October 2010 Archives

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An Ontario man who confessed last year to molesting eight young girls over a 12-year span was sentenced today to 22 years in state prison.

Jack Edward Andrews, 59, admitted in an interview with police last year that he molested girls who lived in his Mountain Avenue apartment complex, as well as friends of his young daughter.

Prior to Andrews' sentencing in West Valley Superior Court, one of his victims read a statement in court. The 22-year-old woman said Andrews molested her when she was 7 or 8.

"Hopefully it will eat at you little by little until you can't stand it anymore," she said. "I am glad you are going to prison and thank God that you are one less sick man in this world, and won't be able to hurt anyone anymore."

Andrews pleaded no contest to eight felonies in March as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors that carried a 22-year sentence.

After entering into the agreement, Andrews tried to have the deal nullified. He said the sentence was too long, and claimed he was poorly represented by the attorney who negotiated his plea bargain.

A request to have the agreement set aside was rejected this month by Judge Jon D. Ferguson.

In an interview with a San Bernardino County probation officer, Andrews admitted he was guilty and said he "did not like what he was doing," according to a pre-sentencing report written by a probation officer.

"He is glad he was caught because now he has been stopped," the officer wrote.

Several of Andrews' relatives sent letters to Ferguson prior to sentencing pleading with the judge for leniency.

Andrews' wife, Debbie Andrews, said: "To me, punishing him to almost a lifetime behind bars is a sentence that doesn't match the crime."

She said her husband is remorseful and remains well-loved by his family.

"He is a good man, constantly offering his assistance at church work day, to friends and neighbors that need help, and performing painting projects or splitting wood at his dad's house in Big Bear," Debbie Andrews wrote.

Rhonda Scheuplein, one of Andrews' sisters, said 12 years would be an appropriate sentence for her brother.

"Twenty-two years is almost unthinkable," she wrote. "I believe the people who live in the legal world forget about the individual person and lose sight of (the) difference between someone who is a career, repeat offender and someone who is troubled and needs help."

Andrew had no criminal record prior to his molestation case.

Before his arrest, Andrews worked as a painter for the Chino Valley Unified School District. According to police, none of his victims were connected to the district.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A 47-year-old parolee was found guilty today of having sex with an underage girl and pimping her out on Holt Boulevard in Ontario.

The verdicts against Reginald Edward Christopher stem from a three-week period two years ago when he pimped and had sex with a runaway girl from San Bernardino who was then only 13 years old.

When he was arrested for pimping the girl in October 2008, Christopher had been out of prison for only about two months.

He spent about 26 years in custody for a kidnapping, rape and robbery in the early 1980s. That period of incarceration was followed by two short prison stints for parole violations, said Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss.

A jury of six men and six women deliberated for about three hours before reaching their verdicts.

The seven felonies include one count of pimping a minor under 16, three counts of committing a lewd act upon a child, and three counts of oral copulation with a person under 14.

"Obviously it was the appropriate verdict based on the evidence," Schmauss said.

Christopher is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 3 in West Valley Superior Court. He potentially faces a prison sentence of nearly 500 years to life, Schmauss said.

In an interview after the verdicts were reached, Christopher's father, Lawrence Christopher, said his son doesn't deserve do die in prison for his conduct with the girl.

He said the girl told his son she was an adult, and lied on the witness stand this week when she claimed she admitted to Reginald Christopher that she was underage.

"I'm positive," Lawrence Christopher said. "I believe my son when he said he did not know how old the little girl was."

Christopher's attorney, Gary Olive, said that ignorance about a child's true age is not a valid defense against charges like the ones Christopher faced. Olive did not call any witnesses during the defense portion of the trial.

In testimony this week, the girl -- identified in court as Jane Doe -- said she worked as a prostitute after running away from her grandmother's home in September 2008.

She said she met Christopher soon after she ran away, and made an agreement with him the day they met for him to act as her pimp.

She agreed to split her prostitution proceeds with Christopher in exchange for clothes and protection, she testified. In the three weeks before Christopher's arrest, the girl said he had sex with her every day.

Christopher's prior convictions stem from a 1981 incident -- when he was 16 -- in which he kidnapped a woman at Valley College in Los Angeles, then raped her, robbed her and stole her car, Schmauss said.

He was sentenced to 7 years to life for the incident, and was repeatedly denied parole until 2007, Schmauss said.

After Christopher was found guilty Friday, Judge Mary Fuller raised his bail from $500,000 to $1 million.

Schmauss said she believes Christopher is a flight risk because of the lengthy prison sentence he faces.

FONTANA -- A man convicted of attempted murder for throwing a knife at his ex-girlfriend was sentenced to seven years in state prison Monday in Fontana Superior Court.

Humberto Araujo Jr., 20, of Fontana, was accused of attacking the woman Jan. 3 after he saw her sitting in the driver's seat of a car that was stopped at a red light at Sierra and Randall avenues in Fontana.

According to police, Araujo, who was standing at a corner of the intersection, threw a knife through the woman's open window, hitting her in the cheek and leaving a two-inch gash.

Araujo pleaded no contest to attempted murder in September as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An Ontario Catholic priest has pleaded not guilty to eight felony counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a 12-year-old boy.

