The Two Suspects are linked to Burglaries in Aptos and La Selva Beach

WATSONVILLE—Authorities with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office arrested a couple on burglary charges after an investigation linked them to burglaries in Aptos and La Selva Beach. Arrested were 24-year-old Julia Corrine Burns and 23-year-old Robert Fernandez Quiroz both of Watsonville.

On Saturday morning, January 4, a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy was on routine patrol in the Scott Park area of Watsonville on Freedom Boulevard when he noticed a green BMW parked in the lot.   A license check of that vehicle came back reported as stolen.

Julia Burns was found in a parked car at Scott Park – It turned out to be stolen.

The deputy detained Burns, who was in the car, and upon a search deputies found drugs and stolen property in the vehicle.  The Deputy placed Burns in custody and transported her to the Santa Cruz County Jail. Her bail has been set at $50.000.

The Sheriff’s Department’s biggest surprise came when they were able to link the stolen property in the vehicle to Quiroz, who was already wanted in connection in a burglary at the Monterey Bay Academy.

“This was just great police work from the deputies to the detectives.” Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Ryan Kennedy said, “The two were wanted for several burglaries in the Santa Cruz County area.”

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has a video surveillance tape that appears to show both Quiroz and Burns loading the BMW with stolen property from the school.  Deputies found Quiroz in Santa Cruz and arrested him without incident.

Quiroz was charged with suspicion of burglary, theft and a probation violation.  He is being held in Santa Cruz County Jail on 25,000.00 bail.

Read More:

Santa Cruz Sentinel: Pair linked to burglaries in La Selva Beach, Aptos

Oakland police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in an armed robbery that occurred in the 700 block of Walker Avenue on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Surveillance cameras captured the attached photos of the suspect and the vehicle he got out of before the robbery, police said in a bulletin this morning (Friday).

The suspect is described as a black man in his 30s, 5’7″ tall, 170 pounds, with short hair and a lower silver “grill” in his mouth.

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Read the full story on Piedmont.Patch.com

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Child Abuse Detectives recently made an arrest in connection to the death of a 2-year-old boy back in November 2013, according to an official press release.

Samuel Quinn Crutchor, 30 — who was the child’s caretaker — was reported arrested on January 14, 2014, by detectives on murder and felony assault charges. He was reportedly booked into the Sacramento County Jail and is currently being held without the possibility of bail.

According to Sac Sheriff, on November 4, 2013, deputies responded to the 2900 block of Watt Avenue regarding a 2-year-old child, William Philyaw, who was not breathing. Detectives reportedly learned the child’s mother had left Philyaw in the care of another individual — later identified as Crutchor — while she was away from her residence.

On November 7, 2013, the Sacramento Coroner’s Office reportedly determined the cause of the child’s death to be a blunt abdominal injury. Further investigation by Child Abuse Detectives reportedly determined the action of Crutchor had resulted in the child’s death.

Crutchor was initially arrested in Sacramento on November 6, but on a parole/post release violation from a Monterey County warrant related to a prior conviction on theft and drug charges. The Monterey Sheriff’s department booked him on those charges on January 6. No charges related to the death of the child were posted at that time.

Read More:

KCRA: Death of Sacramento 2-year-old ruled homicide

CBS Sacramento: Neighbors Point To Babysitter As Likely Suspect Behind Toddler’s Homicide

News 10: Toddler’s death considered homicide; babysitter arrested on unrelated charges

On Jan. 10 at approximately 10:30 p.m. Santa Monica Police officers responded to the ice rink at 5th and Arizona in response to a man causing a disturbance there.

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Read the full story on SantaMonica.Patch.com

On Jan. 11 at approximately 9 a.m. Santa Monica Police officers responded to a theft at the Rite Aid store at 1331 Wilshire Blvd.

The officers were also informed that the suspect had refused to stop when asked to by store security personnel as he exited the store.  As officers responded, one spotted the subject of the theft and detained him for investigation.

