under oath. You destroyed all kinds of families' lives, yours included."

Hammett's mother, Barbara Hammett, called her son, a father of 10 children, "an icon in the community."

"We are trying to get beyond this," she said in court. "Hopefully today will be a day of closure."

Prosecutors urged jurors in Ali's trial to convict Ali and his co-defendant, Keyon Rasheed Hill, of first-degree murder.

Hammett's family and friends seemed devastated when the jury acquitted Hill on March 4 and convicted Ali of voluntary manslaughter.

In his comments before sentencing Ali, Marrs implied he was skeptical of Ali's testimony that Hammett was the aggressor in the incident.

Of Hammett's seven gunshot wounds, one was in his back, the judge noted.

"It's tough to attack when you've got your back turned," Marrs said.

Breeana Finley, the alleged getaway driver in Hammett's killing, took a plea bargain from prosecutors before Ali's trial that carries an 11-year sentence. She is scheduled to be sentenced April 27.

Pictured (L-R): Anthony Arteaga, original Arteaga wanted poster, Paul Casey.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison this morning after pleading guilty to murder charges in the 2002 shooting death of Paul Casey.

Anthony Arteaga, 25, was accused of shooting and killing Casey, 33, with a shotgun on Sept. 7, 2002 after a street altercation at Base Line Road and Carnelian Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga.

Arteaga pleaded guilty to first-degree murder today in West Valley Superior Court as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors. The deal spared him a potentially longer sentence if convicted by a jury.

"I am pleased that we were able to come to an early resolution, and as a result be able to save the family the extra hardship of having to go through a lengthy trial," said Deputy District Attorney Reza Sadeghi.

Arteaga fled the country after Casey, of Rancho Cucamonga, was killed.

Federal authorities located him in a Mexican jail in 2007, and he was extradited to San Bernardino County last year after completing his sentence.

The evening of Casey's death, he and a friend encountered a group of taggers as they walked home from a bar, Casey's friend testified at a preliminary hearing.

The group of taggers, which included Arteaga, tried to block Casey's path as the men walked by. Casey and the men then began arguing, according to Casey's friend.

One of Arteaga's friends retrieved a shotgun from his home nearby, and fired at Casey and his friend but missed.

The man handed off the gun to Arteaga, then 17, who chased down Casey and shot him in the chest, killing him, Casey's friend testified.

Three other member's of Arteaga's tagging crew were convicted in Casey's killing. One man received an 11-year prison sentence, and the other two men received two-year sentences.

LOS ANGELES -- Two local men were among 31 people charged criminally by federal authorities Wednesday as part of a sweeping crackdown on a Mexico-based methamphetamine distribution ring.

Humberto Hubert P. Barraza, of Upland, and Elieser Ceja Gallegos, of Ontario, were allegedly involved in the organization, which smuggled more than 200 pounds of meth into the country every month and distributed it in the Inland Empire, Central Valley, and Washington state, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office news release.

Barraza, 22, of Upland, allegedly led a distribution cell for the organization. The alleged role in the organization of Gallegos, 57, was not identified in the news release.

Read the news release: DonChuyMethRing.pdf

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man pleaded not guilty this morning to criminal charges alleging he shot two people Saturday at a party in Montclair.

Victor Salvador Talamantez, 34, entered the pleas in West Valley Superior Court through a video link to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where the Los Angeles man remained jailed in lieu of $2.5 million bail.

Prosecutors accuse Talamantez of opening fire with a handgun after he and a group of friends arrived uninvited at a house party in the 4600 block of San Jose Street and were told they couldn't come inside.

An argument between the two groups ensued, with Talamantez allegedly firing shots after people from each group claimed membership in a gang.

One of the bullets Talamantez allegedly fired hit a 17-year-old girl in the chest, passed through her body, and struck the girl's 21-year-old brother-in-law in the shoulder, police said.

The partygoers and Talamantez did not know each other, police said.

Police arrested Talamantez the morning after the shooting at Philadelphia Street and Pipeline Avenue in Chino.

Talamantez, who police said was a gang member, was charged this week with seven felonies: two counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a firearm, and one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. He is next due in court Thursday.

Talamantez, a parolee, has prior convictions in San Bernardino County for burglary, driving on a suspended license, marijuana possession and reckless driving, according to court records.

View Victor Talamantez shooting in a larger map