Jose Alejandro Castillo, who worked as a priest the last seven years at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Ontario, entered his pleas Tuesday in West Valley Superior Court.

Castillo, known to parishioners as "Father Alex," was arrested Monday at a parishioner's home in the 600 block of W. Zenia Court in Ontario.

Ontario police, who began investigating abuse allegations in July, accuse the 57-year-old Castillo of committing eight sex acts with the boy. Castillo could face up to 22 years in state prison if convicted.

During Castillo's arraignment Tuesday, which was conducted through a video link between the court and West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, Commissioner Ronald J. Gilbert appointed the San Bernardino County Public Defender's Office to represent Castillo.

Castillo remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. He is next due in court Nov. 1. A preliminary hearing, in which prosecutors must present evidence for a case to proceed to trial, has been scheduled for Nov. 4.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A girls' softball coach accused of kissing a 13-year-old girl on his team last year pleaded no contest Tuesday to a misdemeanor count of battery.

Frank John Castellanos, 49, of Rancho Cucamonga, was sentenced in West Valley Superior Court to one day in jail and placed on four years' probation.

He must stay away from the girl and register as a sex offender while on probation, and pay restitution to cover the girl's counseling expenses, Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson said.

"This is something that was acceptable to all sides," Anderson said.

The prosecutor said the plea agreement came after a "collaborative process" between his office and the girl's family that was aimed at "obtaining what was appropriate, rather than putting their daughter through a trial."

Castellanos, who coached a team in Rancho Cucamonga, was accused of kissing the girl Feb. 11, 2009 while sitting with her in a parked car. He denied the allegation in an interview with San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies.

Castellanos pleaded no contest to battery rather than the misdemeanor that was first filed by prosecutors - annoying or molesting a child. That charge was dismissed Tuesday as part of Castellanos' plea agreement.

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

Richard Charles Heverly, a 43-year-old La Verne resident, is charged with four felonies for his Aug. 10, 2008 dispute with a tow-truck driver on the 10 Freeway about 50 miles east of Indio.

In closing remarks to jurors at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, a Riverside County prosecutor called Heverly a "rogue, so called police officer" who drilled a pistol into the tow-truck driver's head when the driver blocked a lane to divert traffic around a burning big rig.

"Cops are supposed to be the ones that protect us, not the ones that assault us, as the defendant did on this day," said Deputy District Attorney Amity Armes.

A defense attorney countered that Heverly, who works at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, was attempting to control traffic and followed his training as his dispute with the driver escalated.

According to attorney Michael Schwartz, Heverly was using his gun "as a tool to gain compliance."

"My client was acting as a police officer," Schwartz added.

Today's closing arguments came after the seven-woman, five-man jury heard three days of testimony at Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Heverly's current trial is his second. In his first trial in April, a mistrial was declared after a jury deadlocked in its deliberations.

On the day of the incident, the tow-truck driver, Roger Gilstrap of Blythe, came across a burning big rig on the westbound 10 Freeway. He maneuvered his truck to block the shoulder and right lane of the two-lane road.

Heverly, who was in traffic nearby with his wife, son and brother, left his vehicle and confronted Gilstrap.

According to the prosecution, Heverly, who was wearing a tank top shorts, flashed his sheriff's badge and told Gilstrap, "This entitles me to do whatever the (expletive) I want."

"He was acting out of anger, not out of a duty to act," Armes said.

He then allegedly forced Gilstrap out of his truck, held a pistol to his ear and threatened to kill him. He bound one of Gilstrap's wrists with handcuffs, and released him only when a California Highway Patrol officer arrived, according to prosecutors.

"This case is about the defendant's abuse of his power," Armes said.

According to Schwartz, Heverly was trying to get Gilstrap to move his truck. Gilstrap ignored Heverly's demands - which Schwartz called lawful orders from a police officer - so the deputy responded by detaining the tow truck driver, Schwartz said.

When Heverly held the gun to Gilstrap's head, he did so only because Gilstrap reached for an object in his pocket. Gilstrap was reaching for his cell phone, but Heverly is trained to respond as if the movement could be a threat, Schwartz said.

"He was doing what he was trained to do the entire time," Schwartz said.

The four felonies Heverly faces are assault with a semiautomatic firearm, assault under color of authority, criminal threats, and false imprisonment.

The Sheriff's Department placed Heverly on paid administrative leave after he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting Gilstrap. He returned to duty at the West Valley Detention Center on Nov. 4, 2008, and he remains assigned to the jail, a sheriff's official said today.

LOS ANGELES -- A Chino woman convicted of bribery and trafficking in counterfeit exercise equipment was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison.

A jury found 47-year-old Chunchai Yu guilty in July of two counts of bribery and six counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Yu, also known as Katherine Yu, imported about $581,000 worth of counterfeit Malibu Pilates and Bowflex exercise gear from China, according to the news release.

The gear was seized by U.S. Customs agents in July 2009. Yu later paid a $12,000 bribe for release of the goods to an undercover agent of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement who was posing a Customs official, according to the news release.

