Latest safety updates near Ladera Ranch
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICEa week agoAgencyAn Important Message from District Attorney Todd Spitzer Fullerton Man Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter for Hitting and Killing Motorcyclist While Running a Red Light at More than 100 Miles Per Hour with a Blood Alcohol Content of Nearly Three Times Legal Limit Full Press Release: https://bit.ly/45myu69 SANTA ANA, Calif. – A 44-year-old man has been charged with vehicular manslaughter for hitting and killing a motorcyclist while running a red light at more than 100 miles per hour with a blood alcohol level of nearly three times the legal limit. Francisco Garcia-Vargas, 44, of Fullerton, has been charged with one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and one felony count of driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher. Garcia-Vargas faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison if convicted on all counts. At about 9:45 p.m. on June 12, 2024, Alexander Marce, 28, was stopped on his Harley Davidson motorcycle at a red light at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Gilbert Street in Fullerton when Garcia-Vargas hit him from behind at more than 100 miles per hour. After knocking Marce off his motorcycle, Garcia-Vargas drove a few hundred yards with Marce’s motorcycle stuck underneath his BMW before finally coming to a stop. Marce died at the scene. People who witnessed the collision pulled Garcia-Vargas from his vehicle and held him until police arrived. Garcia-Vargas is scheduled to be arraigned today in CJ1. Deputy District Attorney Devin Campbell of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.92Like
B. C.Ladera Ranch·2+ weeks agoThere’s been a suspicious white car driving around our area of Ladera the last few days- seems to be an older woman driver- she’s asked a friends child who “Sean” is and about sports the child is involved in. Here is a photo from a ring camera. She drives VERY slow…Please be on the lookout- Seen in our area from 5-6:00 ish time. There’s been a suspicious white car driving around our area of Ladera the last few days- seems to be an older woman driver- she’s asked a friends child who “Sean” is and about sports the child is involved in. Here is a photo from a ring camera. She drives VERY slow…Please be on the lookout- Seen in our area from 5-6:00 ish time. Person Other: Older female Vehicle Color: White, Make: Nissan23Like37
CAL FIRE2+ weeks agoAgencyOn March 31, 2024, and April 8, 2024, the California State University, San Jose (SJSU) Police and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) - Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) Arson and Bomb Unit responded to fires in the Martin Luther King Jr. Library on the SJSU campus. The investigation revealed the fire causes were arson, on State of California property, and occupied by students at the time of the arson fires. The joint law enforcement investigation was a collaboration between SJSU Police and the CAL FIRE – OSFM Arson and Bomb Unit. All personnel involved worked tirelessly to canvass the area, review security camera footage, cultivate leads, and ultimately identify the suspect. The suspect was identified as SJSU sophom*ore student Amogh Upadhya. Amogh Upadhya was arrested and charged with four (4) counts of Arson and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail. Upadhya is being held on $400,000.00 bail until a court hearing on April 12, 2024. The CAL FIRE – OSFM Arson and Bomb Unit is dedicated to helping agencies all over California no matter the size of the department, location, or the time of day or night. Together we can make California safer! Contact the Arson and Bomb Unit at (213) 302-5855 or arsonbomb@fire.ca.gov.194Like10
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICEa week agoAgencyAn important message from Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer Chilean Nationals in the United States on ESTA Visa Waiver Charged in Head-on Collision in Wrong Way Pursuit on Freeway After Burglarizing San Juan Capistrano Home Full Press Release: https://bit.ly/45msc6B SANTA ANA, Calif. – Two Chilean nationals in the United States on a visa waiver from the Department of Homeland Security have been charged in connection with a head-on collision while driving the wrong way on the freeway while being pursued by law enforcement after burglarizing a San Juan Capistrano home. Jorge Navarretecorvalan, 32, and Alejandro Tobarfuentes, 32, were arrested on Saturday, June 8, 2024 after crashing their Mini Cooper head-on into a Toyota Camry while driving northbound in the southbound lanes after narrowly missing hitting an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy who had tried to pull their vehicle over. The driver suffered serious injuries. Navarretecorvalan has been charged with one felony count of first-degree burglary, one felony count of evading a peace officer while driving opposite of traffic, one felony count of driving the wrong way on a divided highway causing injury or death, and one felony count of possession of a forged identification card. Tobarfuentes has been charged with one felony count of first-degree burglary, one felony count of possession of a forged identification card, and one misdemeanor count of possession of burglary tools. Navarretecorvalan faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison while Tobarfuentes faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in state prison. Just before the head on collision Tobarfuentes and Navarretecorvalan are accused of working together to break into a San Juan Capistrano home to steal a safe, designer handbags, and jewelry. When the two men were arrested, they identified themselves using Venezuelan identification cards which law enforcement determined were fake and they were in fact Chilean nationals. Tobarfuentes and Navarretecorvalan entered the United States through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization System (ESTA) Visa Waiver Program which is administered through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For $21, applicants from countries which participate in the ESTA program can be granted unlimited access to the United States, up to 90 days at a time, for a two-year period. Applicants are granted access within 72 hours of applying for an ESTA visa waiver. Chile refuses to provide the criminal background checks for their residents as required by the ESTA program requirements. In 2022, 350,000 Chilean nationals entered the United States through the ESTA visa waiver program without background checks. In May 2023, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer began sounding the alarm regarding the loophole in the ESTA visa program which continues to be exploited by organized crime rings in Chile to enter the United States to commit residential burglaries throughout the United States. “Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has the power to immediately and unilaterally suspend Chile from the ESTA visa waiver program until it complies with the requirement to provide criminal background checks for their citizens,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Instead of holding Chile accountable and preventing a direct pipeline for organized crime to shuttle thieves into the United States, Secretary Mayorkas’ inaction is resulting in Americans continuing to be terrorized by criminals who are stalking them in their homes and waiting for the perfect moment to break their back sliders and steal their most prized possessions. With every pane of shattered glass, they are shattering another’s family’s sense of security and they are putting everyone on the road at risk as they will do anything and everything to escape from law enforcement. This has to stop – and it has to stop today.” Deputy District Attorney Alex Shaaban of the Gangs Unit is prosecuting this case.482Like
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