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Read the full story on SantaMonica.Patch.com

Two men were arrested over the weekend in connection with more than 20 home burglaries in Newport Beach, and several others in Huntington Beach, after police received a tip from a vigilant resident, police reported.

The resident called police Saturday at about 11:37 a.m. after noticing a suspicious vehicle’s driver stop outside her home, write something down on a piece of paper and drive way. The woman remembered an alert posted on Nextdoor.com by Newport Beach police Detective Tracy McKenzie a few days earlier, which warned residents to call police if they noticed a white Jeep Rubicon in their neighborhood. The Jeep had been linked to multiple home burglaries in Huntington Beach and in the Dover Shores area.

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Read the full story on NewportBeach.Patch.com

SANTA CLARA COUNTY – 33-year-old Ruby Naranjo Moreno of Morgan Hill and 36-year-old Jessica Delicia Castaneda of Los Banos were charged with fraud on Nov 27, 2013 in Santa Clara County for a case in which Moreno had called Farmers Insurance Exchange to report her 2009 Toyota Camry was involved in a hit-and-run accident. The charge covers the period of Jan 31 to Sept 18 of 2013. Moreno had initially tried to file a claim with Farmers about the damage to her left bumper, fender and head lamp.  Moreno was denied coverage at the time because she had failed to pay her insurance premiums over a long period of time.

On Jan 31, 2013 Moreno again called Farmers Insurance Exchange to report a second possible hit and run accident reporting the same damage to the vehicle.  Investigators however determined that the damage to the Camry was the same, and that Moreno was “seeking and unjustifiable claim”.  Farmers Insurance Investigators determined that repairing the damage to the vehicle would have cost $1,614.81.  The Office of the District Attorney’s Fraud Division was contacted on May 16, 2013 reporting the second attempt to collect as a fraudulent claim. 

On Sept 18, 2013 Moreno admitted to investigators that she had made multiple claims, however that the damage had since been fixed, and that she had borrowed the money from a friend, Castaneda.  She later admitted to not getting the loan from Castaneda as she had previously claimed.  Moreno told investigators that she had been in three prior accidents and not two separate accidents as she had claimed. 

Moreno told investigators, “technically I was supposed to have insurance and I paid for the insurance even for a time I didn’t have insurance”. When asked about the accident, Castaneda told investigators, “It’s not like I was in the vehicle or anything like that.”  Castaneda said she loaned Moreno $100 dollars, but didn’t know if the car was fixed.

The next court date for the two friends is coming up in Dept. 35 at the Santa Clara County Court.

Victim was Stabbed To Death in Early December

SALINAS—The Investigation Unit of the Salinas Department has made an arrest in the month long murder investigation in the death of 53-year-old Bobby Dick Jr. of Morro Bay. On Thursday, January 9^th authorities arrested 31-year-old Salinas resident Hector Martinez for the murder.

On December 5, Salinas Police responded to the Laurel Inn Motel located on 801 West Laurel Drive in Salinas on a report of a deceased male found in his hotel room.  A hotel employee had found the door to Mr. Dick’s room ajar, and when she pushed it open she found Mr. Dick’s lifeless body inside.

Bobby Dick Jr. was found dead in his room at the Laurel Inn.

The cause of death was listed as suspicious until an autopsy was performed by the Monterey County’s Coroner’s Office.  Three day later, the Coroner released the find on the cause of death. It appeared that Mr. Dick died of multiple stab wounds.

The victim frequented the Laurel Inn Hotel for the last several years when he would do work in the area; he was a traveling mechanic. Investigators with the Salinas Police Department began investigating this crime and had very little information. But after an exhaustive investigation, they identified Martinez as their prime suspect in this case.  Martinez was arrested at the Monterey County Court following his appearance on an unrelated matter.  Authorities were able to arrest him without incident.