Yu was sentenced in a downtown Los Angeles federal courtroom by U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson, according to the news release.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man convicted of murder for a shooting called "completely senseless" by a judge was sentenced Friday to 91 years to life in state prison.

Jose Ramon Lopez, 26, was convicted last month of murdering 38-year-old George Salsgiver following a brief argument between the two men last year near a Montclair supermarket.

Lopez, of Montclair, will not be eligible for parole until 2100. He will need to live well into his 100s before he has an opportunity to be released from prison.

Salsgiver's father, George Salsgiver Sr., said after the hearing in West Valley Superior Court that Lopez's sentence exceeded his expectations.

According to testimony during Lopez's trial, Salsgiver and Lopez did know each other prior to the July 24, 2009 shooting near Stater Bros. at Central Avenue and Palo Verde Street.

Witnesses said Salsgiver and Lopez argued briefly in the parking lot as Salsgiver walked past Lopez's car. Lopez then left the car and opened fire on Salsgiver, of Ontario, who was pronounced dead in the parking lot.

Police identified Lopez as Salsgiver's killer with the help of a woman who witnessed the shooting and wrote down the first six digits of Lopez's license plate.

Before he sentenced Lopez, Judge Stephen G. Saleson told the accused gang member he had no reason to kill Salsgiver, who had a wife and children.

"There's no question that this crime was completely senseless," Saleson said.

Several of Salsgiver's family members spoke in court before Lopez was sentenced.

Kendra Salsgiver, Salsgiver's wife of 12 years, said: "We didn't even get to say goodbye or tell him we loved him."

"It doesn't matter what sentence you get," she added. "It will never be enough for me and my children."

Salsgiver Sr. called his son's killing a "senseless, cold-blooded act of murder."

"Our home is a little quieter without George's laughter and his sense of humor," he said.

A jury convicted Lopez of first-degree murder last month following a 10-day trial. They also found true several "special allegations" that lengthened Lopez's prison sentence.

Lopez, a former Ontario resident who allegedly maintained membership in an Ontario gang, had two felony convictions before Salsgiver's killing: for assault with a firearm, and for carrying a concealed weapon.

Lopez's girlfriend, who was with him during the shooting, is scheduled to be sentenced next month after pleading guilty to acting as an accessory to Salsgivers's killing.

She faces up to three years in state prison for lying to detectives about the shooting, and for trying to craft an alibi for Lopez.

POMONA -- A former school employee charged with statutory rape is seeking an offer from prosecutors for a plea agreement, a prosecutor said this morning.

Benjamin Chavez, 40, a former security guard at the Pomona Unified School District, is accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl.

Chavez, of Pomona, made his second appearance in his criminal case today in Pomona Superior Court. An arraignment was postponed to Nov. 8 at his attorney's request.

Chavez was arrested last month after he allegedly had sex with the girl Sept. 4 at the Lemon Tree Hotel in Pomona. He later resigned from the school district, where he also worked as a baseball coach at Garey High School.

Ira Kwatcher, Chavez's attorney, told Judge Mike Camacho today that it's likely there will be a "disposition" in Chavez's case, such as a plea bargain. He also said he's discussed the possibility of a plea agreement with Deputy District Attorney Adam Chang.

Chang said in an interview after the hearing that he has not yet offered Chavez a plea bargain. "They are seeking an offer and I need to clear it with the appropriate people," he said.

Chang said the "appropriate people" include his supervisors in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, as well as the 17-year-old girl and her family.

Pictured: Paul Martin (left) and Albert Ruiz.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A 23-year-old drunk driver who killed a man in a June traffic collision apologized to the man's family today before being sentenced to three years in state prison.

Before Albert Gilbert Ruiz's sentencing in West Valley Superior Court, family members of the man he killed -- 64-year-old Paul Martin -- spoke about Martin's loss and about Ruiz's sentence, which one person called an "insult."

"You have no idea the pain you have caused," said Erika Giffing, Martin's daughter. "You get to go home. My dad doesn't."

Ruiz, of Rancho Cucamonga, drank an estimated seven beers while watching a Lakers game with friends June 13 before getting behind the wheel.

Near the intersection of Church Street and Elm Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga, Ruiz's Nissan Sentra crossed a landscaped median into opposing traffic, where he struck the driver's-side door of Martin's Hummer.

Martin, of Rancho Cucamonga, 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, pleaded no contest to a felony DUI charge last month as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi said she agreed to the plea bargain because Ruiz had no prior criminal record, and the maximum sentence he faced if convicted in trial was likely no more than six years.

Izadi said she came to the decision "after speaking with (Martin's) family and looking at the case. And he was willing to take responsibility for his actions."

"We believe justice was served in this case," Izadi said.

Ruiz's attorney, Richard Escobedo, read a statement in court on Ruiz's behalf.

In the statement, Ruiz said he will never forgive himself for Martin's death. He called his decision to drive drunk "the most horrible decision I've ever made."

"No one in this world deserves to feel the pain I have caused by my actions," he said.

Martha Martin, Paul Martin's wife, cried in court as she spoke about the close bond she had with her husband of 29 years.

"I will never find that kind of love again because of you -- because of your selfishness," she said.

