The Story of Jhona Mathews may make a good book, once it is all told. She has been in the news a lot lately, since September, and as recently as last week. She made another splash Thursday during her arraignment that got her locked up without bail and her 3-year-old daughter placed in Child Protective Services custody.

The San Francisco Examiner has published a lengthy history of Jhona Mathews in a story written by Chris Roberts. He related the tale of this woman born to a teenage single mother with addiction problems. Young Jhona was molested or raped by relatives, even testifying at a trial convicting her step-grandfather. However, while raised by her grandmother, she was successful in school. But when she was 20, her grandmother died, and she was the one who found and tried to resuscitate her. The final tipping point in her future may have been when family members blamed her for the death.

Roberts relates in his story of her beginning the use of methamphetamines, and a series of arrests and new chances for rehab from 2001 to 2010. During this time she had a felony conviction for using a stolen credit card to gain money for her drug habit, and she was soon arrested with a boyfriend for marijuana trafficking, followed by driving a stolen car, and being involved with a counterfeiter, her longtime friend Nicole Dunlap, who bailed her out at the time. Her final try at rehab began in February 2010, at which time she also became pregnant with her daughter.

Perhaps in an effort to clean up her life once again, and raise her baby daughter, she began working for San Rafael’s City Carpets in January 2011. In fact, her LinkedIn account still lists her as an Office Administrator for them, as well as attending the College of Marin in 2012. While she worked at the company, she met Bill McLaughlin, who was on the Board of Directors for the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in San Francisco.

McLaughlin was apparently taken with the sometimes glamorous 5-foot-8-inch tall woman, and used his influence to get her a well-paying secretarial job at the church early in 2013, and his interest appears to have been more than just charitable. In a lawsuit she later filed against the church, she claimed that her job reporting to McLaughlin also including a sexual relationship with him. Stories of sex on the church grounds, and spankings with a wooden paddle when she was “naughty” were included in her allegations.

Also during the time of her employment, it was also discovered that $100,000 had been embezzled from the church. Mathews’ attorney in the lawsuit, Sandra Ribera, claimed that McLaughlin also used her to help him embezzle the funds from the church, in addition to demanding sexual favors. Sources involved with the small, older facility deny that it would be possible to have any untoward relations on church grounds without being discovered. They also claim that the embezzlement of such a large sum could not have come from the small church, but from the San Francisco Archdiocese, and that Jhona used her position to access and write checks from that account.

While working at the church, Mathews is also said to have diverted mail from her former employer at the carpet company, and used that access to use one of their credit cards at an Office Depot store in Marin County. She was arrested in September of 2013 and served 10 days in Marin County jail for that offense. During this time, she called in sick, claiming pneumonia to explain her absence for her job at the church. Meanwhile, church sources claim that her friend and sometime roommate Nicole Dunlap used Mathews’ keys to get in her office and steal a laptop computer.

It was also during this time period that she and the 30-year-old Dunlap were suspects in a case of stolen credit cards and identity theft against a 79-year-old woman undergoing cancer treatments. The victim was the woman Jhona had replaced at the church, and she found the elderly woman’s checkbook and other personal identification, and used them to purchase items at the Richmond Sears in Contra Costa County. No record of this incident has been released, but it was related by the same source inside the church who was involved in tracking the incidents with Mathews. 

Jhona Mathews booking photo

When the church leadership in October finally learned of Mathews September conviction for defrauding the carpet company, they fired her from the position. She claimed, however, the firing was in response to her cutting off the sexual relationship with McLaughlin. Her lawsuit was filed on January 29. McLaughlin, who has been accused of several other past financial misdeeds, was also separated from the church, and the leadership has been dealing with the convoluted aspects of this whole matter since.

And while all the dust was settling for this series of incidents, Jhona Mathews was not sitting quietly in the sidelines. She and Dunlap joined up with three men to work a stolen credit card and identity theft operation in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County.

One of the men, Zephyr Carter, had a previous arrest for similar offenses, so the team had some experience with the process. They had set up shop in a Rohnert Park hotel room. They had both stolen and blank cards, a card reader and laptop computers, along with some cash and some methamphetamine and smoking paraphernalia. On Friday night, April 4, Jhona took one of the fraudulent cards to the Graton Casino nearby. Graton is a new resort that opened in November of last year owned by the Federated Indians of Graton in Sonoma County. The facility has no hotel of its own, but features gaming tables, slot machines and poker.