“As of right now there was no relationship between Mr. Dick and Martinez.” Salinas Police Commander Vince Maiorana said, “But this case is still being investigated.”

Martinez is currently in the Monterey County Jail on the charge of murder.  His bail has been set at three million dollars. The Salinas Police Department is still actively investigating this incident and will not be releasing any more information related to the ongoing investigation.

Read More:

KION 46: Salinas Police Arrest Suspect in Laurel Inn Murder, Suspect Arrested at Court

SANTA ROSA – A young man who has been in recent trouble with the law took it a step further and may end up with a long sentence this time, or perhaps a mental health examination and treatment.

On Tuesday afternoon, about 3:30, the Sheriff’s office received a call from a man reporting that he was assaulted by a tenant on his property. According to a Sheriff’s press release, the arriving deputies found the 76-year-old homeowner at his place on Baird Road, who told them his tenant, 23-year-old Anthony Greene, accosted him with a knife. He reported that Greene had demanded that he take him to the bank to get money, holding the knife near his neck, threatening to kill him. The man said, however, that he had been able to escape the house while Greene was distracted, which was when he called the Sheriff’s office.

The deputies were able to observe the suspect in the house though the windows, and he still had the knife in his hand. They demanded he drop the knife and come out. Greene followed part of their order, emerging from the home, but with the knife still in hand. He threatened to kill the deputies, and himself as well. He soon went back into the house.

The suspect Anthony Greene was recently arrested on two occasions while living at the Baird Road location. He was picked up on November 22 and December 6 on charges of public intoxication, resisting arrest, and probation violations, both times in the area near Oliver’s Market at the Middle Rincon Center.

After Greene had retreated to the house, still in possession of the knife, one of the deputies used his skills as a trained hostage negotiator to speak with the troubled young man. He convinced him to put the knife down and surrender. Greene was taken into custody and booked into the Sonoma County Jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery, attempted kidnapping, elder abuse and terrorist threats. His bail was set at $101,000.

Read More:

The Press Democrat: Santa Rosa man suspected of threatening landlord with knife

Yolo Superior Court Judge David W. Reed has ruled on January 10 that there is sufficient evidence for the trial of Aquelin Talamantes to move forward; the defendant is scheduled to return to court for arraignment on January 24.

Talamantes is accused of drowning her daughter, Tatiana, five, in the family home in East Davis. Talamantes then allegedly placed the girl’s body in the truck of her car and drove to the home of relatives in Sacramento’s Pocket area. The Pocket area is in southwest Sacramento, located in a wide curve of the Sacramento River.

Sacramento police Officer Ethan Zeek testified that he arrived at the Pocket residence and found Tatiana grey-faced and wearing purple pajamas. Foam was bubbling on the little girl’s lips, so, thinking she had a chance to live, Officer Zeek immediately initiated Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). After several minutes he was relieved by other officers and neighbors knowledgeable in First Aid. But all their efforts were to no avail; Tatiana died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

“She was wearing purple jammies,” Zeek testified, his voice breaking. He took a minute to regain his composure and then explained he had a daughter the same age as Tatiana.

Aquelin Talamantes had a history, prior to the death of her daughter, of odd behavior. Sacramento Police Detective Scott MacLafferty testified family members had informed him Talamantes suffered from psychosis, schizophrenia, paranoia and possibly bipolar disorder.

“Stupid kids. I can’t take care of them. I don’t want them,” Talamantes allegedly told her sister, Elisa Torres; a statement Torres later quoted to MacLafferty.

Read More:

Sacramento Bee: Davis mom accused of killing her child will face murder trial, judge rules

SANTA ROSA -It is entirely possible that Ariel Suarez-Godinez and Francisco Jose Baltazar could have continued to enjoy the fruits of their illegal marijuana lab sales if not for the DABR graffiti tagged all over town.