She said her husband was a Vietnam War veteran and a recipient of the Bronze Star.

Pictured: Elizabeth Reta (left) and Juan Sanchez

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An Ontario woman was sentenced today to 11 years in state prison for her role in the death of her infant son, who was physically abused after she mistakenly swabbed his nose with a Q-Tip contaminated with methamphetamine.

Elizabeth Reta, 31, was sentenced by Judge Shahla Sabet in West Valley Superior Court. Last month she pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

In August 2007, Reta swabbed her 8-month-old son's itchy nose with a Q-Tip she later learned was used by her boyfriend to clean his methamphetamine pipe, according to a police report contained in Reta's court file.

After his nose was swabbed, the boy began to show signs that he was high. Reta wanted to contact paramedics, but her boyfriend, 35-year-old Juan Antonio Sanchez, told her not to because he feared he would be arrested on drug charges.

Over the next four days, Sanchez severely abused Reta's son to try to counter the effects of meth. He repeatedly spanked and slapped the boy, threw him onto the floor and tied him to a bed, according to the report.

Reta finally called paramedics after her son was abused for four days. The child was hospitalized in a coma and soon died.

Sanchez was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced last month to 27 years in prison.

FONTANA -- A Rialto man accused of shooting an 18-year-old woman to death at a Fontana house party has pleaded not guilty to murder and three counts of attempted murder.

Matthew Beoman Williams entered his plea during an arraignment Tuesday in Fontana Superior Court.

According to police, Williams, 18, confessed that he was the shooter in the July 10 death of Chelsea Buckley.

At about 12:30 a.m., two groups of people began fighting outside the party in the 9900 block of Briarwood Drive.

Police said that Williams opened fire on the combatants, striking three people, including Buckley, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Williams remains jailed in lieu of $4.5 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He is next due in court Tuesday.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A second man has been charged with murder in connection with a woman's killing in March during a birthday party at a Montclair nightclub.

Esteban Hernandez, 26, is accused of serving as the driver for a group of Ontario gang members who contributed to the shooting death of 31-year-old Rafaela Davila of Pomona.

Hernandez was arrested and charged last week, and has pleaded not guilty. Armando Ledesma, the alleged shooter, was arrested in the hours after Davila's shooting. He has also pleaded not guilty.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi said today that Hernandez "aided and abetted" Ledesma by serving as the driver for the accused killers.

Both men remain jailed in lieu of $1 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamogna.

Davila was among a group of people celebrating a birthday March 21 at the El Encanto nightclub at 10555 Mills Ave.

At about 2 a.m. Hernandez, Ledesma and two other men arrived armed with guns, Izadi said.

"They defiantly planned to attack somebody," Izadi said. They came armed with guns."

Within minutes of their arrival, two women began fighting over a man, and the violence spread, Izadi said.

Izadi said authorities are unsure why Davila was killed. She was not one of the two women involved in the initial fight, Izadi said.

"I don't believe (the accused killers) knew her beforehand," Izadi said.

Izadi said Montclair police continue to search for the other men allegedly involved in Davila's killing.

"There are two other people, at a minimum, that we're looking for," she said.

A preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for this morning for Ledesma, but that hearing was postponed because of the newly filed charges against Hernandez, Izadi said.

Izadi said she believes a preliminary hearing for the two men -- in which prosecutors must present evidence for a case to proceed to trial -- will happen January at the earliest.

POMONA -- A prosecutor said today that he will meet Dec. 1 with a committee of Los Angeles County deputy district attorneys to decide whether to seek the death penalty against two men charged with murdering a witness in a gang case.

Rodney Coronel Perez and Ramiro Juan Alvarez -- alleged Azusa 13 gang members -- are accused in the execution-style shooting death in Pomona of 24-year-old Roberta Marie Romero.

Prosecutors believe that Romero, a former associate of the gang, was killed on May 11, 2009 because she testified against Ralph "Swifty" Flores, a high-level gang enforcer who was convicted of four murders and sentenced to death.

Perez and Alvarez are scheduled to return to Pomona Superior Court on Jan. 14 to learn whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

Deputy District Attorney Ian Phan said the committee has not expressed any preliminary opinions about the death penalty for Perez and Alvarez.

Alvarez's attorney, Arthur Lindars, said in an interview that he doesn't believe Alvarez deserves the death penalty.

According to a witness to Romero's killing, Perez committed the shooting while Alvarez had more of a supporting role. Lindars said he doesn't believe Alvarez knew of a plan to kill Romero when he helped Perez contact her.

Besides discussing the possible death penalty for Perez and Alvarez, Judge Tia Fisher and attorneys discussed several other issues in the case.

Alvarez, 26, asked for a copy of a transcript of the preliminary hearing, which included testimony from police and from a witness to Romero's killing.

Fisher, citing safety concerns, denied Alvarez's request to bring the transcript with him to Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, where he and Perez are being held without bail.

Perez, 30, told Fisher he wants to act as his own attorney. He's set to return to court Oct. 29 with his current attorney, Antonio Bestard, for a hearing on his request.

Phan said he "had no idea" why Perez wants to represent himself.

