Articles Posted in Sentencing

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Police were contacted in February, 2011 about a foul animal odor coming from a house on their street. Officers arrived to the overpowering smell of urine and feces. Besides the floor and other surfaces soaked with cat urine and droppings, the house was infested with both fleas and flies.

The officers entered the home wearing masks, but had to leave upon feeling ill and returned with full hazmat body suits and respirators. They found two children in the home, one who used a couch as a bed, with at least one child having scratches on her arms and legs. Two adults had cat feces on their feet as a result of walking barefoot in the home.

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In a recent juvenile delinquency case, a minor stole a car and damaged it beyond repair, rendering it a total loss for insurance purposes. After admitting to the crime, the juvenile court granted Deferred Entry of Judgment (DEJ), meaning that the case would be dismissed provided the minor complete the terms of probation, which in this case included restitution, or paying the owner of the car for damages.

The court ordered the minor pay $13,000 in damages to the car owner, along with $2,000 in interest on the car loan as part of this restitution. After the criminal defense attorney filed an appeal to challenge the $2,000 interest portion, the court surprisingly denied the appeal. The reason it was denied was because there is no way to appeal a DEJ order, and the restitution is considered part of it.

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On November 6, 2012, Californians voted in favor of Proposition 36, a ballot measure that allows for shorter sentences for some third-time offenders of the controversial “Three Strikes Law.”

The California Three Strikes Law was established in the 1990s and was intended to discourage repeat offenders from committing serious or violent crimes. Under the law, if a person is convicted of a serious or violent felony, it goes against their record as a “strike.” If he or she commits another serious or violent felony later, the sentencing gets harsher and a second strike is put on their record. Upon receiving a third strike, the criminal must be incarcerated in state prison for 25 years to life.

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In 2011, Elizabeth Escalona, a 23-year old mother of five, allegedly attacked 2-year old daughter Jocelyn due to potty training problems. She kicked her in stomach, beat her with a milk jug, and glued her hands to an apartment wall with super glue, according to information brought at trial.

Jocelyn suffered brain bleeding, a fractured rib, bruises, and bite marks, according to doctor’s testimony. Some skin had been torn off her hands as a result of the glue. Glue residue was found on her hands, along with paint chips from the apartment wall. The girl was left in a coma for several days following her injuries. Jocelyn and her four siblings are now living in the protective care of their grandmother.

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The Orange County register reports that a Laguna Niguel resident was arrested for drinking and having sex with her son’s underage friends since 2005. The woman, a 45-year old mother of three, is reportedly a “hockey mom” who allegedly met some of her son’s teammates during a sleepover at her home.

When interviewed by sheriff’s detectives, the woman first denied the allegations, but finally admitted to having sex with the older boy. She insists that she thought the older of the two boys was 18, like her son. He turned out to be 16. The woman’s Orange County criminal defense attorney insisted that she was going through a tumultuous divorce at the time, but that she wasn’t pursuing the boy. He also stated that the woman rebuffed the advances of the younger 13-year old.

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Miguel Alexander Vargas, 28, on trial in Orange County for the most severe form of domestic violence or spousal abuse charges for murdering his common-law wife, was recently tackled by courtroom deputies at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana after the judge denied a motion to allow him to represent himself.  He was then ordered removed from the courtroom by the presiding Orange County judge and yelled “I’m not f—— going!”

Vargas has already had two similar outbursts: earlier in the day, he was forcibly removed from court after ranting to the jury to the jury pool “this case is fake- the victim is still alive” and ignoring orders from the judge to remain quiet. In May, Vargas was subdued in the holding cell when he refused to cooperate, calling the judge a “f——– idiot.”

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In Orange County (and all of California), crime victims with damaged or destroyed property are entitled to restitution. Criminal restitution requires that the defendant in a criminal case pay for the victim’s damages- he must replace or repair damaged property, pay for counseling, if necessary, and pay direct damages like medical bills that resulted from the criminal act.

Patricia Short-Lyster is one such victim. Around 2008, she bought a 1975 Dodge Adventurer pickup truck. Her father, a former auto mechanic, encouraged her to buy it because it was in excellent condition. In 2009, Leroy Stanley vandalized Short-Lyster’s truck so badly that the driver’s side door of the vehicle could no longer be opened. Stanley was arrested and pled “no contest” to the charges. (Pleading “no contest” allows a defendant to avoid having the conviction used against him in a subsequent civil trial).

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In 2009, an elderly woman got nervous and dialed 911 when a woman outside her home repeatedly rang her doorbell. She did not recognize the person at the door and did not open it. The woman, Marcelina Diaz, eventually left, but soon returned with a large bag . Inside the bag were latex gloves. This time, Diaz climbed a wall into the back yard. She pried open a screen door, only to find the sliding glass door locked. She was caught looking for another entry when the police arrived.

Diaz gave officers a fake name and birthday. Officers found the bag and gloves in the backyard. Besides being charged with felony residential burglary and making a false representation to a police officer, Diaz was charged with possession of burglary tools, a misdemeanor.

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Boyd Twin, a resident of South Dakota, was arrested and charged for assault with a dangerous weapon. The victim of the assault was his companion, also the mother of his children. The crime took place in front of the children, all of whom were under the age of nine years old. Twin told his companion to “choose which child he should kill first.” The children later needed counseling.

Twin pled guilty to the crime of assault with a dangerous weapon. At his sentencing hearing, Judge Charles Kornmann sentenced Twin to 78 months in prison, plus three years’ supervised release. Then Twin smiled.

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You have two prior strike felony convictions. That means that any felony you’re convicted of in the future, risks a prison sentence of 25 to life. You’re driving down a road in Santa Ana and you see a police officer’s patrol car stopped at a red light. What do you do? Slow way down? Take a quick right? Prosecutors say David Araujo Reyes of Santa Ana inexplicably gunned the car and ran right into it, injuring the officer inside. He then got out and surrendered.

Aggravated assault, or assault with a deadly weapon, is a type of assault that can cause great injury to another person. These kinds of criminal offenses are known in Orange County as “wobblers.” A prosecutor can file an assault or aggravated assault charge as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances of the crime.

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