Jhona was sent by the team to the casino to use the ATM machine to get some cash. The fraudulent card was detected, and she was detained by in-house security, who alerted the Sheriff’s office, and a deputy arrested her for the stolen card. A while later another of the team, perhaps Nicole Dunlap, tried the same thing and ended up with the same result. The arrest of the two led to a raid on the room, and the other three taken in custody as well. She and the others were charged with a laundry list of offenses, including forgery, theft of credit card info, altering credit cards, manufacturing false ID documents, burglary, giving false identity to a peace officer, vehicle theft, possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia, and conspiracy.

Jhona Mathews made her $10,000 bail the same day, Saturday April 5th, and was scheduled for arraignment yesterday at 8:30 am. She showed up for court and faced the judge, who upon reviewing her case and history, increased the bail amount to $50,000, and had her placed into custody. She then told the deputies that her 3-year-old daughter Brooklyn was waiting for her in the car by herself, parked at the courthouse in the south side parking lot as the morning turned to day, and the heat was increasing.

Deputies rushed to the lot and found her car. Mathews’ daughter was asleep in the back seat, and the deputies managed to wake her up and have her unlock the car door so they could bring her out. A search of the car found 3 capped hypodermic syringes filled with what they suspected was liquid meth, additional drug parahernalia, and a notebook with a series of credit card numbers.

Jhona Mathews was booked back into jail with the additional charges of felony child endangerment, possession of meth and drug paraphernalia, and probation violations. An bail enhancement was requested and granted, and she is being held with a no bail hold. Her daughter was turned over to Child Protective Services. The property crime detectives were given the additional evidence of the notebook, and will add that to the evidence already collected from the casino investigation.

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The Examiner: Woman at center of SF church sex scandal was fired for prior criminal offense

It is believed that on January 31, 2014, the three suspects tried to flag down a resident near his home in order to hijack their vehicle and rob them.  Witnesses say they saw several cars out in the street that were screeching as if someone had a car wreck out in the street.  There were two vehicles abandoned out in the street – a large black SUV and a silver car a Honda Civic Coup abandoned out in the street.  A third car — a gold Cadillac — had been at the scene and had front end damage that had lost an emblem piece and several car parts near the scene of the accident.  Police were able to identify the car and discovered the owner of the vehicle was Orlando Heredia.

One witness who lived near the scene said it was dark, but he was able to see several young male suspects exiting several cars and abandoning them in the street.  This is when his neighbor started to arrive home.  The victim saw two males standing out in the roadway.  He became increasingly nervous as one of the suspects approached the driver side of his vehicle.  Not knowing the suspect, and seeing two vehicles abandoned in the roadway near his home, he increased his speed and exiting the area quickly.  He reached a friend’s home safely and called police.

In February of this year, a photo lineup of the suspects was shown to the victim, allowing him to positively identify the suspect as Joel Sanchez being the one of the suspects he had seen out in the street.  However, the victim was able to identify Gabriel Flores as the person who approached him. 

All three suspects were taken into custody and booked into Santa Clara Main Jail.   They are expected to appear on April 17,201 at 9:00 AM in Dept. 34.  According to the DA’s Office, the trio now faces gang enhancement charges under PC 186.22, “any person who actively participates in any criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity”.  Additional charges have been filed under PC 667(b)-1/117012, and PC 667 (a), which imposes an additional five-year enhancement for each such prior conviction.

HESPERIA – Three suspects, accused of armed robbery of a smoke shop, are scheduled to appear in a Victorville courthouse on Tuesday to face arraignment.

The suspects, which includes two men and woman, kicked off a neighborhood manhunt in the 17200 block of Main St. after two, armed masked men robbed the Best Price Smoke Shop, escaping in a green van shortly before 10 a.m. on Friday.

Jermaine Brown, 32, of Adelanto, Sterling Ghoston, 25, of San Bernardino, and, later, Kearia Brown, 25, the wife of Jermaine Brown, were arrested in connection with the robbery. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies from a handful of area divisions, converged on the area around the store, setting up a perimeter at Hesperia Road, Third Avenue, Chestnut Street. and Yucca Street.
During the robbery, suspects held a victim and members of his family captive in the store, leading to an eventual charge of kidnapping, said a police spokesman.