CHINO -- Prosecutors have filed six felonies and a misdemeanor against a former Chino Hills High School science teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl.

John Ralph Hirsch, 40, was charged Oct. 6 with two counts of lewd act upon a child, two counts of oral copulation of a person under 16, two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, and one count of child molesting (a misdemeanor).

Hirsch, of Ontario, is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 8 in Chino Superior Court. His attorney, Bryan L. Schroeder, did not return messages seeking comment this week.

Hirsch's relationship with the girl was discovered June 3 when one of the girl's neighbors saw him use a ladder to enter the girl's second-story bedroom, according to San Bernardino County sheriff's officials.

The neighbor confronted Hirsch, who then fled the area carrying the ladder, sheriff's officials said.

Hirsch was arrested the following day at Chino Hills High School, and he spent one night in custody before posting $150,000 bail. He has since resigned from his position.

According to the felony complaint filed by prosecutors, Hirsch's sexual relationship with the girl lasted from Aug. 31, 2009 to June 4.

LOS ANGELES -- Sentencing has been postponed to Nov. 29 for a Montclair man convicted of smuggling ivory from endangered African elephants.

Moun Chau pleaded guilty in April to charges that he purchased elephant tusks on eBay, and carved them in the back of his Claremont donut shop, Pixie Donuts.

Chau, who faces up to five years in prison, was scheduled to be sentenced Monday in downtown Los Angeles.

The federal prosecutor handling his case asked for the delay in a court filing "to allow both sides additional time to prepare their sentencing positions."

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A judge this afternoon rejected an accused child molester's request to nullify a plea bargain that carries a 22-year prison sentence.

An attorney for Jack Edward Andrews, 59, argued in West Valley Superior Court that Andrews' prior attorney did a poor job representing him, and failed to investigate Andrews' case or prepare a defense.

Judge Jon D. Ferguson denied the request after hearing several hours of testimony from Andrews' prior attorney, Waldo Brown, and from Andrews himself.

Andrews testified that during most of his conversations with Brown, the two men made small talk. He estimated they spent "a few minutes, if that much" discussing his case.

When he was offered a plea bargain in March that carried a 22-year sentence, he pleaded no contest because he "assumed that was the best we could do," he testified.

Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss noted Friday that Andrews potentially faced a life sentence if convicted at trial.

Andrews, of Ontario, was arrested last year on suspicion of touching two of his young daughter's elementary school classmates.

He later confessed to police that he molested seven other young girls over more than a decade, according to a police report contained in his court file.

Andrews is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 29. Schmauss said several of Andrews's victims will speak at the hearing.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A judge this afternoon rejected a request from defense attorneys to dismiss five felonies against a former corrections officer accused of aiding and abetting a friend who allegedly kidnapped and raped a woman.

Judge Stephen G. Saleson also ordered the Westminster Police Department and Riverside County Sheriff's Department to provide prosecutors with copies of some personnel records.

Saleson's rulings were part of a hearing in West Valley Superior Court to address several motions brought by attorneys in the case of Anthony Nicholas Orban and Jeff Thomas Jelinek.

Orban, a 31-year-old former Westminster Police detective who investigated sex crimes, is accused of kidnapping a 25-year-old woman at gunpoint in April at Ontario Mills, then raping and beating her in a Fontana parking lot.

Prosecutors accuse Jelinek, who worked at the California Institution for Men in Chino, of standing beside Orban during the kidnapping, then attempting to cover up Orban's alleged assault.

Jelinek's attorneys argued that prosecutors did not present enough evidence at a June preliminary hearing for Jelinek, 31, to stand trial on five felonies that charge he aided and abetted Orban.

Ciprian Turcu told Saleson that Jelinek's statement to Orban as he approached the woman -- Jelinek reportedly said, "Dude, what are you doing?" -- shows he did not know Orban's intent.

Saleson denied the request to dismiss the charges. He told Turcu he can argue during a jury trial about Jelinek's role in the incident.

Deputy District Attorney Deborah Ploghaus asked Saleson to order the release of personnel records and investigative reports from the California Department of Corrections, the Westminster Police Department, and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, where Orban worked briefly.

After reviewing the records, Saleson denied Ploghaus' request for most of the documents -- such as departmental psychological reports -- but did order some released.

Saleson ordered the Westminster and Riverside County departments to provide the prosecution with copies of some of Orban's police academy records, and some of his interview and interrogation training records.

In denying the rest of Ploghaus's motion, Saleson stressed that he was ruling "without prejudice," meaning that Ploghaus can revisit the issue in the future.

Saleson delayed a hearing on a motion from Jelinek's attorneys to keep out of evidence his interview with Ontario police detectives.

The attorneys argue that detectives failed to give Jelinek a complete Miranda warning, which includes a reminder of a suspect's constitutional rights.

Orban and Jelinek are next due in court Nov. 19. A trial date has not been set, Saleson said.

CHINO -- An arraignment hearing was delayed today for a Chino Hills High School music teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage student.

Justin Clark Wallin, 30, left Chino Superior Court without entering a plea because prosecutors have not yet filed criminal charges in his case. He is scheduled to return to court Nov. 12.