Santa Rosa Police detectives were investigating the 8-month spree of vandalism over a number of locations in Santa Rosa. At least 62 instances of graffiti tagging had been identified with the signature DABR. The investigation culminated in a search warrant served at a residence in the Roseland area south west of downtown. But they found more than the suspected tagger, Ariel Suarez-Godinez, and some paint cans. According to a police press release, they discovered a concentrated cannabis manufacturing lab and over 100 pounds of marijuana. Concentrated cannabis usually takes the form of the more commonly known “hashish”, but more extreme operations can further produce hash oil, or honey oil, a thick liquid form of the drug. Both are illegal even in medical use cases because of their potency.

Another DABR tagging from DABR1.

Francisco Jose Baltazar was also arrested at the same time, accused of being Suarez-Godinez’ partner in the drug producing business, but is not included in the vandalism complaint.

19-year-old Suarez-Godinez was booked into the Somoma County jail on 3 counts of felony vandalism, though the number is likely to grow as evidence is collected. He and Baltazar were also booked on the illegal manufacture of concentrated cannabis and possession of marijuana for sale.

Images: flickrhivemind.net

Read More:

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Santa Rosa police arrest suspected serial graffiti tagger

LONG BEACH – Police have made an arrest in connection with a sexual assault that took place in August of 2013.  52-year-old Steven DeSisto was arrested on Wednesday morning in the 500 block of East 1st Street.

According to police, DeSisto met the victim in a local bar, where she became intoxicated.  He then took her to his home near Orange Avenue and Ocean Boulevard and sexually assaulted her.  Afterward the victim called police.

DeSisto was booked on two counts of felony sexual assault, one count of felony drug possession, and one misdemeanor count of photographing an unconscious person.  He is being held on a $2,000,000 bail.

Investigators believe there may be other victims and are asking anyone who has been a victim of a crime involving DeSisto to call Stacey Holdredge at (562)570-5513.  If you wish to remain anonymous, you may call 1-80-222-8477.

REDDING – One search warrant brought in three arrests, including the owner of a local towing service. Both weapons and drugs were recovered during the operation.

Yesterday, Wednesday the 15th, Redding police investigators at a home in the semi-rural area east of downtown Redding. According to a police press report, at 2:02 pm the investigators approached the home at 9801 Harley Leighton Road to locate a man who was renting the home, Todd Anthony Marsh, the owner of Todd’s City Wide Towing Service. When they arrived they saw that his tow truck was parked in the driveway.

Todd Marsh is the owner of Todd’s City Wide Towing (from Facebook)

However, when they contacted the home, Marsh was not present. They did initiate the search nonetheless, and encountered 24-year-old Monty Leon Carey from Burney, a small town several miles northeast of Redding. In his bedroom he had a shotgun, which police identified as stolen property, taken from a Redding home on New Year’s Eve. Burney was arrested for the stolen gun, and outstanding warrants.

Further search of the home brought them to Lani Roberta Mulvey, 46 of Red Bluff, a city south of Redding. Mulvey has a history as a convicted felon as they learned, and yet she was in possession of a stun gun with ammunition, a violation of the terms of her release. She was arrested as well.

Monty Leon Carey from his Facebook page.

Meanwhile, not to disappoint, the original target of the visit, Todd Marsh drove up to the home. As he saw the police investigators and they saw him, he initiated a quick change of plans and drove off. He drove into a private driveway in an attempt to hide, but they saw him and were able to take him into custody. Marsh joined his two friends in being arrested – he for possession of methamphetamine, which he had with him in the car, transportation of meth, and maintaining a residence where narcotics are used or sold.

It would seem that Marsh’s past activities at the home did not go unnoticed. Under the User Reviews segment of the Todd’s City Wide Towing Facebook page, someone posted the message “Clean up the property at 9801 Harley Leighton road, get rid of all the dope fiends you have there & get back to working, like you used to.” This was posted 5 months ago.

The three detained were all booked at the Shasta County jail.

