Articles Tagged with prison

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A 39 year old Los Angeles woman, Jennifer Choi, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $1 million over her 10 year career.

Choi’s job was to schedule hairstyling and makeup services for HBO’s actors and actresses. Without HBO’s knowledge, Choi developed her own company called Shine Glossy, which claimed to provide makeup and styling services, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Through her company, Shine Glossy, she submitted phony invoices for services that were not provided, falsely using the names of actors, making the invoices appear legitimate.

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Several Ulta beauty stores have been hit by thieves all around the Southern California area, including the Cerritos, Lakewood, Tustin, Rosemead, Redondo Beach, and The Rolling Hills Estates stores. Stores are claiming estimated loss of $100,000.

Seargant Mark Moffet of the Lomita Sheriff’s Department has said the thieves operated in what he called a “mob style.” They would enter the store as a group, spread out and stuff as much merchandise in their pockets as they could, and then rush out before police had a chance to arrive.

An eight person team hit the Rolling Hills Estates store, where officers were able to identify a known gang member as one of the suspects. “Once we identified some players, the flood gates opened up,” Sergeant Moffet said.

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A man who had been working as a youth pastor at Grace Community Church in Lake Forest, Orange County has just been sentenced to two years in state prison and lifetime sex registration, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s website. He plead guilty to two felony counts of sexual battery by restraint and two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. The assaults are alleged to have occurred last year and involved four separate female victims. Some of the assaults occurred on the Orange County church property. The victims spoke to the man during his sentencing in court, describing their suffering in a “victim impact statement.” Under California’s Marsy’s Law, every adjudged victim is given this right to confront her perpetrator.

If you or a loved one are charged with sexual battery or are the victim of sexual battery seeking help with a victim impact statement, please contact Orange County criminal defense attorney Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.

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NFL network star Darren Sharper has recently pled guilty or no contest to drugging and raping a total of nine women in multiple states reports say.

While working as an analyst for the NFL network Sharper reportedly approached two women at a nightclub in West Hollywood in October 2013. He invited them to a party telling them he had to stop by his hotel room first. While they were inside his hotel room he offered the women drinks. One of the women woke up naked to Sharper, while he was sexually assaulting her. A few weeks later he was at the same nightclub and again, invited two women to a party, telling them he needed to stop by his hotel room.The women apparently lost consciousness sometime after.

For several months Sharper allegedly repeated these tactics across four different states. Over a dozen women eventually came forward, which led to criminal convictions five jurisdictions, including federal court.

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Michelle Betancourt was sentenced on Tuesday for stabbing her three year old son during a domestic dispute with the child’s father.

In May 2015, Michelle Betancourt of Los Angeles and her child’s father got into a heated argument. The twenty-three year old woman lost control and threw a knife at the man, but it hit her child instead. Neighbors reported terrifying screaming and crying and a woman yelling something about “a lot of blood.” Neighbors saw Betancourt running down the driveway, holding the wounded boy, while screaming hysterically. The boy’s father initially claimed that the boy had stabbed himself.

The boy’s injuries were life-threatening, but he did recover. Betancourt was arrested and charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and personal infliction of great bodily injury. Although police originally claimed the assault was intentional, after thoroughly reviewing the case prosecutors decided they could not file attempted murder charges. Attempted murder requires the specific intent to murder, whereas Betancourt acted wantonly and recklessly. Her attorney insists that she did not intend to harm her child.

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The FBI has charged 5 men and 4 corporations with illegally exporting high-tech microelectronics to Iran, in violation of the International Emergency Powers Act. Three of the men, including one from Aliso Viejo, were taken into custody in Houston, Texas. Two other men are believed to be out of the country.

The Iran-based company Faratel and Smart Power Systems in Texas were allegedly building uninterruptible power supplies and shipping them off for use by the Iranian Ministry of Defense, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Iranian Centrifuge Technology Company. According to the FBI these electronics can be used in military equipment such as surface to air and cruise missiles. The indictment states the items would be shipped to a company in Taiwan, then on to a company in Turkey, which would then send them to Iran.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIn a scene likely to be reenacted in Grand Theft Auto, a Palm Springs man stole a police car from the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy where recruits were being trained. Two men were arrested in January after investigators found the squad car missing and several other police cars burglarized.

The vehicle was found abandoned in Garden Grove the next day. The alleged perpetrator and his cohort were found in possession of stolen police items and were booked on charges of burglary, vehicle theft, and possession of stolen property.

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Californians have just enacted the biggest change to the criminal justice system in a generation. Voters have approved Proposition 47, which will reduce most drug and many theft crimes from felonies to mere misdemeanors. This will reduce or eliminate thousands of jail sentences across the state.

Anyone who is currently serving a prison sentence that qualifies under this reclassification is eligible to petition for a new, lighter sentence, even if currently incarcerated under Californias “three strikes” law. Someone serving a 25-to-life sentence may, for example, be allowed to leave prison now with credit for time that has been served.

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An Idaho woman recently purchased alcohol for a teenage boy living in her house who was having a birthday, according to investigators. One of the guests at the party was a 14 year old girl who ended up drinking multiple shots of the alcohol and lost consciousness.

Some of the other teens at the party notified the woman of the young girl’s condition. According to reports, instead of calling 911 to report the incident, the woman instead hooked the girl up to an IV drip, administering approximately half a liter of fluid into her veins. She allegedly did not only fail to contact paramedics, but also failed to notify the girl’s parents of the incident as well.

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WildfireAn Oregon woman recently pled guilty in Federal court to starting a massive fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. She allegedly told police that she tossed a lit firework out of a car window because her firefighter friends were bored and needed work. She told officials that she thought it would be a small fire that would take only a few days to put out.

The firework ignited brush alongside the road that quickly spread northwest. Two days later, she reportedly posted a message on Facebook: “Like my fire?”

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