Wallin was arrested in July for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

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, San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A judge is set to rule Friday on several pre-trial motions brought by attorneys in the case of two off-duty law- enforcement officers accused in a woman's alleged kidnapping and rape.

Prosecutors want access to personnel records - such as psychological reports - from the law-enforcement agencies where Anthony Nicholas Orban and Jeff Thomas Jelinek, both 31, worked before the April incident.

Jelinek's attorneys are asking a judge to dismiss several of the charges based on insufficient evidence.

They also want Jelinek's statements to police ruled inadmissible - they claim detectives failed to give Jelinek a complete Miranda warning before he was interviewed.

Orban, a former Westminster police detective, is accused of kidnapping a 25-year-old woman at gunpoint on April 3 at the Ontario Mills mall, then sexually assaulting her for at least an hour in a Fontana parking lot.

Jelinek, a corrections officer and Orban's childhood friend, is accused of standing by during the alleged kidnapping, then helping Orban try to cover up the alleged assault. Prosecutors have charged him with aiding and abetting Orban.

Jelinek and Orban were drinking heavily before the alleged assault, and Orban told a detective he had taken the prescription drugs Neurontin and Zoloft, according to prosecutors.

In her motion seeking disclosure of personnel records, Deputy District Attorney Deborah Ploghaus said she believes Orban's defense attorney will argue during trial that Orban, an Iraq War veteran, has psychological problems.

"Through informal communication between me and defense counsel, there is reasonable belief defendant Orban will put forward a defense that involves `Post Traumatic Stress' allegedly suffered by defendant Orban as a result of his service years with the United States Marines," Ploghaus wrote.

Ploghaus said in the motion that Orban was assigned in Westminster to the Police Department's Family Protection Unit, "working specifically with sex crimes."

She is seeking information on the sex crimes Orban investigated, as well as other documents associated with his police career.

Ploghaus is seeking similar documents from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, where she says Orban worked for one week in 2008, and from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where Jelinek worked as a guard at the California Institution for Men in Chino.

An attorney for Westminster and Riverside County countered in a court filing that Ploghaus' request is too broad, likening the motion to a "fishing expedition." Steven A. Sherman argued the departments should not be ordered to share Orban's personnel records.

"Despite the horror of the allegation, there is also no doubt that at the time of this alleged crime, (Orban) was not acting in any law-enforcement capacity," Sherman wrote.

He continued: "(Orban) never identified himself as a Westminster police officer, nor did he use any property of (the departments) during the commission of this crime."

Jelinek's attorneys are asking Judge Stephen G. Saleson to dismiss five of the six felony charges he faces, leaving only an accessory charge.

They argue prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence at a preliminary hearing to show Jelinek aided and abetted Orban's alleged kidnap and rape.

The attorneys - Ciprian Turcu and Michael J. Mu oz - are also asking Saleson to rule Jelinek's statements to police inadmissible at trial.

In an interview with Ontario detectives, Jelinek initially claimed memory loss when asked about details of the alleged crime, such as when Orban approached the waitress allegedly with his handgun drawn.

He later confessed that he watched Orban's alleged kidnapping, and later tried to erase text messages and photos sent by Orban during the alleged assault, authorities say.

Jelinek's attorneys argue that a detective gave Jelinek an incomplete Miranda warning, which contains a reminder to criminal suspects of their constitutional rights, such as the right to remain silent.

A detective told Jelinek he had the right to the presence of an attorney, according to a transcript of the interview.

But the detective did not say he had the right to consult with an attorney, Jelinek's attorneys note in their motion to suppress the interview.

Jelinek's attorneys also argue the interview should be inadmissible because they claim Jelinek opened up to detectives only after he was threatened.

"His statements about Ms. Doe were obtained as result of implied promises of more lenient treatment if he confessed and implied threats of harsher punishment if he did not," the attorneys wrote. "Such statements are involuntary and inadmissible."

A Pomona Superior Court judge ordered a defense attorney today not to give copies of police reports to his client, 24-year-old Pedro Martinez, who is jailed awaiting trial on two counts of murder.

Judge Charles Horan said the reports may contain names of witnesses, who could be injured or killed if their identities are disclosed to Martinez.

Martinez and Maximiliano Hernandez, 26, are both charged in the April 29 shooting deaths in Pomona of Michael McCall, 44, and Allen Alexander, 48.

Prosecutors believe Martinez shot the two men on Mission Boulevard, and Hernandez served as his getaway driver.

The two men are next due in court Nov. 10.

A retrial began today in Indio Superior Court for a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy accused of holding a gun to another driver's head in an off-duty traffic dispute.

In April, when Richard Heverly's case first went to trial, a jury deadlocked in its deliberations and a mistrial was declared.

Heverly, 43, of La Verne, is charged with four felonies for allegedly holding a gun to a tow-truck driver's head in August 2008 in a fit of road rage on the 10 Freeway about 50 miles east of Indio.

The tow-truck driver testified during a preliminary hearing that Heverly flashed his badge at an accident scene and said it entitled him to direct traffic.