The male suspects had left their car, fled on foot and were chased down by deputies who later recovered the gun used in the robbery. Evidence later linked Kearia Brown, who was not present at the crime, to the robbery, investigators said. Hesperia deputies, using a search warrant, entered a residence on the 14000 block of Allendale Circle in Adelanto, which is a neighboring community.

Sheriff’s deputies said a man who watched the suspects fleeing, followed them at a safe distance and reported to authorities, was a key element in their capture. His assistance, according to a statement, “was instrumental in the capture of the two suspects.”

Kearia Brown, contacted by investigators at about 7 p.m. on Friday, was later arrested as part of the robbery. She was booked at the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, charged with armed robbery and conspiracy. She was being held on $100,000 bail.

Ghoston, meanwhile, was discovered to have had a felony no-bail warrant for violating the terms of a domestic violence conviction. Brown had been on parole for residential robbery, said investigators. Neither man was eligible for bail because of previous arrest records. They were booked into the High Desert Detention Center on charges of armed robbery, plus kidnapping.
One victim, according to a release, was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital, sustained during the robbery.

Surrounding agencies from Victorville, Apple Valley and Victor Valley stations backed up the Hesperia deputies. A sheriff’s helicopter, the Specialized Enforcement Division and a police dog from the Rancho Cucamonga station were also used in the manhunt.

Read More:

Daily Press: Third suspect arrested in armed robbery

SACRAMENTO—Sacramento Police arrested a man on Monday, April 7 following a chase after an officer said he spied a gun underneath the leg of a man seated in a car.

Police said that Seylin Sengavanpheng, 24, was sitting in a car in the 7800 block of College Town Drive, near Highway 50 and Howe Avenue, at about 11 p.m. on Monday when the officer approached the vehicle. Under Sengavanpheng’s leg was a weapon, according to a police activity log.

Sengavanpheng drove away and a vehicle pursuit began. When Sengavanpheng pulled over, he fled on foot only to be eventually captured.

A gun was never found but rounds of ammunition were inside the car, according to police. Sengavanpheng was booked into jail on suspicion of evading a police officer, possession of a firearm by a felon and marijuana possession. He had been arrested just last month, on March 19, for a warrant and violations of his post release supervision release from an earlier conviction.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – FBI investigations of abuse inmates at the West Valley Detention Center involves at least three county deputies who are no longer working for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Neither the FBI nor the sheriff’s department would disclose the identity of the three deputies that were assigned to the jailhouse, other than they were no longer employed.
County officials would not disclose how deep the investigation has probed, or if other deputies have been accused.

A statement released by Sheriff John McMahon on Friday included a strong desire to discover the truth about any allegations surrounding abuse of prisoners.
“I will not tolerate any misconduct by department personnel,” he said. “These allegations are being taken very seriously and this department is determined to get answers.”

McMahon revealed that allegations first came to light on March 5. A news release disclosed an administrative investigation by ranking department members when inmate abuse surfaced.
During its own investigation, the county sheriff’s department discovered the FBI was also investigating a similar tip. Both agencies, said officials, are cooperating. The FBI’s criminal investigation, said a spokeswoman, includes a possible civil rights violation of the inmates at the jail in March.

It’s likely that the case will be submitted to the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles for possible criminal charges being filed, said the spokeswoman.
The West Valley Detention Center, which opened in 1991, is one of the largest jails in California with a bed capacity of nearly 3,500. According to information provided by the sheriff’s department, the center completes over 50,000 bookings and releases each year.

Captain Jeff Rose presides over the facility.
The jail is located at 9500 Etiwanda Ave. in Rancho Cucamonga, north of Interstate 10.

Read more:

The Sun: More San Bernardino County jail deputies under investigation

BAKERSFIELD — Three convicted felons were arrested on Friday after deputies found a large amount of illegal drugs during a routine probation search.

Gabriel Cruz, 28, 25-year-old Tranquilino Lopez and 23-year-old David De La Garza, all in probation on the electronic monitoring program, were booked into the Kern County Jails’ Central Receiving Facility on various drug charges and for violating the terms of their probation.

According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the men were taken into custody after deputies from the sheriff’s gang suppression section went to a residence in the 900 block of Richmond Street in Bakersfield to conduct a probation search at around  10:30 p.m. on April 11.

While at the residence, deputies said they located over a quarter of a pound of methamphetamine, several thousand dollars in U.S. currency, surveillance equipment and various other items indicative of the sale of controlled substances.

