September 2010 Archives

FONTANA -- One judge called the courtroom "a closet."

Another described it as "notorious."

Fontana Superior Court's tiny Dept. 6 -- created to ease excessive case loads at the courthouse -- was so small that the audience area consisted of only three narrow benches.

With space so tight, defendants' family members were forced to wait in the hallway, and could enter the courtroom only when their cases were called, Judge Arthur Harrison recalled this afternoon.

But with a Fontana courthouse expansion project nearly completed, Dept. 6 is gone.

Its former space is unrecognizable, having been converted into a conference room and office space for court reporters.

"With this expansion we've had the opportunity to undo that," said Harrison, the supervising judge in Fontana.

County officials celebrated the expansion of the courthouse today with an open house, dedication ceremony and unveiling of a plaque to mark the $8.3 million project.

The number of courtrooms has been increased from six to eight, and construction of a ninth courtroom is expected to begin Monday, Harrison said.

The project also includes an expanded clerk's office and a newly constructed jury assembly room.

"I think it is indeed show-off material," Harrison said.

When the courthouse in Fontana first opened in the 1970s, it had only two courtrooms -- enough to accommodate the city's population at the time of about 20,000, according to a San Bernardino County news release.

With the city's population booming in recent years to nearly 200,000, the courthouse became increasingly cramped, forcing Presiding Judge Douglas M. Elwell to create Dept. 6.

"Our courts were exceedingly overworked," Harrison said.

In a brief speech during Thursday's event, Elwell praised the expansion project's "phenomenal changes and improvements."

San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane said funding for the project was divided 50-50 between the county and the state.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a commercial truck driver whose runaway dump truck crashed into another vehicle, killing its driver.

Adam Ahlberg, 30, was acquitted of felony vehicular manslaughter in June, but jurors deadlocked on a lesser misdemeanor count.

During a Sept. 21 hearing in West Valley Superior Court, prosecutors moved to dismiss the remaining misdemeanor against Ahlberg.

Ahlberg's prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Charles Feibush, said the misdemeanor couldn't be refiled because the statute of limitations has expired.

Angel Calzada, a 51-year-old Rancho Cucamonga city employee, was killed June 16, 2006 when Ahlberg's runaway dump truck collided with his Ford F-250 at Archibald Avenue and Arrow Route in Rancho Cucamonga.

Ahlberg testified at his trial that his truck's brakes failed at the northern end of Archibald, where the street has an unusually steep grade.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that Ahlberg and his employer, Clark Grading, Inc. of Riverside, knew the truck had faulty brakes but failed to maintain them.

Clark Grading, Inc., still faces criminal charges in connection with Calzada's death, and has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for Nov. 4.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A mother and her boyfriend have pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the death in 2007 of the woman's 8-month-old son.

Authorities said the mother, Elizabeth Reta, swabbed Samuel Reta's nose with a Q-Tip tainted with methamphetamine. Her boyfriend, Juan Antonio Sanchez, then beat the child to try to get him to come down from the high.

Reta and Sanchez both accepted plea bargains from prosecutors on Friday, Sept. 24 that carry prison sentences of more than a decade.

Reta's plea bargain carries a sentence of 11 years, said Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson. The 31-year-old Ontario woman is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 21 in West Valley Superior Court.

Sanchez, 35, of Pomona, was sentenced the day of his plea to 27 years in prison. His sentence is longer than Reta's because he has a prior conviction for robbery, Anderson said.

According to a police report attached to her court file, Reta told authorities that in August 2007, she swabbed her son's itchy nose with a Q-Tip in their home in the 1500 block of South Euclid Avenue.

When the boy began behaving strangely, Reta told Sanchez, who called the woman "stupid" and told her he uses the Q-Tip to clean his methamphetamine pipe.

For the next four days -- before Reta called paramedics Aug. 29 over Sanchez's objection -- Sanchez repeatedly spanked and slapped the boy, threw him onto the floor and tied him to a bed, according to the report.

Reta pleaded with Sanchez to call for paramedics the day she swabbed her son's nose, but Sanchez told her not to because he feared police would arrest him on drug charges.

Samuel Reta was in a coma when he was hospitalized. He was suffering from pneumonia, and doctors said he had a broken arm, broken rib, an apparent bite mark on his arm, and injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome, according to the report.

Reta and Sanchez were arrested Aug. 30, and Samuel Reta died Aug. 31.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A driver who killed 64-year-old Paul Martin in a June traffic collision has pleaded no contest to felony DUI as part of a plea bargain that carries a three-year prison sentence.

Albert Gilbert Ruiz, 23, is set to be sentenced Oct. 21 for the June 13 crash on Church Street in Rancho Cucamonga, in which witnesses said Ruiz drove over a landscaped median into opposing traffic and collided with the car driven by Martin.

Martin, a Rancho Cucamonga resident since 2001, was pronounced dead the night of the crash at San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland.

Ruiz, whose blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.16 -- twice the legal limit -- agreed to the plea bargain Sept. 20 in West Valley Superior Court. The conviction will count as a strike, according to minutes of the court hearing.

One of Martin's daughters called Ruiz's expected three-year sentence "an insult."

