Drones are often thought of as airplane-sized, unmanned aircraft intended to get surveillance video of remote areas or bomb distant targets. But they do exist on a much smaller scale, within the purchasing power of the average American hobbyist, one of whom learned last week that doing so can land him in a New York court with felony charges.

The man was flying a model drone, a DJI Phantom 2, with a remote control. According to the police report, a video camera was attached to the craft and he allegedly flew the drone within 15 feet of a hospital window, where patients were undergoing medical examinations. Patients and staff had reported seeing the drone, but the man says the tinted hospital windows prevented the video footage from showing anybody inside.

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A woman was just sentenced to state prison for admitting to having sex with her adult friend’s 12-year old son. She had pled to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery on a child in a Florida court.

The incident allegedly began when the woman began contacting the boy on Facebook and through text messages. She had him a picture of herself in underwear and had arranged to meet the boy at a mall, where they instead had sex in the back seat of her car. They had met on at least two more occasions, in a secluded wooded area, also to have sex in her car.

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Police were called to a Costa Mesa Chuck E Cheese on Tuesday night on a tip that men might be using drugs in its bathroom. When they arrived, they found two men in a bathroom stall smoking heroin.

One of the men was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance, being under the influence of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia and is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail. The other man was arrested for suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and was later released on $1,000 bail.

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The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has issued a bulletin that their task force will be in full effect on July 4 to combat the increased number of individuals potentially driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The task force will be deploying deputies and officers to numerous checkpoints throughout Orange County in anticipation of people getting behind the wheel after having too many drinks. The CHP also plans on having additional officers in the field.

Planning ahead is always the best idea. If you are planning on drinking, always designate a sober driver. If you have been drinking and think you may be under the influence, always arrange for an alternate method of getting home. Likewise, if you see someone who is drunk and is attempting to get into their car, take away their keys and help them make other arrangements to getting where they are going safely. Calling a friend, family member, or a taxi is always a better choice than getting behind the wheel.

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In a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court, the justices unanimously ruled that police will now require a warrant to search a person’s cell phone.

Up until now, courts have routinely allowed the data contained on cell phones as evidence in a criminal proceeding on the basis that it prevents the destruction of evidence and for the safety of police officers in the field.

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When visiting the library, it’s important not to disturb others. So when an undercover police officer entered the New Hampshire library to follow up on a tip that prostitution was occurring there, he was soon approached by a woman with pad and paper. The 20-year old woman began scribbling notes and passing them to the officer, one of which allegedly offered a sex act for $60.

The woman was arrested on charges of prostitution, and she was also wanted on drug charges. She was reportedly arrested in February for illegal possession of cocaine and heroin.

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Two teens were arrested in Sonoma County on June 5 and now face charges for credit card fraud, receiving stolen property, identity theft and vehicle theft after the teens allegedly rented a $240,000 McLaren 12C using one or more stolen credit cards.

The 19-year old teens were somehow able to rent the McLaren, which is unusual because car rental agencies do not usually allow drivers under the age of 25 to rent high-end sports cars. They reportedly paid the $13,000 rental payment for the car and were able to get the keys before the agency realized the credit card was stolen.

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A 36-year old Laguna Niguel man is being held on $1 million bail for one count of attempted murder and one count of elder abuse.

He and the unnamed victim, a 91-year old patient at Fountain Valley Hospital, were sharing the same hospital room when the younger man reportedly attacked the elderly patient, covering the man’s nose and mouth with his hands and punching him repeatedly.

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Under California Vehicle Code §12500, driving without a valid license can result in a citation. Lacking evidence of liability insurance is a violation of Vehicle Code §16028 and a first-time offense can result in a fine of between $100 and $200, plus penalty assessments.

With all of the cards we’re required to keep track of, sometimes we misplace our driver’s license. If your glove compartment is anything like mine, finding a credit card-sized evidence of liability insurance amid a disorganized mess of papers, manuals, sunglasses and loose change is going to be difficult. Add an impatient police officer standing next to your car, and you’re going to get nervous. This nervousness can be misconstrued by the police officer as you being under the influence of a drug and may result in a breath and/or blood test. Even if you are not under the influence, an arrest can often jeopardize your employment and any professional licenses you may hold.

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A 19-year old teenager from Texas is facing anywhere between 5 years to life in prison for baking and selling pot brownies. Authorities arrested the teen on April 15 after a search of his apartment revealed six bags of cookies, nine bags of brownies, a pound of marijuana and $1675 in cash.

Although his criminal defense attorney claims the offense should be classified as a misdemeanor, Texas laws are harsher in its punishment of crimes involving THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The reason for the tough penalty is due to the boy using hash oil in making the brownies. Hash oil is classified differently from marijuana as a “Penalty 2” controlled substance. This allows authorities to use the weight of the entire batch of brownies (including sugar, flour, etc.) as the weight of the drug sold.

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In 2011, Laguna Hills became the 7^th city in the county to pass a law banning sex offenders from city parks and private parks run by homeowners associations. This went a step further than the existing Orange County ban on sex offenders from parks, beaches, and harbors. The DA was optimistic that such a move would increase public safety, especially for children. They were also confident that the ban was constitutional.