A search of De La Garza found he was in possession of methamphetamine and narcotics paraphernalia.

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Bakersfield Californian: Probation search yields three arrests, meth

KERO: KCSO gang unit deputies seize meth

At the culmination of a six-month investigation into a reported brothel, the San Rafael Police Department arrested two Bay Area men on prostitution charges on Thursday.  Lieutenant Dan Fink issued a press release detailing the investigation and the subsequent arrests.

In October 2013, SRPD learned of concerns that there was an organized brothel operating out of the Canal Neighborhood in San Rafael. SRPD asked for assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Marin County Probation Department in tracking down the offenders.

The other location is on Canal Street in San Rafael

Through the course of the investigation, officers identified Erik Martinez Cosme, 33, of Napa, and Delmar Tanchez, 31, of San Rafael, as suspects. SRPD believes that Cosme and Tanchez were engaged in human trafficking, routinely taking advantage of women who had recently immigrated to the area from Central American nations. According to the press release, Cosme moved at least two new women—always of Hispanic descent—to or from one of his two prostitution operations each week.

Cosme had a residential property in San Rafael’s Canal Neighborhood that he operated as a brothel. The operation changed location several times but was located in an apartment at 260 Canal Street when officers arrested Cosme and Tanchez. Cosme also operated another brothel out of his personal residence in Napa.

Cosme and Tanchez have been booked at Marin County Jail on charges of pimping, pandering, and keeping a house for prostitution.

When officers served search warrants at both brothels on Thursday, they encountered two women in the Canal Street apartment. SRPD considers these women to be human trafficking victims—officers put them in touch with the Center for Domestic Peace and released them. They have not been charged with any crimes at this time.

Images: Google Maps

FRESNO – A man is dead and his wife left in critical condition in what appeared to be an attempted murder-suicide in northwest Fresno over the weekend.

Fresno police officers responded to a call at Benedict Avenue near Escalon Avenue just before 11 p.m. on Saturday on reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, the officers discovered a man and woman in the road, both with single gunshot wounds, according to authorities.

The man, identified as 57-year-old Paul Wayne Motley, of Fresno, was pronounced dead at the scene from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The man’s wife was lying next to him with one gunshot wound, but still alive. She was transported to Community Regional Medical Center where she was listed in critical condition. Police have not released her name.

Motley and his wife had been separated since January, and she had recently filed for divorce. On Saturday evening, Motley confronted his wife after she parked her vehicle and shot her before shooting himself, detectives said.

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WASCO — Two men were arrested on Friday after a search by sheriff’s deputies uncovered a large amount of illegal narcotics inside a Wasco home.

Miguel Tapia, a 46-year-old Wasco resident and 49-year-old Rene Olivo, also a Wasco resident were booked into the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Central Receiving Facility.

Tapia is being charges with  possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sales, possession of narcotics paraphernalia and maintaining a residence for narcotics sales, while Olivo faces charges from an existing warrant.

According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, officers from the California Multijurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team (Cal-MMET) executed a search warrant in the 500 block of “D” Street in the City of Wasco on the morning of April 11.

While searching the residence, officers said they located suspected methamphetamine, items indicative of narcotics sales and narcotics paraphernalia.

The search, authorities said, was the result of a short term investigation related to sales of methamphetamine in the area.

Read more:

KERO: KCSO – Two arrested for possession of meth in Wasco

Bakersfield Now: 2 arrested in Wasco drug bust

TULARE COUNTY – Authorities busted 11 people who were part of an international drug-trafficking ring based out of Tulare County.

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced that authorities arrested 11 people, seized 56 pounds of methamphetamine, four kilograms of cocaine, 942 marijuana plants, one vehicle and nearly $269,000 in cash as part of an investigation that started last summer.

At the time, agents of the state Department of Justice task force suspected that Jose Magana, 33, was involved in marijuana trafficking out of Dinuba. Investigators then learned that his organization had a drug-distributing business that stretched more than 3,000 miles to the Eastern seabord and was raking in a lot of cash.

The group worked with street gangs to smuggle methamphetamine and cocaine through San Diego to the Central Valley, and then distribute it to states like Arkansas and New York, Harris said.