When the tow-truck driver didn't comply with Heverly's demands, Heverly held a gun to his head and threatened to kill him, the driver testified.

A judge ruled today on several motions brought by attorneys in the case. The case will next be in court Monday, when attorneys will begin choosing jurors.

Heverly is assigned as a deputy to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

CHINO -- A Chino Hills man charged with murdering his wife had a bail offer revoked by a judge this afternoon after prosecutors filed a new criminal complaint containing "special circumstances."

Judge Gerard S. Brown set bail at $7 million last week for Samir Wahid, who is accused of stabbing his estranged wife to death in May outside the couple's home in the 15700 block of Sedona Drive.

But today, with the new criminal complaint filed in Chino Superior Court, Brown reversed his decision.

Deputy District Attorney Steven Mitchell said the new complaint against Wahid contains two "special circumstances" allegations: that Wahid killed his wife, Iman Wahid, for financial gain, and lay in wait before the killing.

In found true by a jury, the new allegations -- known in legal parlance as "special circumstances" -- make Wahid eligible for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

In cases where the maximum sentence is less than life without parole, a defendant is entitled to bail, Brown noted last week in setting bail at $7 million.

But with "special circumstances" allegations added to the complaint, Wahid's potential sentence rises to life without parole and the "bail schedule" calls for no bail, Brown said.

"Because that's the case, the court is compelled ... to revoke bail," Brown said. "And bail will now be set at no bail."

In the nine days since Brown's Sept. 28 decision to offer bail, Wahid was apparently unable to post the necessary amount. He was in custody during today's hearing.

Wahid is next due in court Wednesday for an arraignment hearing. Naomi Hill, an attorney who represented Wahid today, declined to comment to a reporter.

"Special circumstances" murder cases allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty, but Mitchell said he doesn't anticipate seeking the death penalty in Wahid's case.

According to a police report attached to Wahid's court file, Wahid borrowed a co-worker's car during his lunch break on May 20, and parked near his wife's home.

When Iman Wahid returned home from grocery shopping, Samir Wahid confronted her and eventually stabbed her, the report said.

When Iman Wahid ran away from the home, Samir Wahid followed in a car and caught up to her, the report said.

He stabbed her several more times until she was motionless, then sat and waited for sheriff's deputies to arrive, the report said.

In a confession following his arrest, Wahid complained that he was ordered by a judge to make large support payments to his wife and children, the report said.

CHINO -- A judge ruled today that a Montclair man must stand trial for attempted murder and other charges for a March incident in which he allegedly struck his wife with an SUV.

According to police testimony in Chino Superior Court, Carlos Briseno, 45, accelerated as he hit his wife following an argument, causing her to fly head-first into a wall at an AutoZone store.

Martha Briseno survived the incident despite suffering a spinal fracture, spleen lacerations, and bleeding in her brain, according to police testimony.

"Last I heard is that she's recovering, but she's in a lot of pain," Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten said after the hearing.

"She's very lucky to be alive," he added.

Carlos Briseno and his 40-year-old wife separated in August 2009. A series of court appearances followed to address a restraining order and child visitation.

The evening of March 21, the couple met to discuss an upcoming court date, according to police testimony.

They went together in Carlos Briseno's SUV to a shopping center at Central and Philadelphia avenues in Chino, where Carlos Briseno bought coffee at a Starbucks drive-thru and parked to talk.

The couple's discussion turned quickly into a fight, and Martha Briseno left the car.

According to testimony from Chino police officers Danielle Peck and Nicholas Mutrux, witnesses reported seeing Carlos Briseno chase after his wife in the SUV and strike her beside the AutoZone.

"After being struck her body flew into the AutoZone building," Peck testified. "(A witness) said her head hit the building and then she bounced off the building."

Mutrux testified that a witness told him the SUV seemed to accelerate as it approached Martha Briseno. The witness estimated Carlos Briseno was driving 40 to 50 mph, Mutrux said.

Mutrux said the witness told him Carlos Briseno was crying after the crash, and told bystanders to call police.

"He knew what was going on," Mutrux said of his interactions with Carlos Briseno. "He was very upset about what happened with his wife."

The investigating officer in the case, Detective Curtis Burton, testified primarily about his interviews with the couple.

Burton testified that Carlos Briseno confessed that he wanted to run over his wife after she left his car.

The detective said Briseno didn't respond when he asked him if he was trying to kill his wife.

After hearing testimony, Judge Gerard S. Brown ruled that there is sufficient evidence for Briseno to stand trial on three felony counts: attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse.

Briseno, who is being held in lieu of nearly $1.1 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, is next due in court Nov. 14.

POMONA -- A Glendora man accused of engaging in sex acts with three underage boys pleaded no contest to 10 felonies today as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

David Earl Snyder, 53, entered his pleas in Pomona Superior Court as part of an agreement that carries a one-year jail sentence and a five-year period of probation.

If Snyder violates his probation, his plea agreement calls for him to be sentenced to eight years in state prison.

Snyder was arrested May 1 following an investigation by the La Verne Police Department. He pleaded no contest this morning to all of the 10 felonies filed by prosecutors on June 25.