"He gets his life back in a few short years," Erika Giffing said. "We'll never have our father back. We'll never be the same.

Giffing said she believed that because Ruiz has no criminal history, the maximum sentence he could have faced was not much longer than three years.

"That's just our judicial system," she said. "I don't agree with it. But it is what it is."

Ruiz's prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi, could not be reached for comment.

Ruiz's attorney, Richard Escobedo, did not return calls seeking comment.

During an interview after the crash, Ruiz told a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy that before the collision, he drank about seven beers while watching a Lakers game at a friend's house.

Ruiz said his friends tried to keep him from driving because he was drunk, but he snuck away, according to a transcript of the interview attached to Ruiz's court file.

Giffing said she plans to read a three-page victim-impact statement during Ruiz's sentencing hearing.

She said she will describe "how hard it was to relay all this information to our children -- because he was such a good grandfather."

"Seeing my kids cry and my mom cry was the hardest thing I've had to do, and I'm a cancer patient," she said.

Giffing said her father didn't drink and drive, and he tried to keep family members and friends from doing so.

"Maybe someday I can find it in my heart to forgive (Ruiz)," she said. "I can't right now."

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A former branch manager at a company that supplies San Bernardino County jails with phone cards and other materials pleaded not guilty Monday to embezzling $720,000 from the company.

Carmen Ascencio, 37, is accused of embezzling the funds over the last five years. She was arrested last week at her home in the 36700 block of Solvay Street in Palmdale.

A police report attached to Ascencio's court file alleges she embezzled money from the Rancho Cucamonga branch of Canteen Corrections in the following ways:

-- Falsifying invoices for inmate phone cards and cashing the checks for herself. (Total loss: $401,000.)

-- Underreporting vending machine sales at local jails and keeping the balance. (Total loss: $95,000.)

-- Stealing sacks of quarters meant for use by inmates in jail pay phones. (Total loss: $224,000.)

Ascencio remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. She is next due Thursday in West Valley Superior Court.

Canteen Corrections is a subsidiary of the United Kingdom-based Compass Group, according to the report. Canteen Corrections provides supplies to many prisons and jails in Southern California, according to the report.

Ascencio managed the Rancho Cucamonga branch of the company from 1999 until she quit without notice in February.

"Canteen Corrections attempted to contact her with negative results because she had disconnected her personal cell and home phone," the report says.

Ascencio quit amid a San Bernardino County sheriff's department investigation into possible "selling and smuggling of contraband into the jail facilities," the report says.

The company completed an audit after Ascencio quit, and discovered she falsified documents in the course of embezzling $720,000, according to the report.

CHINO -- A judge set bail at $7 million today for a man accused of stabbing his wife to death in the street outside the couple's Chino Hills home.

The bail amount for Samir Wahid, 39, is higher than the $2 million that Judge Gerard S. Brown originally said he would set.

The judge also further restricted Wahid's movements should he post bail.

Wahid, if released, will be restricted to his home in Chino Hills, his attorney's office in San Bernardino, and job sites in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties for his air-conditioning installation business.

Wahid will have a GPS tracking device fixed to his ankle if he is released from custody.

Wahid is charged with murder for the May 20 killing of 33-year-old Iman Wahid, who was stabbed to death in the 15700 block of Sedona Drive.

When Samir Wahid was arrested, Brown ordered him held without bail, granting a request from sheriff's detectives who believed Wahid was a flight risk because of his assets -- estimated at $8 million -- and because he holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Lebanon, which does not have an extradition agreement with the U.S.

Wahid has turned over his passports to authorities, Brown said today.

Wahid's attorney argued in a written bail motion that the husband acted in the "heat of passion" in killing his wife, and should be convicted at most of voluntary manslaughter.

Wahid was enraged at his estranged wife because he believed she had cheated on him, attorney Grover Porter wrote in the motion.

Wahid was also reportedly upset because he was ordered by a judge to make $13,000-a-month support payments to his wife and children.

Wahid's prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Steve Mitchell, had originally asked that Wahid's bail be set at $15 million. Today he said he would be satisfied with bail set between $7 million and $10 million.

Mitchell has said he agrees with Brown's statements that Wahid has a Constitutional right to bail.

The prosecutor said he was unsure whether Wahid will be able to post $7 million bail.

Wahid's family members declined to comment to a reporter today, and his attorney, Porter, said at a previous hearing that he does not grant interviews to reporters.

Wahid's is scheduled to next appear in Chino Superior Court on Dec. 2.

CHINO - A man awaiting trial for allegedly stabbing his wife to death in Chino Hills could be released from custody next week.

A judge has tentatively agreed to set bail at $2 million for 39-year-old Samir Wahid, who has been held without bail since he allegedly stabbed his wife to death May 20.

If released on bail, Wahid would be required to turn in his passports, and his travel would be limited to Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties and Corona, where his children live. He would also be required to wear a GPS monitoring device, Judge Gerard S. Brown said.

Wahid is accused of fatally stabbing 33-year-old Iman Wahid at about 1:30 p.m. in the street outside the couple's home in the 15700 block of Sedona Drive.