Magana and four others – Manuel Munoz, Juan Parra, John DeWayne Young and Ana Valero – were arrested in Tulare County during a four-month period. Four suspects – Erwin Alva, Rosemary Alvarez, Ernesto Carrillo and Christopher Pellegrin – were arrested in March in Riverside County. These nine suspects are being held in Tulare County jail on charges of transportation and sale of a controlled substance and prohibited possession of ammunition.

Two more suspects – Gerardo Campos-Cuin and Angel Pedraza-Cervantes – were arrested two months ago in Arkansas. They are in jail in Arkansas facing charges of one count of felony possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Harris said she was proud to say that “in this case we got the top guy of this organization.”

“Our success shows the pressing need for more collaboration and funding to fight transnational drug trafficking in California,” Harris said.

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The typical burglar caught breaking into homes is a young man, usually involved with drugs either as a user, dealer, or both, and who is stealing property to support a habit, or supplement his income. Sonoma County, however, recently had a high-profile case involving three women who were targeting vacation homes for burglaries, and the Sheriff’s Office just announced another woman caught in a Guerneville break in.

Guerneville is a small tourist town along the Russian River that flows from the Northern California Coastal Range to the sea through the redwood forests of Sonoma County. It is a popular destination for people getting away from San Francisco and the Bay Area to enjoy the river, the surrounding wine country, redwood forests and the nearby beaches of the Pacific Ocean. Like many resort communities, the town of under 5000 residents has a large number of vacation homes that owners will both use and rent out. The Sheriff’s Department has recently expressed concern over a spike in burglaries in these homes all over Sonoma County, but especially in Guerneville, which had 15 reported incidents in the previous six months.

In December, three women - Jasmine Marie Roper, Sarah Tarango, and Ronni Roxanne Stout – were arrested in a high profile case, accused of targeting these types of homes, stealing flat screen TVs, furniture and other household goods. The homes they had been linked to were in other Sonoma County towns along Highway 101, such as Healdsburg and Windsor.

On March 29, just a couple of weeks after the Sheriff’s Office had publicized the rental home burglary problem, they received a call from a resident in Guerneville reporting a suspicious looking woman in a burgundy BMW sedan in front of one of the homes that had already been burglarized in February. The home was located on Summit Avenue, which runs up a hill in the Guernewood Park neighborhood, overlooking the Russian River. The resident wrote down the license plate of the car to give to the dispatcher. Deputies soon arrived but the woman and her car were gone. They did, however, see that the home had been broken into, and it appeared that a television was missing.

Detectives set up surveillance in this Santa Rosa neighborhood and located Lopez that day.

Using the license plate, the Sheriff’s Office tracked the car to a home in Santa Rosa. Sheriff’s detectives set up surveillance, and within 2 hours found the suspect, 42-year-old Lisa Ann Lopez. She had the stolen TV in the back seat of the BMW, and a further search of the car and her small home revealed more stolen property from vacation homes in Sonoma, Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Bodega Bay, and Guerneville. Though there is no indication that Lopez was connected to the three arrested in December, between the four of them, a large part of the more than 50 vacation home burglaries can now be accounted for.

What would account for women being the culprits in so many vacation home burglaries? Perhaps they feel they will be less suspicious when seen outside a rental home than a man would. It appears that they are doing research prior to the break-ins, and that they are only targeting houses when they knew that no one will be there at the time. Neighbors are probably used to seeing new people coming and going, and nearby houses are often vacant anyway. Detectives believed on initial investigation that most of the burglaries were related, and are hoping that this arrest, following the arrest of the previous three, may put a stop to the vacation home thefts. Residents and homeowners, meanwhile, are aware of the problem, and like the person who called in this incident, much more alert to suspicious activity.

Lisa Ann Lopez was booked into Sonoma County jail on charges of burglary, possession of stolen property, and probation violation. Her bail was set at a relatively high $250,000 based on the number of burglaries she is now suspected of. She reportedly remains in custody. Anyone with any information about Lopez is encouraged to call Detective Donald Fletcher at 707-565-2185.

Santa Barbara - In February of 2013, a heavily-patronized Mobil Gas Station located at one of the area’s busiest intersections was robbed at gunpoint.  More than a year later, no arrest had been made.

But the long arm of the law never sleeps, and just before dawn last week, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s proved it by arresting Travis Rosenblatt, 35, on charges of armed robbery.  The arrest, according to the media report filed by Kelly Hoover, SBSD Public Information Officer, did not come without its challenges.  “Newly obtained DNA evidence from the crime scene” led detectives to identify Rosenblatt as a principal suspect, particularly when his record showed a prior conviction for robbing a local bank in 2006.  Based upon the record and the evidence at hand, search and arrest warrants for Rosenblatt were obtained.