The crimes include four counts of oral copulation of a minor, one count of sodomy of a minor, two counts of possession of child pornography, and three counts of contacting a minor for a sexual offense.
Prosecutors alleged the crimes took place between Sept. 1, 2008 and the date of Snyder's arrest.
Snyder's conduct was first reported to La Verne police by the parents of one of Snyder's sexual partners, a 16-year-old boy, who found text messages on their son's phone from Snyder, according to a search warrant affidavit written by Detective Christopher Dransfeldt.

Dransfeldt wrote that the 16-year-old boy said he met Snyder through Grindr, a social-networking application for the iPhone used predominantly by gay men.

The boy told the detective he had two sexual encounters with Snyder, and also sent him nude photos and videos of himself, according to the affidavit.

As part of his plea agreement, Snyder will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

During his period of probation, he will be barred from having any unsupervised contact with minors, and he will be permitted to use a computer and the Internet only for his work.

"Probation (officers) will be checking his computer," Commissioner Wade D. Olson said. "And if they find something not involved with his work he'll be going to prison."

Snyder was taken into custody at the end of the hearing, and will return to court Nov. 9 for sentencing.

Snyder's 23-year-old son, Brian Michael Jones, said he's disappointed that his father received what he considers a light sentence.

"He's going to re-offend," Jones said. "I can't believe they're letting him off like this."

Jones, who claims his father molested him when he was a toddler, called his father a "sexual predator" and said he believes there's a 50-50 chance Snyder will violate his probation.

During a brief pause in Snyder's court hearing, Jones, who was sitting in the audience, tried to get Olson's attention to discuss his father's plea agreement.

"Your honor," Jones said.

Olson responded: "No, I can't talk to you. Sorry."

Snyder's attorney, John Murray, said he believes Snyder might be released from custody after serving three or four months.

He said Snyder is "not a bad guy," and was misled by underage boys who said on Grindr that they were adults.

"They're very aggressive," Murray said. "They're going after people who are over 18."

Jessica Flores' best friend's sister, Lorena Cabral, emailed me photos last night of Flores, a 17-year-old girl who was stabbed to death last week in Ontario. Her ex-boyfriend, Danny Vasquez, has been charged with murder for Flores' killing.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A Ontario man pleaded not guilty to murder charges this afternoon in the stabbing death last week of his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend.

Danny Vasquez, 20, is accused of fatally stabbing Jessica Flores on Thursday in the 1700 block of East Fourth Street in Ontario.

Police said that Vasquez stabbed Flores at about 2:30 a.m. inside a parked car in an alley behind the apartment complex where he lived. After the stabbing, he called 911 to report the killing, police said.

"(Vasquez) stabbed his girlfriend and watched as she bled to death," Deputy District Attorney Dan Ross said during Vasquez's brief arraignment hearing in West Valley Superior Court.

Flores' family members and friends said today that Flores and Vasquez dated on-and-off for about a year after meeting on MySpace, but had been split since August.

Flores met with Vasquez last week "to end it," said Flores' sister, Lorena Flores.

Flores' friends and family members said Flores, a student at Chaffey High School in Ontario, loved to sing and dance and was always smiling.

"She was the happiest," Lorena Flores said. "She would spread joy everywhere."

Flores lived in Ontario until about a year ago, when she moved to Bloomington, her family said.

Vasquez was wearing orange jail scrubs during his arraignment. He didn't appear to make eye contact with anyone in the audience, which consisted of his family, Flores' family and others.

Before the hearing began, Vasquez looked down, and later turned his back to the audience.

He spoke only once during the hearing, saying "please" when Judge Michael Libutti asked if he wanted an attorney appointed to represent him.

Ross asked Libutti to order Vasquez held without bail. Libutti declined Ross' request, but agreed to set Vasquez's bail at $2 million.

Vasquez is being held in West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga, and he is next due in court Thursday. His family declined to comment to a reporter after today's hearing.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A 20-year-old man accused of stabbing his 17-year-old girlfriend to death last week in Ontario is set to be arraigned on criminal charges at 1:30 this afternoon, according to court personnel.

Danny Vasquez, of Ontario, will appear in Dept. 19 at West Valley Superior Court to enter a plea in connection with the stabbing death on Thursday of Jessica Flores.

Vasquez allegedly called Ontario police about at 2:30 a.m. and said he killed Flores, police said. Flores' body was found inside a parked car in an alley behind the apartment complex where Vasquez lived, in the 1700 block of East Fourth Street.

FONTANA -- A retrial for a former Garey High School teacher accused of trying to murder his wife was scheduled this morning for Nov. 1.

Prosecutors accuse Augustine Anene, 54, of trying to strangle his estranged wife the evening of March 29 after sneaking into her bedroom in Fontana.

Anene claimed during his trial in August in Fontana Superior Court that he sneaked into the home to talk to his wife, not to attack her.

A mistrial was declared in Anene's case atfter a jury deadlocked in its deliberations.

For the attempted murder charge, the jury favored acquittal 7-5. For three other felonies the jury favored guilt.

Anene was employed by the Pomona Unified School District for 18 years. At the time of his arrest he worked as a computer instructor. He resigned his position after his arrest.