The couple was in the midst of a divorce, and Samir Wahid was reportedly angry over $13,000-a-month support payments he was ordered to pay his wife, according to an arrest report attached to Wahid's court file.

Brown previously granted a request from San Bernardino County sheriff's detectives that Wahid be held without bail because they believed he was a flight risk.

Detectives estimate that Wahid, part owner of a successful air-conditioning business, is worth upwards up $8 million. He also holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Lebanon, which does not have an extradition agreement with the U.S.

"I think he's an extreme flight risk and a danger to the community," said Deputy District Attorney Steve Mitchell, who believes Wahid's bail should be set at $15 million.

Brown is set to make a final ruling on Wahid's bail conditions Wednesday in Chino Superior Court.

In a written motion asking Brown to set bail at $500,000 or $1 million, Wahid's defense attorney, Grover Porter, outlined the couple's relationship and the circumstances of Iman Wahid's killing.

Porter wrote that he believes Iman Wahid's killing amounts at most to voluntary manslaughter, not murder as prosecutors have charged.

"I am informed and believe that (Samir Wahid) killed his wife Iman while in a rage and under classic 'heat of passion'," Proter wrote. "He believed that Iman was having numerous affairs with other men."

According to Porter's motion, the couple wed when Iman Wahid was 18 and living in poverty in Lebanon. After the marriage, Iman Wahid was placed into "a life of luxury and wealth" by her husband, Porter wrote. The couple had three children together.

"The case against (Samir Wahid) regarding the charge of first-degree murder is insubstantial in that there was clear provocation by the behavior of his estranged wife, Iman, who apparently abandoned the defendant for other men despite all he had done for her materially and by being a loyal and faithful husband," Porter wrote.

Mitchell said he will ask the judge on Wednesday to reconsider his decision to set Wahid's bail at $2 million. The prosecutor said he argued unsuccessfully at an earlier hearing that bail be set at $15 million.

"It's a situation that concerns me, and concerns the district attorney's office a great deal," Mitchell said.

Mitchell said Wahid has a constitutional right to bail because his case is not a capital case - meaning he isn't eligible for the death sentence or life in prison without parole - and there isn't evidence that he's threatened to harm anyone besides his wife.

"He has a right to bail," Mitchell said. "I just think it should be $15 million."

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A jury began deliberating this afternoon in the trial of an alleged Montclair gang member charged with murdering an Ontario man last year in a supermarket parking lot.

Jose Ramon Lopez, 26, is accused of shooting and killing 38-year-old George Salsgiver on July 24, 2009. Prosecutors believe Lopez killed Salsgiver because he felt disrespected.

The men didn't know each other prior to the incident, but witnesses said that before the shooting they appeared to have a brief verbal confrontation outside Stater Bros. at Central Avenue and Palo Verde Street in Montclair.

"The man was on a mission," Deputy District Attorney Thomas Colclough told jurors today before they began deliberating in West Valley Superior Court. "He got disrespected in public and wanted to deal with it."

In his closing argument, Lopez's attorney said he didn't believe prosecutors proved in the 10-day trial that Lopez was the shooter. Gary Ablard also said Salsgiver was heard shouting obscenities shortly before he was killed.

"We have a human being sitting over here and the government says he did something," Ablard said. "We say he didn't."

Ablard said he believes Montclair police handled evidence poorly and may have inadvertently "contaminated" test results that showed Lopez had gunshot residue on his hands 12 hours after the shooting.

"The defense has some issues to be dealt with - a lot of them," Ablard said.

Jurors deliberated today until about 4:15 p.m., and are set to resume deliberations Friday morning.

If the jury convicts Lopez of murder, it has the option of convicting him of first-degree murder -- which is premeditated -- or second-degree murder.

Colclough argued today that although the killing happened quickly, it was premeditated.

Witnesses recalled hearing Lopez's girlfriend shout, "Hey babe, don't," as the accused gunman left his car, Colclough said. The prosecutor said that shows Lopez's killing was premeditated.

"She didn't want Mr. Lopez ... to go out there and kill someone," Colclough said.

Detectives investigating the shooting were led to Lopez by a woman who witnessed Salsgiver's killing and wrote down the first six digits of Lopez's license plate, Colclough said.

The witness also identified Lopez as the shooter when she was shown a picture of Lopez alongside pictures of five other men, Colclough said.

The prosecutor dismissed defense claims that Salgiver's killer could have emerged from the back seat of Lopez's car, as one witness recalled to police.

Colclough called the back-seat shooter "a phantom."

After the hearing, Colclough said Lopez could face a prison sentence of more than 100 years if he is convicted.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A woman accused of offering a sheriff's deputy a bribe last year during a drunken driving arrest has pleaded no contest to misdemeanor bribery.

Marizella Perez, 28, was sentenced to 140 days in jail after offering her plea Tuesday in West Valley Superior Court. She was also fined about $2,000 and placed on probation for three years.

Perez, of Rancho Cucamonga, allegedly offered a $1,000 bribe to a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy after she was arrested Sept. 27, 2009 on suspicion of drunken driving.

A deputy pulled Perez over after he saw her driving a gray BMW without license plates in the area of Foothill and Day Creek boulevards in Rancho Cucamonga, according to an arrest report attached to Perez's court file.

