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Recent Blog Posts
Cinco de Mayo may bring an increase in California DUI enforcement
This year, Cinco de Mayo falls on a weekend. Law enforcement agencies all across the state are planning a variety of DUI enforcement efforts to mark the holiday. DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols are common events in California, regardless of whether or not a holiday is involved. But Californians can usually expect local law enforcement agencies and the California Highway Patrol to step-up DUI enforcement details when a recognizable holiday approaches.
Police agencies often use a variety of tactics during stepped-up enforcement operation surrounding a holiday weekend. Checkpoints and saturation patrols may not be the only strategies that police may seek to employ to enforce California DUI laws. A story from the Bay Area highlights the type of unique strategies an agency may use in an effort to find drunk drivers.
The San Francisco Police plan to send officers out on motorcycles Friday night to look for drunk drivers. A captain with the police department says that, "Our Harley Davidson Road Kings have a lot of maneuverability advantages over regular patrol cars." Police say that most motorists do not notice the bikes until it is too late. The police captain says officers on a Harley "can ride right up to the driver's window and check for any signs of alcohol or drug impairment."
Morgan Hill man arrested in Sierra LaMar case
Investigators in Santa Clara County claim that DNA evidence points to a Morgan Hill man in the Sierra LaMar case. Law enforcement arrested the Morgan Hill man Monday on suspicion of kidnapping and murder in the disappearance of the 15-year-old young woman. Authorities say that they have direct and circumstantial evidence against the 21-year-old man who was booked into jail earlier this week.
Investigators claim that they had many suspects during the investigation into the disappearance of the young woman. However, authorities now say that they believe the young woman is dead and the Morgan Hill man is the only remaining suspect. Although authorities say many suspects were looked at during the investigation, the Morgan Hill man was placed under 24-hour surveillance beginning on March 28.
The man's mother says that the family found GPS devices attached to both of the family vehicles. Police say that they had secretly attached a GPS device to the Morgan Hill man's red Jetta hoping to find the missing 15-year-old. Several weeks ago authorities reportedly seized the Morgan Hill man's Jetta.
US Supreme Court denies three strikes sentencing appeal
The California three strikes law provides authority for prosecutors to seek, and for judges to impose, a prison sentence that is doubled for an adult convicted of any felony if the defendant has a first strike on his or her record. A strike is associated with serious or violent felony convictions, and the law recognizes serious or violent felony convictions of 16 or 17-year-old defendants in juvenile court.
Cases in juvenile court are tried before a judge without a jury. Supreme Court precedent says that a criminal defendant has the right to a jury trial on any fact that is used to increase a jail or prison sentence.
A San Jose man pled guilty to residential burglary in 2010. Prosecutors pulled out a prior robbery conviction that was rendered in juvenile court when the man was 16. That conviction involved allegations that the juvenile took $117 in a robbery of an ice cream vendor. The case in juvenile court was not presented to a jury. Prosecutors used the juvenile conviction as a first strike in seeking a doubled sentence for the 2010 adult conviction.
Police: Bike stolen in Junior Seau burglary recovered, no arrest
In light of the football star's recent and tragic death, neighbors are outraged that the burglary occurred. Law enforcement says that someone apparently rummaged through cabinets inside the garage before taking a bicycle valued at around $500. The theft is believed to have occurred May 7.
News of the event spread across the country. Wednesday, a woman who had heard of the bicycle theft was riding her own bike in Oceanside and spotted a bicycle outside a thrift store that she believed matched the description of the stolen bike. Police say that they recovered the bike thanks to that woman. No arrests have been made in the case, as investigators continue to look into the event.
The bicycle has been returned to its owner-a friend of Seau. The friend of the late football star reportedly is happy to have the bicycle back.
The recent burglary followed Seau's tragic suicide by less than a week. Oceanside, California, workers reportedly had planned to maintain the home after the recent events, but authorities say that all Seau's belongings have now been removed. Two of the football star's children were at their father's home the night after the bicycle theft.
Electrical fire in Richmond sparks marijuana cultivation investigation
Firefighters in Richmond, California, say that they found a large marijuana growing operation inside a warehouse that caught on fire early Wednesday morning. The fire department responded to a call reporting an electrical fire in the structure, and the crew found what they claim is a marijuana cultivation operation as they worked to control the blaze. The fire department called in law enforcement to investigate.
Police claim that the woman who reported the fire may have been a "lookout" for the marijuana cultivation site. Authorities have made no arrests, but police say that the woman has been questioned. Details of what authorities may have found inside the warehouse remain sketchy. Law enforcement officials say that they are working on obtaining a search warrant for the location.
