Orange: Woman carjacked in broad daylight fights for life after stabbing

A man in his mid 20s has been arrested in connection with stabbing a woman during a carjacking in the parking lot of a grocery store, police said.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was detained shortly after 1 p.m. as he was walking in front of Villa Park High School, said Sgt. Dan Adams of the Orange Police Department.

A woman was stabbed during a carjacking in the parking lot of the Albertsons supermarket at 8440 E. Chapman Ave. in Orange around 9:30 a.m. Witnesses reported a man approaching the woman in the parking lot and after she gave him her car keys, he punched her in the chest with a sharp object and drove her car away.

A person who saw media coverage of the incident went to a sheriffs’ substation in Villa Park to report that he has seen a man matching the description of the suspect, Adams said.

The man, who is believed to be a transient, was walking near Taft and Nichols avenues when he was spotted by Orange police and sheriffs’ deputies, Adams said. The stolen vehicle was parked at Cerro Villa Junior Middle School, he said.

Adams said he didn’t know why the man was in Villa Park, an upscale and quiet area.

The woman was stabbed about 9:30 a.m. Monday in the Albertsons parking lot at 8440 E. Chapman Ave., near Jamboree Road, Adams said.

The woman, who is 49 or 50 years old, was taken to a trauma center in serious condition where she underwent surgery, he said.

Adams said the woman was putting groceries away in her bronze or silver 2006 Honda Civic four-door hybrid when she was approached by a man.

The man struck a conversation with the woman and witnesses said she gave him the keys to her Civic, Adams said.
“At that point he either punched her or stabbed her…that may have happened simultaneously and she goes to the ground,” Adams said.

A witness rushed to help the woman while another witness went up to the window of the Civic and tried to get the man to stop, Adams said.

The man continued driving and got away.

Adams said the carjacking was “unusual” in the area. “It’s usually very quiet out here,” he said.

[From The Orange County Register]

Sheriff Hutchens takes CCW training in-house in Orange County

Recently, CCW holders in Orange County have been recieving a letter stating, in part:

effective September 1, 2010, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department will require all CCW applicants and individuals wishing to renew their license to carry a concealed weapon to attend a community college course on firearms safety certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)

Because of budgetary constraints, the Sheriff’s Department is unable to audit individual courses. The Sheriff’s Department is implementing this requirement to ensure uniformity in training.

Commander Lee Trujillo
Orange County Sheriff’s Department
Professional Standards Division

Sources close to the department have indicated that OCSD has recently had their training classes POST-certified for the purpose of offering these classes internally.

Rancho Santa Margarita: Two dead in shooting

Two people were found dead by sheriff’s deputies inside a two-story home Wednesday afternoon after a neighbor reported hearing shots fired in an upscale neighborhood, officials said. The details of how they died and why are not being released as investigators comb through the home.
Authorities believe the violence was contained entirely inside the home, and they are not searching for anyone else in connection with the deaths

Sheriff’s investigators and deputies gather in a residential neighborhood near a home in Rancho Santa Margarita where shots were fired Wednesday.

When deputies arrived, they found two people dead inside Birdhollow Drive home, said investigator Dan Salcedo of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Salcedo said it was not known if the incident was a murder-suicide, but it appears the incident was isolated to the two-story home.
About 10 patrol cars responded to the quiet Robinson Ranch neighborhood, which is lined with two-story homes with three-car garages. Deputies closed off Birdhollow Drive as residents from the area gathered near the yellow caution tape.
Deputies were called to the area at 1:43 p.m., when a neighbor reported that someone may have been shot, Salcedo said.
The identities of the two people found inside are being withheld until authorities can contact their next-of-kins.

[From The Orange County Register]

Anaheim - 70-year-old woman stabbed in the face

An elderly woman suffered several stab wounds to the face in what police say appears be an unprovoked attack from a much younger neighbor.

Investigators want to question 18-year-old Alfredo Gonzalez in connection with the attack. Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez said Gonzalez is a known gang member.

The incident took place on the 2500 block of West Gramercy Avenue around 11:30 a.m. Saturday Martinez said. At the time, the 70-year-old woman was on the front porch of her home. Gonzales lives next door, Martinez said. The woman told the investigators she has no idea why she was attacked.

Paramedics took the woman to a hospital, suffering from multiple stab wounds to her face. “They said her injuries were not immediately life-threatening,” Martinez said.

Police describe Gonzalez as Latino, 5-feet, 9-inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. Police ask anyone with information to call investigators at 714-765-1900.

[From The Orange County Register]

Coto De Caza: Man with knife found hiding in home

A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of burglary early Wednesday after he was found hiding in a home holding a knife, police said.

The resident of a home in the 23800 block of Via Roble woke up when his dog began barking around 6:30 a.m., said Sgt. Matthew Barr of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The resident found a man, later identified as Luke Nathaniel Chanoski, 22, hiding in the hallway holding a kitchen knife.

“The suspect fled the residence. After checking on family members, the resident went outside and found the suspect hiding in some bushes,” said Barr.

Chanoski ran to a car and fled the scene. The resident called police with a license plate and deputies stopped Chanoski when he pulled into a driveway on Shetland.

He was arrested on suspicion of burglary. A knife and $200 were recovered from him, Barr said.

There was no apparent attempt to assault the resident, Barr added.

[From Orange County Register]

OC Register Endorses Craig Hunter for Sheriff

The OC Register’s editorial board joins OCCCWS in endorsing Craig Hunter for Sheriff of Orange County.