Perez's blood-alcohol level was measured by a breathalyzer at 0.287 -- more than three and a half times the legal limit -- and she was handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a patrol car, the report said.

As a deputy sat in the front seat of the patrol car filling out paperwork, Perez allegedly offered the $1,000 bribe.

In order to bolster the evidence for a felony bribery arrest against Perez, the deputy initially went along with the woman's plan.

The deputy drove Perez to an ATM and removed her handcuffs. She withdrew $200 and promised the deputy the rest the next day, the report said.

Prosecutors initially charged Perez with a felony count of bribery, plus two misdemeanor related to drunken driving.

Perez pleaded no contest to misdemeanor bribery, and the two drunken driving counts were dismissed as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

Judge Michael R. Libutti ordered Perez to report to Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center in Devore on Oct. 14 to begin serving her jail sentence, according to online minutes of Perez's sentencing hearing.

POMONA -- A woman accused of stabbing a romantic rival to death with a kitchen knife pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity this morning to murder charges.

Nicole Ann Stewart, 34, is accused of killing 49-year-old Robin Ridgeway on July 23, 2009 at Pomona mental health facility Hamilton Villa.

Police said Stewart attacked Ridgeway because she falsely believed Ridgeway was romantically involved with Stewart's boyfriend.

After Stewart entered her plea in Pomona Superior Court, Commissioner Wade D. Olson appointed two psychiatrists to interview her and submit reports by Oct. 26, which is Stewart's next court date.

Olson warned Stewart that by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, she could spend the rest of her life in a mental institution.

Olson set a tentative trial date for Dec. 7.

Stewart remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood.

Pictured: The accident scene at Arrow and Vineyard, and Griffin's mug shot from his arrest prior to the crash by Ontario PD.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A transient convicted of four felonies in connection with a near-fatal traffic collision last year was sentenced today to more than 23 years in state prison.

Patrick Griffin, 42, was legally drunk Nov. 3 when he sped through red lights in a stolen car attempting to flee sheriff's deputies, prosecutors said.

When he ran a red light at Arrow Route and Vineyard Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga, he collided with a car driven by 19-year-old Jessica Garcia.

Garcia, of Rancho Cucamonga, suffered serious brain injuries in the crash and was in a coma for nearly two months. She now suffers partial paralysis.

In West Valley Superior Court this morning, Garcia needed a cane to walk, and she moved slowly with a noticeable limp.

"Every night before you go to sleep think about how hard it is for me not to cry," Garcia said before Griffin was sentenced.

Judge Jon Ferguson sentenced Griffin to the maximum term of 23 years and 4 months.

Ferguson said he received a letter from Griffin expressing remorse for the incident and pleading for leniency.

"What trumps that, unfortunately, are the life-changing injuries Ms. Garcia suffered," Ferguson said.

In explaining his sentence, the judge also recounted Griffin's 10 prior felony convictions, including a strike conviction for robbery. Griffin was convicted of felonies in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Dakota.

After Griffin's sentencing, Garcia said in an interview that she was pleased with the prison sentence, but also felt Griffin may have deserved worse.

"Honestly, I think maybe he should spend the rest of his life there," Garcia said.

At about 3 a.m. the day of the crash, Griffin was arrested on drug charges by Ontario police and released a few hours later with a citation.

At about 1:30 p.m., he stole a car from a gas station at Arrow and Hermosa Avenue.

Just minutes later, a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy observed Griffin drive erratically as he left a shopping center at Arrow and Archibald Avenue.

When the deputy tried to pull Griffin over, Griffin drove off at speeds the deputy estimated at 95 mph, Ferguson said.

Griffin ran red lights at Archibald and Hellman Avenue before colliding with Garcia's car at Vineyard.

"It's a miracle that anyone survived that impact," the judge said.

Garcia's parents said that when Garcia emerged from her coma Dec. 24, she was unable to lift her head.

Through physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, she's made considerable progress, but she isn't expected to fully recover, said Garcia's father, Julio Tavizon.

Tavizon said doctors expect his daughter to recover enough to be able to work, provide for herself and resume driving.

"That's saying a lot," Tavizon said.

"I still have a long ways to go, but my progress is going pretty steady," Garcia said. It's going pretty fast. ... Everything takes time."

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man convicted of voluntary manslaughter for a 1992 stabbing was sentenced today to 11 years in state prison.

Freddy Najarro, 36, was convicted by a jury in July of fatally stabbing 19-year-old Dennis Smalling at a party that was illegally staged in a vacant warehouse at 12027 Arrow Route in Rancho Cucamonga.

Prosecutors accused Najarro of stabbing Smalling on May 15, 1992 because he was angry at the way Smalling, of Riverside, watched his girlfriend dance.

Prosecutors had hoped for a murder conviction, but a West Valley Superior Court jury settled on the lesser crime of voluntary manslaughter.

Najarro's 11-year sentence is the maximum prison term for voluntary manslaughter.

Judge Stephen G. Saleson rejected a request by Najarro's attorney that Najarro be sentenced to no more than six years.