The details that authorities have revealed suggest that police believe the marijuana grow includes a sophisticated setup, with separate rooms within the building devoted to different phases of the marijuana cultivation operation.
Judge sentences man to 223 years to life in alleged Nuestra Familia kidnapping
The man was not accused of being present during the alleged kidnapping event. Authorities had claimed that the man was the leader of a Nuestra Familia street gang regiment. Prosecutors argued that the man had ordered others to make an example of a person who allegedly had failed to pay for drugs that had been advanced to him.
Prosecutors apparently brought witnesses in to court to testify at trial against the alleged San Jose gang leader. The witnesses reportedly included those people who allegedly had participated in the kidnapping. The witnesses could have faced their own life sentences for the alleged offense, but apparently were given deals for testifying that will reduce their own exposure to prison time to 15 to 24 years.
The prosecutors had alleged that the kidnapping victim escaped from a moving van while it was traveling on Capitol Expressway. The van reportedly fled the area before police and emergency responders could respond to 911 calls describing the expressway incident.
Three California men accused of burglary in Internet bike heist conspiracy
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's department says that the trio may face dozens of counts of conspiracy and California burglary charges in relation to an investigation conducted by the Sheriff's Department's Major Crimes Bureau.
Authorities claim that an off-duty Sheriff's deputy spotted a Nissan Murano drive past his home around 4:00 in the morning one day in March. The off-duty deputy says that he noticed a bike rack on the vehicle and became suspicious of the sight. He decided to take down its license plate number of the vehicle.
Several days after the alleged sighting of the SUV, the deputy claims a neighbor told deputy that two of his bikes had recently been stolen. The deputy apparently pulled out the license number and tracked the SUV to the three men who are now accused of stealing nearly 200 bikes over a two-year-period spanning six different counties.
Law enforcement claims the three men used Craigslist and Facebook to find high-end bicycles. Investigators say that an Irvine man awoke in the middle of the night in March after hearing noises in his home. The man says he saw alleged burglars pulling away from his home. The Irvine resident looked around his home to find that the only thing missing was his daughter's bike, valued at more than $5,000, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Police: California lawmaker tests 0.08 percent BAC in DUI blood draw
Most, if not all, drivers know that California law prohibits driving under the influence. California law, like every state in the union presumes impairment based upon a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent. Many drivers, however, are surprised to hear when a chemical test returns a result of presumed impairment after a DUI arrest.
A recent story in the news that highlights the situation involves a Southern California Assembly member who was arrested in late March on DUI charges. The assemblyman, who has the right to remain silent under the law, reportedly told reporters after this arrest that he was not drunk the night of his arrest.
He reportedly said that he had some wine with dinner, but was not drunk. He also reportedly told the news media that law enforcement lacked probable cause to conduct a traffic stop.
The allegations arose in Concord when a police officer claims that the assemblyman failed to use his turn signal and was allegedly weaving just after 2:00 a.m. March 27. The officer conducted a traffic stop on the alleged minor traffic violations, and claims the assemblyman refused a Breathalyzer test and failed a field sobriety test.
Prosecutors: Folsom man used 'Whip it' before fatal DUI crash
California's laws prohibiting driving under the influence involve more than restrictions against impairment from alcohol. Drugged driving, or prescription medication DUI offenses, can haunt medical patients who may be hauled into court on allegations of driving under the influence. Santa Cruz DUI defense lawyers know that California treats any DUI charge harshly.
A recent California case involves allegations of a so-called "Whip-it" canister containing nitrous oxide. A 22-year-old Folsom man is accused of serious DUI-related charges after a tragic double-fatal car accident in January. The man is facing two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter.
A judge in Sacramento County ordered that the Folsom man stand trial on the gross vehicular manslaughter charges at a preliminary hearing April 24. Prosecutors reportedly introduced testimony at the preliminary hearing that the Folsom man had bought 50 canisters of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, at a Folsom Smoke shop on the day of the car accident.
Napa Police say 8-year-old found sleeping at home near meth lab
Police apparently approached two people early Saturday morning at an undisclosed business in Napa. Law enforcement believed the two were under the influence of drugs and placed the two people under arrest, according to the Vallejo Times-Herald.
Somehow, Napa police learned that one of the arrestees has an 8-year-old child, and law enforcement says that they became concerned about the child's whereabouts. An investigation into the child's whereabouts may eventually lead to serious charges for alleged drug crimes.
Napa Police claim that they received "misleading and conflicting information" about where the 8-year-old might be located. Authorities descended on the mother's home after the 2:00 a.m. arrest Sunday and claim to have entered the woman's apartment, possibly without a warrant based upon information reported in the media, to search for the child. Authorities claim that they found the child inside the home.
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