Violent Crimes

Man Faces Multiple Murder Charges in Slaying of Pregnant Venice Woman

According to the Los Angeles Times, a 22-year-old man faces three counts of capital murder after a pregnant Venice woman was fatally stabbed. The 38-year-old woman, and the twins whom she was pregnant with, were killed during a robbery. The suspect accused of the murder has also been charged with rape.

According to the report, while the suspect does have a history of burglary and trespassing, there was never any indication that he was predisposed to the violence found to have taken place in the Venice slaying. In any Los Angeles murder case, it is vital that all details of the incident are carefully examined in order to determine as accurately as possible the events that transpired. The suspect has pled not guilty to all charges, and police investigation is still ongoing.

East LA Man Charged in Murder of Reseda Woman

The boyfriend of a slain 24-year-old Reseda woman has been charged with her murder. According to an abclocal.go.com article, the 30-year-old East Los Angeles man allegedly had an altercation with the woman on December 20, 2009, which reportedly ended with the woman being repeatedly stabbed with an ice pick. The boyfriend now faces one charge of murder with a deadly and dangerous weapon. If convicted, he faces a maximum prison term of 26 years-to-life, and is currently in custody on $1 million bail.

The story explains that the woman’s body was discovered the following day in Winnetka. The woman’s brother reportedly found the woman’s body in her car. There was no mention of whether or not eyewitnesses saw the accused man place the woman’s body in the car, nor was there mention of whether or not the man was seen near the location where her body was discovered. Police investigation into the matter will undoubtedly provide more details as to the events that transpired that night.

Slight Rise in 2008 Santa Clarita Hate Crimes

In 2008, the number of hate crimes nationwide dropped. However, the Santa Clarita Valley actually experienced a slight increase in such crimes, with the number of reported incidents increasing from 27 to 30. According to the-signal.com, the increase in hate crimes has come at the heels of a decrease in the number of violent and other more common crimes. Compared to other county areas, Santa Clarita’s hate crime numbers are still relatively low, although current numbers are more than twice what they were in 2004. From 2007 to 2008, the Santa Clarita Valley saw an 11% increase in hate crimes, according to the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. Neighboring Los Angeles County meanwhile saw a 4% decrease in its number of hate crimes, although it still reported 729 hate crimes in 2008; a far cry from Santa Clarita County’s mere 30 incidents.

According to a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, the number of hate crimes “is increasing every year.” Hate crimes mostly center-around sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or religious beliefs. The degree and severity of a hate crime can vary greatly, with crimes ranging from simple acts of vandalism to more serious instances of assault. Consequently, charges associated with hate crimes can also vary. However, regardless of the crime, all details need to be thoroughly examined in order to determine as accurately as possible what actually happened.

Grim Sleeper Resurfaces in Los Angeles After Years of Dormancy

According to an article in L.A. Weekly, a Los Angeles serial killer dubbed the “Grim Sleeper” has resurfaced over the past few years, rekindling his propensity for murder that originally began in 1985.

Reportedly, a composite drawing of the male suspect, as well as vehicle descriptions, have been re-released by the LAPD, in hopes that it might spark some clue as to the man’s identity. Police have been investigating the slayings for over two decades, and have connected both DNA and ballistics evidence to a slew of killings that have taken place over the years.The Los Angeles City Council has offered a reward of $500,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man.

Man Convicted of Murder in L.A. Has Appeal Denied

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that a 28-year-old man’s request to have his death sentence removed was denied by a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. The man was convicted for the murders of two past girlfriends, the second of which occurred because the second victim, the man’s girlfriend at the time, refused to help him cover up the murder of his first girlfriend. The judge labeled that man as “coldblooded” as he denied him a reduction in his prison sentence.

Allegedly, the convicted man was motivated by jealousy in the first slaying. The second slaying apparently occurred simply because the victim refused to assist in covering up the first murder. According to the report, the man’s defense attorney argued that the man was mentally retarded, suffered damage from his mother drinking alcohol while pregnant, and was a habitual cocaine user since the age of 11. The judge however dismissed the arguments, citing the man as “cunning” and quite capable of having committed the murders while knowing what he was doing.

White-Collar Medicare Fraud Lands 20 in Custody

Instances of white-collar crime involving Medicare have resulted in the indictment of 331 people across the country since March of 2007. According to the Associated Press, 20 people have recently been charged with filing fraudulent Medicare claims that amounted to the astronomical amount of $26 million. Reportedly, the fraudulent claims took the form of billing for pricey medical equipment that was not required to help any individual with his or her rehabilitation. In some instances, Medicare was billed for equipment that was never received, and in some cases billed for equipment that was supposedly purchased by individuals who were no longer even alive.

Medicare fraud is a problem that has plagued the health care industry for some time, costing the nation an estimated $60 billion each year. What makes many of these cases different though is the involvement local gangs have taken on as of late. That is, according to the article, one individual was accused of recruiting relatives and individuals linked to a Southern California gang to act as owners for fraudulent medical equipment companies. Furthermore, gang involvement has also resulted in acts of violence being enacted against individuals, typically to settle debts owed stemming from the funds collected on behalf of the fraudulent activity.