Gary Wynings, Najarro's attorney, argued during the trial that Najarro, of Pomona, was being badly beaten during the fight with Smalling, and stabbed him in self defense.

In giving Najarro the maximum sentence, Saleson said he believed Najarro provoked the fight by yelling a racial slur at Smalling, who is black.

Smalling's slaying remained unsolved until an anonymous tipster told San Bernardino Sheriff's detectives last year that Najarro was the killer.

"We're most happy this cold case was discovered, brought to trial, and there's some justice," said Smalling's cousin, Eartha Johnson.

Because the stabbing happened in 1992, different rules for behavior credits will be applied to Najarro's sentence by prison officials, potentially shortening his prison stay by about four years.

Under current rules, Najarro would be eligible for release after serving 85 percent of his sentence.

But in 1992, the law allowed inmates with good behavior to be released after serving 50 percent, said Deputy District Attorney John Patrick Thomas.

A strike conviction on Najarro's record was not applied to his sentence because the conviction occurred after 1992.

Najarro was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 1996 for beating someone to death outside a bar in Fontana.

The 1996 strike conviction, if applied to his sentence for the 1992 case, would have doubled his prison term.

Thomas said that because Najarro now has two strike convictions, he could face a life sentence if convicted of another felony.

FONTANA -- A man accused of throwing a knife at his ex-girlfriend, leaving a two-inch gash on her face, pleaded no contest to attempted murder this week as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors that carries a seven-year prison sentence.

Humberto Araujo Jr., 20, was arrested Jan. 3 after his ex-girlfriend reported the alleged attack in Fontana to police.

Araujo entered his plea Tuesday in Fontana Superior Court, where he is due back for sentencing Oct. 25.

The conviction carries a strike as part of the state's three-strikes law, according to plea bargain documents in Araujo's court file.

Araujo's ex-girlfriend told police that Araujo threw the knife at her while she was driving at Sierra and Randall avenues.

She said that at the time of the alleged attack she was waiting at a red light and Araujo was walking in the area.

She said Araujo threw a folding knife through an open driver's-side window, and it struck her cheek before coming to rest near her baby in the back seat.

The woman told police that she and Araujo dated for two years. He regularly beat her during their relationship, and after their November break-up he threatened to kill her, the woman reported.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A former music teacher at Chaffey High School in Ontario pleaded no contest to a felony sex crime this week in connection with an alleged relationship he had with an underage female student.

Thomas Mazur, 52, entered his plea Tuesday in West Valley Superior Court after reaching a plea bargain with prosecutors that carries a 270-day jail sentence.

Prosecutors charged Mazur with three felonies in July 2009 alleging he had a sexual relationship with the girl, then 16, between April and December 2008.

Mazur, of Rancho Cucamonga, pleaded no contest to oral copulation of a minor.

Two other felonies -- sexual penetration by a foreign object, and attempted unlawful sexual intercourse -- will be dismissed at sentencing on Nov. 2, according to plea bargain documents in Mazur's court file.

Before his alleged relationship with the girl was revealed, Mazur was the director of the Chaffey Symphony Orchestra, which consists of students from Chaffey, Ontario, Montclair and Colony high schools.

Mazur met the girl, a student at Ontario High School, through his role as director of the orchestra, according to a police report contained in Mazur's court file.

Mazur will be placed on probation for three years as part of his plea bargain, and must register as a sex offender while on probation.

His plea agreement also bars him contacting the girl or coming within 100 yards of her home, school, or place of work.

Mazur's felony conviction can be reduced to a misdemeanor if he completes his three-year probation without any violations, according to plea bargain documents.

CHINO -- A man convicted of murdering his cousin was sentenced today to 50 years to life in state prison.

Miguel Ramos, 30, was accused by prosecutors of fatally shooting 25-year-old Valentin Barria two years ago because he believed Barria had an affair with his wife.

A jury found Ramos guilty in May of first-degree murder, and in a second trial phase the jury found Ramos legally sane at the time of his cousin's killing.

Witnesses told police that Ramos shot Barria five times on May 10, 2008 -- including a final shot to Barria's head after he'd fallen -- outside a party in the 13100 block of Fifth Street in Chino.

Before he opened fire, Ramos told Barria, "Cousin, you owe me something," according to witnesses.

Ramos' wife left him about a year before the shooting, and rumors spread in Chino that it was because she was having an affair with Barria, who was married, and carrying his child, according to prosecutors.

Before Ramos' sentencing in Chino Superior Court, Barria's widow read a statement in court saying that she and her son still suffer because of Barria's death.

"My son and I are suffering, and I fell into depression and anxiety," Maximina Lopez said.
She said she and her young son were with Barria at the time of the shooting and witnessed his death.

"It was a very cruel murder at the fault of this man," Lopez said.

In a written statement read aloud in court, Barria's mother, Guadalupe Pacheco, said Ramos had no right to take her son's life.

"Only cowards act in that way to show valor and strength," Pacheco said.

Prior to sentencing Ramos, Judge Gerard S. Brown rejected a motion for a new trial brought by Ramos' attorneys.

