Blog
At least 35 people were arrested recently in Baldwin Village by a joint law enforcement team that included both the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to an article in The Los Angeles Times. The people arrested were believed by authorities to be involved in drug trafficking and/or gang activity in the area. They included both men and women for alleged drug trafficking. According to the article, both state and federal law enforcement officers have been concerned with drug trafficking in the Baldwin Village area for at least 10 years. Six years ago,… Read More
When stopping a driver on suspicion of drunk driving, a police officer may require the driver to take a chemical test to determine the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC). Although a chemical test for BAC can be done on a driver’s breath, blood, or urine, most officers begin with an alcohol breath test administered by using a breathalyzer or similar machine. Like all machines, however, a breath test machine is only as reliable as the person running it. Mistakes in using the breath test machine can cause the reading to be higher than the driver’s BAC actually is, resulting in… Read More
When a police officer suspects a driver is driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), the officer may stop the driver in order to search for more clues that the driver has been drinking. Often, police will have a stopped driver perform one or more tests. Known as thestandardized field sobriety tests, these activities are designed to provide clues for police officers that confirm whether or not a person is driving impaired. The three most common standardized field sobriety tests are the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the one-leg stand test, and the walk-and-turn test. The horizontal gaze nystagmus tests whether… Read More
After a year of investigating suspected drug crimes in the Los Angeles area, police have arrested 13 individuals whom they believe are dealing drugs in Los Angeles and surrounding communities, according to an article in The Santa Maria Times. Officers from Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, and San Luis Obispo County teamed up with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other local police departments to carry out the investigation, which looked into the activities of gangs in the area as officers searched for signs of illegal drug-related activities. Most of the 13 people arrested are members of… Read More
Many drivers who receive a DUI for the first time are confused about their hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles. The following is important information from the California Department of Motor Vehicles website regarding the DMV hearing after a DUI. A DMV hearing is not mandatory. A driver who wants a DMV hearing, usually in the hopes of keeping their driving privileges, must request one. The hearing with the DMV regarding the DUI is not a criminal proceeding. It is a separate proceeding that determines whether or not a person who received a DUI should be allowed to keep… Read More
Staff writer for the Daily News website reported on January 15, 2009 that two men affiliated with the Latino street gang, Canoga Park Alabama, are being charged with last month’s murder of an African American father of two. Martin Sotelo, 23 and Richard Bordelon, 21, each of Conoga Park, have been charged with the murder of James Shamp, 48 who was shot outside his work place on December 22 in this Los Angeles violent crime. Police say the attack was racially motivated, potentially making Bordelon and Sotelo eligible for the death penalty. According to police reports, Shamp, who had been… Read More
Law enforcement officials in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas were out in full force on Super Bowl Sunday, hoping to find drunk drivers, according to The San Gabriel Valley Tribune. In Los Angeles County’s 88 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas, there were dozens of patrols and checkpoints targeting drunk drivers on Super Bowl Sunday. As well as finding intoxicated drivers, checkpoints are a good way to find unlicensed or other illegal drivers. Roving patrols were also activated in several areas throughout the county. In California, anyone with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or higher is considered to… Read More
Five individuals who are reported to be members of a powerful Israeli crime family were recently charged in Los Angeles with drug trafficking and racketeering, according to The Los Angeles Times. The men have been accused of using a gang based in the San Fernando Valley to distribute ecstasy, and prosecutors also allege that they paid a gang member to kill a man who stole a shipment of drugs. The men were recently arrested in Israel and were extradited to the United States by U.S. Marshalls. They will be held in custody until after the trial, which is expected to… Read More
California drug charges can have extremely serious consequences for your life. Some of the punishments for drug offenses include prison time, fines, court-ordered rehab, the loss of professional licenses, and more. If you have been charged with a California drug crime, such as possession of cocaine or methamphetamine, manufacture of cocaine or methamphetamine, or sales of illegal drugs, you need to hire a very skilled lawyer. It is best to hire an attorney who focuses solely on criminal law, rather than a general practitioner who dabbles in criminal law on the side. You should look at an attorney’s reputation. If… Read More
For the first time since the late 1960s, Los Angeles has had fewer than 300 murders in the city in 2010, according to latimes.com. In the early 90s, there were over 1,000 murders in the city for three consecutive years. The statistics are promising, not only because of the huge decrease in murders in the city, but also because a large number of the murders, as well as other violent crimes, are viewed as “repressible.” Repressible crimes are those which can be prevented with an increase in the police force, or improvements in the nature of police work. Crimes which… Read More