We compared the candidates’ positions on six issues: community policing, pension reform, immigration, budget management, jail management and gun permits. Mr. Hunter’s and Ms. Hutchens’ outlook most closely aligned with ours on the first three categories. Mr. Hunter expressed a stronger reform approach on pensions and new ideas for jail management. Ms. Hutchens has done a credible job of improving practices and policies at the once-troubled Theo Lacy jail facility and she supports a two-tiered pension system. Mr. Hunter manages a sizeable but arguably relatively stable budget; Ms. Hutchens has overseen cuts to a much larger sheriff’s budget.

Mr. Hunter has a long history in the county and is respected by the greater law enforcement community, demonstrated by endorsements from a number of retired police chiefs. He is even-tempered and measured in his leadership style and is the only candidate to abjure contributions from unions. On the issues, Mr. Hunter is a strong advocate for the Second Amendment and exhibits the desire to buck the status quo and advocate for sensible yet hard-to-achieve pension reform in the form of a 401(k)-like system for new deputies instead of current unsustainable, defined-benefit pension plans.

Full Story at OC Register

Bill Hunt’s Defense Of Gang Members

While usually focusing on Sandra Hutchens, OCCCWS cannot ignore the recent revelations as to Bill Hunt’s work as a defense investigator for violent felons, particularly in light of documents we have obtained and how this most recent revelation impacts the perception of gun owners.

Recently Bill Hunt, a candidate for Orange County Sheriff, worked as a defense investigator trying to have evidence against an individual thrown out by arguing that the police officer requesting a search warrant had not been truthful. This individual, who had previously been convicted of attempted murder, eventually pleaded guilty to providing firearms to a prohibited person. That prohibited person was a known gang member and parolee.

The documents we are providing are telling, particularly the photographs the alleged gang members took of themselves with these weapons and other paraphernalia, including ammunition arranged to spell out their gang name and 187, the Penal Code section for murder.

While it is within Bill Hunt’s rights to work for anyone he chooses, it is the responsibility of law abiding gun owners to carefully consider the type of person they will vote for in the upcoming election. The most recent revelations about Bill Hunt’s work in defense of gang members is troubling.

When shown the attached documents and photos, Anaheim Deputy Chief Craig Hunter gave the following statement to OCCCWS:

“I’ve spent thirty years trying to keep violent gang members off our streets and out of our communities. Bill Hunt has been spending his time since leaving law enforcement defending them by attacking the credibility of police officers who arrest them and investigate their crimes. As a private investigator, that is his job, but maybe he should have spent his retirement learning what it takes to be a law enforcement leader. Every law enforcement organization he has applied to work for in the last several years has rejected him. Beyond the public safety issue here, when the general public sees photos of armed gang members, who have no business possessing weapons, period, many see it as an indictment of law abiding gun owners. That is not fair. Bill Hunt had every right to defend the man who provided these weapons to known, violent gang members, but it is the voters’ right to decide if he is the type of person we want leading the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.”

Documents:
Photographs (PDF) [400 kB]

Summary (Warning: LARGE PDF) [24 MB]
Full-size Photographs (Warning: LARGE PDF) [11 MB]

La Habra police drop support for Hunt

A second law enforcement union — the La Habra Police Association — dropped its endorsement today of sheriff’s candidate Bill Hunt, following complaints that he works as a private investigator for accused gang members.

Hunt’s campaign team has confirmed that La Habra broke the news to the candidate in a fax this afternoon.

The action comes just days after the Santa Ana Police Officers’ Association withdrew its support of Hunt, a former sheriff’s lieutenant running on a law and order platform. Santa Ana officers were angered that Hunt was on the defense team of a reported F-Troop gang member awaiting trial on attempted robbery charges.
Read more

Laguna Hills: Woman fights off carjacker at gas station

A woman punched, snatched her keys back and thwarted an attempted carjacking early Wednesday morning, authorities said, fighting off a man who jumped into her car as she filled up her gas tank.

Standing at less than 5 feet and 115 pounds, Rosalina Ruiz said she started punching the man instinctively when she found him inside her car, trying to protect her only means of getting to and from work.
Article Tab : keys-explains-toyota-ruiz

“I’m a small person, and I can barely fight,” Ruiz said. “But when I have to, I fight.”

Authorities identified the man as Christhian Bonilla, 24, who had been spotted just minutes earlier by a deputy on the right shoulder of the I-5.

A deputy driving on the I-5 first spotted the man at 4:30 a.m., pushing a 2000 blue GMC Jimmy on the right shoulder, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The deputy asked the man if he needed help, but the man thanked him and declined.

[Full story at Woman fights off carjacker at gas stat | car, amormino, deputies - News - The Orange County Register]

BREAKING: Cop Union Pulls Bill Hunt Endorsement

Multiple sources say that the Santa Ana Police Officers Association has yanked its endorsement of Orange County sheriff’s candidate Bill Hunt.

The union’s president, Joe Perez, did not return phone calls for comment, but other law enforcement sources say the decision was made because Hunt, a private detective and former sheriff’s lieutenant, worked on a robbery case involving an alleged gang member.

“Our members are very upset with Mr. Hunt,” one officer told the Weekly on condition of anonymity. “He testified against us in court.”

But Hunt disputes the assertion, saying that he was hired to work on a robbery case and recently attended a preliminary hearing but did not testify. He also says that his client, Victor Manuel Lua, is innocent of the charges based on evidence he’s developed and that the gang allegation is tenuous at best: The 20-year-old Lua, he says, grew up in a Santa Ana neighborhood controlled by a criminal street gang and thus knows members but is not one himself.

[From OC Weekly Blog]

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