Ramos' lead attorney, Eduardo Madrid, argued that Ramos should be granted a new trial because during the sanity phase of the case, a defense psychiatrist was unprepared and performed poorly during his testimony.

"There has not been a miscarriage of justice here," Brown said in explaining his ruling.

CHINO -- A former music teacher at Chino Hills High School made his first court appearance today following his arrest in July for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student.

Justin Clark Wallin, 30, arrived in Chino Superior Court with his mother and an attorney to enter a plea to possible criminal charges.

Wallin learned prosecutors haven't filed charges yet, and a new court date was set for Oct. 15, according to courtroom personnel.

According to a San Bernardino County sheriff's news release, Wallin engaged in sexual acts with the girl in Chino, Chino Hills, and at Wallin's house.

The relationship was reported to authorities after the girl's parents discovered more than 8,000 text messages -- some sexually explicit -- sent by Wallin to their daughter, according to the news release.

Wallin posted $100,000 bail after his arrest, and has been reassigned to a position at the Chino Valley Unified School District's central office pending criminal charges, said Wallin's attorney, Stephen D. Klarich.

"They have not let him go yet," Klarich said.

Klarich said prosecutors have up to a year to file misdemeanor charges, and up to three years to file felony charges.

POMONA -- A judge ruled today that two alleged gang members must stand trial on charges that they opened fire at a baby shower, injuring five, including the expectant mother.

Michael Madrid, 16, and Francisco Ramos, 20, each face five counts of attempted murder for the March 13 shooting in an apartment complex in the 800 block of South Buena Vista Avenue in Pomona.

Several witnesses and victims testified this morning that before he opened fire, one of the gunmen -- identified as Madrid -- shouted his allegiance to a Pomona street gang and made a derogatory comment about a rival gang.

At least two gunmen then opened fire on a small group of people who had gathered for a baby shower in a courtyard area of the complex.

No one in the group was an active gang member or knew Madrid and Ramos, a detective said.

The expectant mother, who was nine months' pregnant, was shot in the stomach. Her baby wasn't harmed, and she gave birth to the child soon after the shooting, the woman testified.

Four other people at the baby shower were shot and survived their injuries. One of the victims who testified today was confined to a wheelchair because she was shot in the knee.

Today's testimony in Pomona Superior Court came during a preliminary hearing for Madrid and Ramos. At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors must present evidence for a felony case to proceed to trial.

A Pomona gang detective described the area of the shooting as "on the border" between areas controlled by rival gangs.

Detective Michael Lange testified that Madrid and Ramos likely committed the shooting to "send a message" to a rival gang for perceived encroachment into their territory.

Ramos, while in custody for another shooting, confessed to his role in the shooting -- first to a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, and later to Pomona police, Detective Andrew Bebon testified.

According to Bebon, Ramos told him he and Madrid took up positions on either side of the baby shower -- believing the group might include rival gang members -- before closing in and opening fire.

"(Ramos) stated he did fire, however he said he fired toward the ground because he didn't want to shoot anybody," Bebon testified. "But he said he had to fire because if he didn't fire it would have brought shame upon him for not participating in the shooting."

The expectant mother and two other women who attended the party estimated in their testimony that about 15 shots were fired by the gunmen.

The expectant mother recalled seeing Madrid walking back and forth in the area before the shooting.

She remembered telling the group -- which numbered about a half-dozen at 10 p.m. -- that it was strange to see a person pacing near the complex.

The expectant mother said that when Madrid took out a revolver, people at the baby shower scattered for cover.

One of the women said she shielded the pregnant woman as they both ran from the area. The woman was shot twice and she fell down, exposing the pregnant woman, who was then shot in the left side of her stomach.

Madrid and Ramos remain jailed in lieu of $5 million bail, and are next due in court Sept. 23.

Mario Albert Cardoza, 31, was initially arrested and charged with attempted murder in the case, but criminal charges were dropped and he was released after police determined he was misidentified as a suspect, Bebon said.

POMONA -- The woman who accused retired NFL kicker Tony Zendejas of raping her in 2008 agreed this week to drop her civil lawsuit against him.

The lawsuit was dismissed on Wednesday in Pomona Superior Court "with prejudice," meaning the claim can't be refiled, court records show.

Zendejas' attorney said Zendejas did not pay his accuser any money as part of a settlement or offer her any other form of compensation.

Timothy Younger said Zendejas agreed as part of the dismissal not to pursue any counter-claims against his accuser -- such as a claim for slander or false prosecution.

"(Zendejas) is just very pleased that that aspect of the litigation arising from this incident is done," Younger said.

The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, accused Zendejas, 50, of drugging her at his San Dimas restaurant -- Zendejas Mexican Restaurant -- then raping her at a nearby Red Roof Inn.

During his trial last year on criminal charges, Zendejas testified that he and the woman had consensual sex. A jury deliberated for only about an hour before reaching a not-guilty verdict.

Zendejas did not return a call seeking comment Friday. An attorney for Zendejas' accuser could not be reached for comment.

Zendejas, a Chino native, played in the NFL from 1985 to 1995, including four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

Following his acquittal, Zendejas' accuser filed a civil lawsuit in January seeking unspecified monetary damages for negligence, battery, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Zendejas has filed a federal claim against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the lead investigator in his case, claiming the department violated his civil rights in its investigation.