A San Francisco man was arrested last week for reportedly making over 70 angry phone calls to his ex-girlfriend and her husband.

Andrew Rustad, 37, had been dating the married Half Moon Bay woman for about six months, according to San Mateo County Prosecutors.

The woman split and went back to her husband last week when Rustad became verbally abusive, according to reports.

On the night they broke up, Rustad responded by calling the married couples’ home all night long and into the next morning. Many of the calls were threatening, with Rustad saying the husband “was dead” and that he would be waiting outside the home for him. The couple called the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and reported the alleged threats.

Sheriff’s officers apprehended Rustad when he showed up the next morning at the front entrance to the gated community where the couple lives. He was arrested on suspicion of criminal threats, stalking and making annoying phone calls.

Read more:

Half Moon Bay Review: Man arrested after litany of threats

FRESNO – The grandmother of a 2-year-old child who was pulled out of a Fresno front-yard fountain on Wednesday was arrested for child endangerment.

Chou Vang, 48, had been babysitting the toddler and another 4-year-old child at a home in the 8500 block of East Olive Avenue when the incident occurred. Vang and other adults were working in and outside the house while the two children played in the front yard without supervision for at least 30 minutes, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

The 4-year-old child alerted the grandmother that something was wrong around 12:30 p.m. When Vang went outside to investigate, she discovered the 2-year-old boy face down in a large fountain.

The boy was pulled out of the fountain and discovered to be not breathing. One of the family members performed CPR on the boy until deputies and EMS personnel arrived and took over.

The boy was taken to CommunityRegionalMedicalCenter and then to Children’s Hospital. He is currently on life support.

Vang was booked into the Fresno County Jail.

Read More:

ABC30: Grandmother arrested after near drowning of toddler

Fresno Bee: Grandmother arrested after toddler pulled from fountain

FRESNO – Five people from Fresno were charged with 288 felony counts after they were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of running a statewide housing scheme that led to the fraudulent seizure of 23 houses in nine counties.

The California Attorney General’s Office announced the arrest of Sandra Elaine Barton, 30, Christopher Spencer Barton, 31, Daniel Paul Vedenoff, 29, Sheldon W. Feigel, 50, and Craig Merrill Mortensen, 60. Another suspect, 21-year-old Cambria Lisa Barton, has not been caught.

The Bartons and Vedenoff are accused of working with Feigel and Mortensen, both lawyers, to identify seemingly abandoned houses and file for adverse possession of the property to obtain the title. Once they had obtained ownership, the property would then be sold or rented, according to court documents.

The suspects provided fraudulent statements in court between 2006 and 2013 to obtain at least 23 homes located in the counties of Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Santa Barbara, San Mateo, Sonoma and Tulare.

An investigation into the scheme began after a Santa Barbara County homeowner seeking an equity loan in 2010 learned from a title company that Sandra Barton was listed as the deed holder of the property. A court determined that Barton’s claim was fraudulent and notified the California State Bar. The state attorney general’s office began an investigation in June 2011.

“It is reprehensible that these individual lied to the courts in order to steal homes and in some cases to demand payment from the rightful owners,” Attorney General Harris said. “The conduct of the attorneys in this scheme is even more offensive because they violated their ethical duty to be honest to the courts.”

The five suspects were booked into the Fresno County Jail and face restitution payments of at least $3.5 million. They are facing charges of perjury, filing false court records and preparing false evidence.

Read More:

Fresno Bee: 5 from Fresno charged in statewide housing fraud scheme

San Jose Mercury News: Fresno residents accused of fraudulently seizing 23 houses

What should have been a simple purchase at the Novato Chipotle location on Monday turned into an arrest on fraud and illicit drug charges, as detailed in a press release by Sergeant Jenner of the Novato Police Department.