White-collar crime in Los Angeles is often non-violent, and involves either the theft of intellectual property, embezzlement of some kind, or defrauding a person or group out of money or services. White-collar crime can carry with it significant monetary fines, jail time, and can ultimately affect an individual’s ability to secure gainful employment even years after the alleged offense took place. In all instances where an individual is accused of crime, a white-collar defense attorney should be immediately retained in order to provide the accused with the strongest possible defense that their case warrants.

Gang Member Take-Down Hits LA in Raid

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the Los Angeles Police Department and federal authorities teamed up in a raid that targeted a Los Angeles street gang responsible for crimes ranging from assault to drug charges to murder. The street gang in question calls multiple cities and areas in the Los Angeles area its home, has affiliations with prison gangs, and has a long history of committing violent acts against those whom they consider outsiders. The raid involved the detainment and arrest of a large number of individuals for a wide variety of charges. In such matters, it is important to remember that simply because an individual is grouped together with other such individuals being accused of crimes, it is not an automatic determination that all individuals are in fact guilty of said crimes.

Raids of supposed criminal organizations can be especially problematic in a court of law. That is, while some individuals may in fact be guilty of the infractions of which they are accused, other individuals may simply be innocent bystanders having been lumped together with other, more serious offenders. With drug crimes especially, the lines between guilt and innocence are often blurred, and charges are often blanketed over a group of individuals, even if all of those individuals are not in fact guilty of the alleged charges. In any event, it is vital that the services of a skilled Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer are retained in the event of your arrest.

Parents Killing Children is an Alarming Trend

A recent story put out by the Associated Press tells of a startling trend pertaining to homicides involving children. In Los Angeles, a woman stands accused of killing her two daughters, ages 11 and 17. In Orange County, a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old were allegedly wounded by their mother. And in Ventura County, a 12-year-old boy and his 7-year-old sister were stabbed to death allegedly by their father. In all of these cases, the serious question as to why parents are supposedly willing to hurt their children needs to be asked, and the circumstances surrounding the slayings and injuries need to be thoroughly examined to determine what exactly happened.

The Los Angeles woman has pleaded not guilty to the charges being brought against her, and faces the death penalty if she is convicted. The woman was found with self-inflicted knife wounds on her own arms. This raises the question as to what her state of mind was at the time of the incident. Did she act with a clear head or in a fit of insanity? Other questions, such as the state of the home, also need to be answered to help paint a vivid picture of what the living situation was truly like, and what negative factors, if any, could have played a detrimental role leading up to the attacks.

DUI Driver Loses Lawyer, Case Postponed

According to Los Angeles’s KTLA-TV channel 5, the trial of a man responsible for a drunk-driving crash that took the lives of three people will be postponed for at least six months. Such a decision was determined after the private attorney defending the 22-year-old removed himself from the case, citing inability to adequately defend his client as the basis of his necessary leave. This particular case gained notoriety in that one of the crash victims was 22-year-old Nick Adenhart, a professional baseball player of the Angels. The motorist responsible for the accident now faces 54 years to life in prison if he is convicted of all counts, which include murder in the second degree and driving with a suspended license.

The former defense attorney in this case informed the presiding judge that his client was unable to afford the fees associated with providing him with the most effective defense. That is, the accused driver’s attorney explained to the judge that experts needed to properly defend the accused man were too expensive for the defendant to afford, and even motioned that county taxpayers split the bill for the necessary experts. Though the article did not say whether or not the judge granted the motion, it’s safe to assume that the motion was denied, particularly since the defense attorney has now quit the case.

CA Man Accused of Pushing Child to Death

According to the Associated Press, a California man currently stands on trial for the 2000 death of his 4-year-old daughter. The young girl plummeted to her death from a 120 foot-high cliff in Rancho Palos Verdes. Speculation on the part of the prosecution claims that the father, in a wayward attempt at having to avoid paying child support, threw his daughter off the cliff. On the other hand, the defense claims that the whole incident was an accident and that the 47-year-old father loved his daughter dearly and would never do such a thing. This most recent trial is the second attempt at prosecuting the 47-year-old man, with the first attempt having resulted in a mistrial due to jury deadlock. He currently faces one count of murder and “the special circumstance allegations of murder while lying in wait and for financial gain”, which carries with it a lifetime prison sentence without the possibility of parole.

Theories abound as to what happened to the little girl, and how she lost her footing off the side of the Inspiration Point cliff. The prosecution claims that the father not only wanted to avoid paying child support for his daughter, but took her life in order to exact revenge against her mother who was seeking full custody of the child. Evidence points to the fact that there were no smaller footprints near the spot where the girl allegedly fell, and that injuries sustained by the girl were inconsistent with her accidentally falling. The defense argued that the child was leading her father on the hike, and simply lost her footing at the cliff.

While the 47-year-old man is the only person that really knows what happened, it should be pointed out that all individuals are innocent until proven guilty. A person cannot be prosecuted on pure speculation. Evidence needs to substantiate the charges being brought against the person, and a jury has to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that the individual created the crime. With such damning allegations staring him in the face, the man’s best option was to retain the legal services of a skilled Los Angeles criminal defense attorney.