Younger said Zendejas' federal case is ongoing. "It's still in the discovery phase, and trial is still a few months away," he said.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An 81-year-old Upland man convicted of molesting a 12-year-old boy in his neighborhood was sentenced today to 300 days in jail.

Clarence Gordon must serve the first 100 days of his sentence in county jail, and he will serve the remainder at home under house arrest, a prosecutor said.

Gordon was arrested June 18 after a boy told police Gordon molested him in the 2200 block of Wendy Way after inviting him to his house.

According to police reports, the boy's mother granted Gordon's request for the boy to come over to help him move furniture.

The boy's parents attended Gordon's sentencing in West Valley Superior Court. They told Judge Mary Fuller they were satisfied with the plea bargain.

"I'm pleased with it, but I with it had never happened," the boy's father said in an interview after the hearing. "I'd be much happier than I am."

The boy's father told a probation officer he's known Gordon since before his son's birth. He said he considered Gordon a friend before his alleged sexual abuse.

"I hate his guts," said the father, who cried during Gordon's sentencing. "I'm sorry to say that. He disappointed me terribly. I just can't say anything good about him."

The boy's mother said her son will likely go through counseling because of Gordon's alleged sexual abuse.

"He's doing OK," the woman said of her son. "But he's always mentioning (Gordon). He told us he can't concentrate in school."

According to a pre-sentencing report prepared by the San Bernardino County Probation Department, Gordon has not shown remorse.

Rather, Gordon maintained in an interview with a probation officer that he was trying to help the boy when he touched his penis, according to the report.

"He still does not seem to appreciate the wrongfulness of his act and expressed no remorse for his behavior or the emotional distress he has caused the victim," the report states.

Gordon, a retired steelworker and married father of two, often attended Upland City Council meetings and spoke during the public comment segment of the meetings.

In addition to serving jail time, Gordon's sentence includes lifetime registration as a sex offender.

During a five-year probation period, Gordon will be required attend counseling and stay away from the boy and his family.

CHINO - The former president of a high school basketball team's booster club pleaded guilty this week to stealing from the club.

Donald Williamson pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony grand theft in a plea bargain with prosecutors that carries a 16-month prison sentence.

Williamson is expected to turn himself in to authorities when he returns to Chino Superior Court for sentencing on Dec. 1, Deputy District Attorney Christine Masonek said.

Williamson, 49, was the president last year of the booster club for the girls basketball program at Ayala High School in Chino Hills.

In an interview last month, Williamson said he was innocent of criminal charges.

He said he believed the charges stem from withdrawals he made from the club's bank account to reimburse himself for his expenses in performing duties for the club.

When asked this week why he pleaded guilty, Williamson faulted his court-appointed attorney and said he couldn't afford to hire a private attorney.

"That ... attorney I got, he ain't worth a nickel," said Williamson, of Los Angeles.

Williamson said that if convicted at trial, he could have faced up to 12 years in prison - a sentence he said would be lengthened because of his criminal history.

Prosecutors charged Williamson in July with two felonies: grand theft and embezzlement. The charges alleged Williamson took more than $400 from the booster club.

LOS ANGELES - A judge ruled this afternoon that seven young Pomona men must stand trial on murder charges for their alleged roles in the killing of a Diamond Bar teen last year at a party in Pomona.

The ruling by Judge William R. Pounders came after four days of testimony at a preliminary hearing for the accused killers of Marquis LeBlanc, 18, who was beaten, stabbed and shot to death on April 17, 2009 in the 2100 block of Virginia Avenue.

Witnesses testified that LeBlanc, one of the only black people at a predominantly Hispanic party, pulled out a handgun during a confrontation and waved it from side to side before attempting to leave the party.

A group of as many as 20 young men caught up to LeBlanc and beat him at the party, according to witnesses. LeBlanc escaped the beating and ran into the street, where the group caught up to him and continued beating him.

It ended with one man shooting LeBlanc in the head as he lay unconscious in the street, witnesses said.

"I am super excited," LeBlanc's mother, Jessica Corde, said after the hearing. "I know that God is in the middle of it and evil will not prevail at this point. I hate them all at this point but I hope God can give me forgiveness."

The seven people held to answer on murder charges were Ralph Richard Alfaro, 18; Adam Delgado, 21; Victor Guillen, 18; Martin Haro, 16; Luis Martinez, 19; Efrain Prado, 21; and Adrian Zuniga, 16. All seven remained jailed in lieu of $2 million bail.

The judge rejected arguments by defense attorneys that the men acted only to disarm LeBlanc.

Pounders said he agreed with Deputy District Attorney John McKinney's assertion that LeBlanc used the weapon as an aid to escape. A group of men formed around him after a confrontation on the party's dance floor, witnesses said.

"It appears that he was pulling that gun and clearing a path for his own exit," McKinney said.

Pounders also ruled that prosecutors' allegations that the men committed the killing to benefit a gang can be presented at trial. The allegations, if found true by a jury, will lengthen the defendants' prison sentences.

"I think there's abundant evidence that this benefitted a street gang," Pounders said.

