Newport Beach

Published on: August 30, 2018

Irvine Man Charged with Pimping and Pandering

When the authorities located and responded to an online prostitution advertisement they booked an appointment and allegedly met with a woman in a hotel room that they suspect is the victim of human trafficking. The man they purport is responsible for the illegal sexual activities was arrested.

At the end of May, the Newport Beach Police Department and the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force worked together in a sting operation targeting an ad for prostitution services that they discovered online. The website where the content was hosted is reportedly notorious for containing ads for illegal prostitution.

After setting up an encounter through the ad the authorities, posing as a client, planned a meeting with the woman at a Newport Beach hotel. A 32-year-old woman showed up for the ordered date, and it is suspected that she was being forced to prostitute herself.

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Published on: May 4, 2018

Recently Married Man Accused of Waterboarding and Torturing Wife

by Staycie R. Sena

A Newport Beach man has been charged with felony offenses after he reportedly held his wife against her will while torturing and abusing her using several methods, including waterboarding.

36-year-old Richard David Schlosser and his 65-year-old wife of two months share a home in Newport Beach.

On January 6 around 10:15 a.m. someone notified the authorities and told them that they feared something was wrong with the woman inside the couple’s home. Police dispatched to the location and reported that they had “reason to believe a crime had occurred.”

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Published on: December 8, 2017

Urban Decay Executive Faces Grand Theft Charges for Pilfering over $1 Million

by Staycie R. Sena

An executive for the cosmetics company Urban Decay has been accused of stealing more than $1 million through bank transfer transactions between the business and fraudulent accounts he created. He is facing felony charges for the allegations.

Irvine resident Ranjeet Reddy Paladugo holds a position as the vice president of finance at the Newport Beach based company Urban Decay. He is suspected of utilizing several banks in order to create fake accounts, which were similarly named after business affiliates of the company, in order to embezzle funds that he transferred from Urban Decay. On July 17 he allegedly stole over $1 million from Urban Decay.

Paladugo purportedly commissioned a transaction in the amount of $598,500 which he transferred through one of the phony accounts. He then transferred that money into his personal bank account. This procedure was repeated again in the same amount, and routed through a second bogus business account. Paladugo is said to have used the stolen money for personal use, including the down payment on a house.

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Published on: April 11, 2017

Arizona Man Arrested on Suspicion of Newport Beach Vandalism and Burglary

by Staycie R. Sena

Overnight between March 27 and March 28, several homeowners in the Dover Shores area of Newport Beach reported that someone had attempted to vandalize and burglarize their homes. Newport Beach spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said, “In each of these cases, an unknown suspect had used brute force, possibly a kick, to force open the front door to the residence.”

Although nothing was taken in those incidents, witnesses had reported to the police that they had seen a white man with a muscular build, along with an SUV near the scene of two of the crimes around the same time.

The next night, between the hours of 7 and 10 p.m. another home in the Newport Beach area was burglarized. “The door was forced open in the same manner as the other homes,” Manzella said. The resident was not home at the time of the crime. According to Manzella, watches and several items of jewelry were stolen.

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Published on: March 22, 2017

Call for Assault Turns into a 7-hour Standoff in Newport Beach

by Staycie R. Sena

A 36 year old man named Scott Patrick Cole of Newport Beach was booked into Orange County Jail on the suspicion of battery with serious bodily injury, trespassing, causing harm to an elder/dependent adult, and assault with a deadly weapon.

At around 4:30 p.m. officers got an assault call to the 800 block of West 15th St. After the officers arrived, they had made contact with a man, who fled to a nearby neighbor’s house for safety, said Jennifer Manzella, a Newport Beach police spokeswoman.

The unidentified victim was then taken to a nearby hospital for non-life threatening injuries and was later released. Apparently, the victim and Cole were acquainted, Manzella said. The officers were trying to contact Cole at the residence where the assault had allegedly taken place, but Cole repeatedly refused to come to the front door, said Manzella, adding that Cole seemed extremely agitated and began breaking windows and throwing objects inside the victim’s home.

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