Chipotle customer Violet Felecity Bloomfield, 32 of San Rafael, attempted to pay for her meal with a credit card in a transaction that employees determined was fraudulent. Police responded quickly to the restaurant at 888 DeLong Avenue, just up the street from the department headquarters.

Novato PD Officer Ames and canine Metz determined that Bloomfield was carrying not only fraudulent credit cards, but also a substance suspected to be methamphetamine and related drug paraphernalia. Ames subsequently arrested Bloomfield on these possession charges.

NPD is not releasing any additional information on the arrest at this time because the investigation is ongoing, according to Novato PD Lieutenant Jennifer Welch. However, records show that Bloomfield, who lists her occupation as a legal secretary, was arrested just a week prior, on January 6, on charges of possession of stolen property, a controlled substance, and “defrauding an innkeeper” – which usually means skipping out on a motel bill. As a result, her arrest this week also includes a charge of committing an additional offense while out on bail.

Police Dog Metz is one of three NPD canines specifically trained to detect narcotics.

Officers from the Rancho Cordova Police Department have recently arrested two men in connection to a number of residential burglaries occurring in the Rancho Cordova area, according to an official press release.

Cameron Hall, 21, of Rancho Cordova and Jerritt Tolson, 20, of Sacramento, were reportedly arrested on January 15, 2014.

According to Rancho Cordova Police, on Monday, January 13, 2014, the Sacramento Sheriff Communications Center received several calls reporting a number of residential burglaries in the Rancho Cordova area. After an extensive investigation, officers and detectives reportedly made the two arrests.

A large amount of property was reportedly recovered and returned to victims from Yukon River Way, Gorge River Court, and Oakton Way in Rancho Cordova.

Detectives are asking the public to contact the Rancho Cordova Police Department if they have any additional information on these crimes at 916-875-9600.

A 66-year-old San Jose woman is reportedly out several hundred thousand dollars after falling victim to an online dating scam.

The woman, whose name was not released, met a man on the site ChristianMingle.com who claimed to be a citizen of the United Kingdom working on a Scottish oil rig. After a courtship consisting of text messages and phone calls, the woman sent her online beau $500,000, according to Santa Clara County prosecutors. Her suitor claimed he wanted to borrow the money to run his business, even creating a fake company website and listing her name as a company official.

At some point she suspected the gentleman might have been lying to her. She contacted authorities, who traced the man’s Skype account and e-mail addresses to Nigeria. Then a man named Wisdom Onokpite tried to withdraw the money from the bank in Turkey, where she had wired the money. He was arrested, but is apparently not the false oil rigger, but an associate who had traveled from Nigeria to Turkey on a fake passport.

The scammer used a legitimate dating site to find his victim.

Fortunately, the woman was able to recover about $200,000 of the money she sent to the account in Turkey.

Read more:

San Jose Mercury News: San Jose woman victim of dating site fraud

SFGate: San Jose woman loses $500,000 in online dating scam

Two suspects were recently arrested by the Rocklin Police Department for drugs found in their car — and later on when they attempted to destroy drugs at the police station, according to an official press release.

Booking photos of Geroy and Towe

Troy Geroy, 27, of Sacramento, and Emma Towe, 19, of Rio Linda, were both arrested and charged with possession of controlled substance for sale, possession of narcotic paraphernalia, and transporting/selling narcotics. They were both booked into the Placer County Jail.

According to Rocklin PD, on January 13, 2014, at approximately 2:54am, an officer conducted a vehicle stop and discovered the driver was on probation. A search of the vehicle reportedly revealed several hypodermic syringes, along with a small amount of heroin, scales, and packaging supplies consistent with the sale of narcotics.

Troy and Emma from Facebook

The driver and passenger were reportedly placed under arrest and taken to the police department. When at the station, the female suspect asked to use the restroom, during which officers reportedly discovered was in an attempt to destroy a small package of heroin she had hidden in her underpants. The female then reportedly revealed to officers she had another bag containing over 20 grams of heroin hidden on her body.