Three others are charged in the case and are scheduled to face a preliminary hearing Nov. 2.

Edgar Cisneros, 20, and Richard Vasquez, 18, are charged with murder. Arturo Casas, 21, faces robbery charges for allegedly stealing LeBlanc's Nike shoes from his dead body, a prosecutor said.

Seven of the 10 defendants were initially charged with murder, but that number rose to nine by the end of the preliminary hearing.

Prosecutors believe Delgado stabbed LeBlanc. The other six defendants who faced a preliminary hearing this week are accused of participating in LeBlanc's beating.

The seven young men are next due in court Sept. 20.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A former Upland elementary school teacher accused of sexually abusing students pleaded no contest to four counts of misdemeanor battery today in a plea bargain that carries no jail time.

James Andrew Megaw, 44, was sentenced to three years of probation after entering his pleas in West Valley Superior Court. Felony sexual abuse charges were dismissed at as part of the plea bargain, said Megaw's attorney, Leonard Levine.

Megaw, of Rancho Cucamonga, must undergo a year of psychological counseling, stay away from the alleged victims and their families, and forfeit his teaching credential, according to a two page plea-bargain signed this morning in West Valley Superior Court.

Megaw must "surrender (his) current teaching credential and state in writing that as a condition of the plea in this criminal case he waives and gives up any right to seek re-instatement of this teaching credential, forever," the plea form states.

The alleged victims and their families also agreed to drop Megaw as a defendant in civil lawsuits they filed against Megaw and the Upland Unified School District.

With Megaw no longer a defendant in the civil cases, only the school district faces potential civil liability, said Ricardo Perez, an attorney who represents the victims and their families.

Megaw was the head of Upland's teacher's union when he resigned his job at Valencia Elementary School two years ago amid allegations that he touched students in a sexual manner.

In a jury trial this year, five students testified that Megaw touched them during class. A sixth said that Megaw made a sexual comment to him in a school bathroom.

A jury deadlocked in May while deliberating Megaw's potential guilt on four felony counts, and a judge declared a mistrial.

A retrial in the case began last week. A jury was seated Wednesday to hear the case, and opening statements and testimony were set to begin Tuesday, Levine said.

Megaw's attorneys previously said Megaw was unwilling to plead guilty or no contest to any crime in connection with the case.

But Levine said that because the negotiated charges are not felonies and contain no allegations of a sexual nature, "it was too good of a result to turn down."

"(Megaw is) looking forward to moving on with his life and putting this nightmare behind him," Levine said. He said Megaw "has no intention or desire to teach."

Perez said that the families he represents are satisfied that Megaw will be unable to teach in the future.

Megaw's prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson, did not return a call seeking comment.

LOS ANGELES - One of the 10 young men charged in connection with a teen's slaying last year at a Pomona house party outlined his and others' roles in the incident in interviews with police, a detective testified this afternoon.

Ralph Richard Alfaro, 18, told detectives that he struck Marquis LeBlanc, 18, after LeBlanc fled a group of young men who attacked him following a confrontation at a party in the 2100 block of Virginia Avenue, Pomona police Detective Michael Lange testified.

Alfaro told police that Luis Martinez, 19, shot and killed LeBlanc on April 17, 2009 as he lay in the street following a beating, Lange said.

Alfaro also admitted he was a member of a Pomona tagging crew whose moniker is Tinto Killers. Tinto is a derogatory Spanish term for a black person. LeBlanc, of Diamond Bar, was black.

Lange's testimony at the at the Clara Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles came during the third day of a preliminary hearing for seven of the 10 young men charged in LeBlanc's killing. A hearing for the other three defendants is set for Nov. 2.

Lange said that in an Oct. 1 after his arrest, Alfaro told police that another defendant, 21-year-old Adam Delgado, got into an argument with LeBlanc on the party's dance floor.

During the argument, LeBlanc pulled out a handgun and a waved it at the crowd in front of him before attempting to flee, witness have testified this week.

"He was really mad," a woman testified today. "... He started pointing the gun toward the whole crowd."

The witnesses said a group of young men caught up to LeBlanc on the side of the house and began beating him. When LeBlanc escaped the initial beating and fled into the street, a group caught up to him and continued beating him.

Witnesses have said LeBlanc attackers searched his pockets as he lay unconscious on the ground, and LeBlanc's shoes were missing from his feet when authorities arrived.

Alfaro, Martinez and Delgado are among eight charged with murdering LeBlanc. The other five people are Adrian Zuniga, 16; Edgar Cisneros, 20; Richard Vasquez, 18; Victor Guillen, 18; and Martin Haro, 16.

Efrain Prado, 21, and Haro are charged with assault. Arturo Casas, 21, is charged with robbery.

A close family friend of Alfaro who said he was "like a big brother" said in an interview that he believes Alfaro was "in the wrong place at the wrong time" the night of the party.

"He's a good kid," Rolando Tolentino said. "(Police) are overdoing it."

A witness today claimed memory loss when asked to verify statements she'd made to police in prior interviews. Several witnesses have complained of feeling intimidated in court by the defendants' supporters.

Testimony in the case is set to conclude Thursday morning.