The citywide ban instituted by Laguna Hills contained additional provisions, requiring the posting of signs at parks referencing the new law and establishing criteria for waivers. These provisions were meant to help defend the new ordinances in court. The ban of sex offenders from private, homeowners association-owned parks required the associations to specifically request that the law be enforced in their own parks. No associations had made such a request since the ban was instituted.

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On Monday, police received an anonymous tip that a student at Jordan Intermediate School in Garden Grove had a weapon. They responded and discovered an eighth grade student at that school had a .38 caliber semiautomatic handgun in his possession along with a loaded clip in his pocket. Nobody was injured.

The child was arrested and sent to Orange County Juvenile Hall on weapons charges. Police discovered that the handgun was registered to a member of his family. They quickly obtained a warrant and searched his home, where they found a .22 caliber firearm that was not registered. The owner of that gun was cited and released.

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A 23-year old Anaheim man allegedly logged onto Facebook using a profile of a male high school-age student. He would then use the account to persuade underage girls to send him sexually-explicit photos and videos, which he would then use as blackmail, threatening to forward those photos on to other high school students if the girl did not agree to send more. He is alleged to have contacted at least six girls in this manner.

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On April 14, a woman was  admitted to a Pennsylvania hospital for treatment of a condition apparently unrelated to drugs. While she was in the intensive care unit, her multiple cell phones rang frequently, and she was visited by a large number of people, who would stay for only a few minutes. Many of the visitors who came to see her did not even know her last name.

When suspicion of her activities mounted, police were called. They set up an undercover informant to visit her room who was able to buy 30 bags of heroin from the woman. Police quickly moved in to make the arrest. In her hospital room, they found 380 bags of heroin with a street value of approximately $3800, along with $1420 in cash.

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Only one day after the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting that took the lives of 20 children and six teachers in Newtown, Connecticut, Marcos Gurrola allegedly took out a .40-caliber Glock handgun in a crowded Orange County mall parking lot and fired 54 rounds toward the Macy’s building. He stopped shooting and surrendered when two Newport Beach police officers on bicycles arrived. Gurrola was in possession of six magazines for his handgun, with even more in his car.

He was charged with 54 felony counts of firing a weapon at an inhabited dwelling, 2 counts of assault, plus two firearm enhancements. The reasons for Gurrola’s actions are inconclusive. He reportedly claimed that when he fired his gun, it made him feel better. Police said in 2012 that Gurrola told a detective he fired his gun because he was angry, but was not aiming at anybody.

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With tax day coming tomorrow, it’s tempting to make a few tweaks to reduce the amount of tax you owe to the federal government. But allow yourself to get carried away and you may find yourself in federal prison on tax evasion charges. The former city of Bell chief administrator was convicted of allegedly falsifying losses on his taxes, but that’s only half the story.

As the city administrator, he reportedly misappropriated taxpayer funds to pay himself a salary far in excess of what he should have received, and then claimed more than $770,000 in non-existent losses to the IRS to inflate his take-home pay up to $1.18 million per year.

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When a man applied for a job selling life insurance, his potential employer pointed out a blemish on his background check that indicated he had an outstanding tax lien. Without missing a beat, the man replied that it had been taken care of and he would send proof. Shortly thereafter, a faxed letter was sent to the company indicating that the tax lien’s “amounts in question have been satisfied completely.” It concluded with, “there are no outstanding fees or penalties due, and your record has been cleared of any restrictions or liens.” The letter was signed in the name of a US District Judge.

The company was suspicious and sent the letter to Alicemarie H. Stotler, the judge indicated on his letter. The judge reviewed the letter and saw her forged signature on it. Surprisingly, the judge knew the man, since she once sentenced him to prison for filing a false tax refund claim. She reported the crime and FBI agents who later confronted and arrested the man, who “was cooperative and made a full confession.”

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When a judge orders you not to drive, it’s a good idea to not immediately get behind the wheel as you’re leaving court.

At Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, individuals charged with driving-related crimes such as DUI were brought before a judge who notified them that their licenses had been suspended. As such, they were no longer permitted to drive. As they were leaving, deputies followed them out of the courtroom to find out how they were getting home.

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The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents of Orange County to plan ahead for festivities tonight that involve alcohol. The agency will be deploying multiple DUI checkpoints throughout the area with the intention of arresting anybody who is driving a vehicle who is under the influence of alcohol.

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens recommends planning ahead to get a safe ride home at the end of the night. Such plans can include designating a sober driver, using a taxi service, or calling a sober friend or family member to give you a ride home. They also recommend taking car keys away from any individual who appears to be intoxicated so they are unable to drive.

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On March 6, a woman described as “delusional” had taken her three children, ages 3, 9, and 10 from their home on a car ride that nearly ended in death. Her sister says the woman was “talking about Jesus and that there’s demons in my house,” according to a 911 call.

The woman had recently got out of a “domestic violence situation” in a different state, but apparently was having issues of mental illness, prompting her sister to call the police when she feared for the safety of the three children.

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