But having court-issued documents in hand is not the same as having a suspect in custody, as the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Team was reminded when they attempted to serve the warrants.  With deputies surrounding Rosenblatt’s residence, they “made several announcements ordering anyone inside to come out immediately,” at which point a pair of tenants quickly exited and were escorted away from the scene.  For his part, Rosenblatt refused to accept the invitation of deputies, and remained inside the residence for more than two hours.  During this time, area neighbors were contacted by Reverse 911 Calls “instructing them to stay inside their homes,” Hoover said.

The Special Enforcement Team deployed “distraction devices” which ultimately persuaded Rosenblatt to surrender peacefully.  Once he was out of the residence, he was quickly taken into custody and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where he was booked on charges of armed robbery with his bail set at $500,000.

Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking

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Santa Barbara - The night of April 5^th will remain a blot on pages of UCSB’s history for some time to come, and continues to be a cause of controversy over the law enforcement response which followed several hours of what has been described by many as “an incident of civil unrest.”

While Spring Break gatherings in the Isla Vista community streets immediately adjacent to the UCSB campus have become somewhat routine over the past few years, with 15,000-18,000 attendees in 2013, the crowds on April 5^th have now officially been reported at 20,000 to 25,000, which may have contributed to 166 arrests, 190 citations, 50 medical transports, and more than 500 calls for law enforcement service.

Among those arrested was Desmond Louis Edwards, 17, “on charges of assaulting and resisting a police officer and numerous additional charges,” according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover.  While the circumstances surrounding Edwards’ actions have become a source of courtroom debate, Hoover reported that he is accused of “hitting a UCSB Police Officer in the head with a backpack containing glass liquor bottles causing a significant head injury.”  Edwards has been charged with those crimes as an adult in spite of the fact that at his preliminary hearing evidence showed there was a single half-full bottle in his backpack, and that there has been no offer of verified injury evidence to date in the case.

Pursuant to the events in which Edwards is alleged to have participated, one thing is clear: things only got worse as the evening wore on, with Hoover reporting that “four law enforcement personnel were transported to local area hospitals,” a statistic that some speculate is the consequence of a mere 130 deputies assigned to an event where public intoxication was the order of the day among 20,000 or more young people.  It was not until the middle of that night that—after more than eight hours of binge-drinking and general rowdiness on the part of many of the youth in that crowd—additional law enforcement personnel were called into action, and in which Edwards found himself acting less than judiciously.

Edwards was officially charged with mayhem, resisting an officer, assault on an officer, causing great bodily injury, and committing a violent offense.  He is currently held in Santa Barbara County Juvenile Hall on $75,000 bail.

Photo: Courtesy www.Facebook.com

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The Oakland Police Department has announced the arrest of a man suspected of assaulting a woman last week in the area near the Good Samaritan Church of God and MacArthur BART station, at Martin Luther King Boulevard and MacArthur in Oakland.

Last Wednesday morning, April 9 at 9:20 am, a 22-year-old woman was grabbed from behind by a man, and groped about her body, according to a report from her and witnesses. After touching her, the man ran away. The victim and witnesses provided a description of the assailant to Oakland Police, who searched the area. They located Carlos Contrerasanguian, a 42-year-old transient from Oakland, who matched the description. He was found near 40th and West Streets, just a few blocks and around the corner from the assault.

Contrerasanguian was arrested and charged with sexual battery and assault to commit rape. Police investigators believe that he may also be responsible for other similar assaults in the area. The investigation is currently ongoing and no more details have been released.

Contrerasanguian was also charged with petty theft related to an incident at the Best Buy on Mandela Parkway. He was arraigned on the assaults by the Alameda District Attorney’s office last Friday. Anyone who has any information about this incident, or other assaults is encouraged to call Youth and Family Services Division of the Oakland PD at 510-238-3641, the police tip line at 510-637-0298, or Oakland Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.

TAFT — A routine traffic stop in the small town of Taft in southwest Kern County on Monday, resulted in the arrests of three for possession of suspected methamphetamine.

Victor Alsept, 29, was charged with possessing a controlled substance, possessing a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, possessing controlled substance paraphernalia, having modified exhaust and displaying expired registration.

The second suspect, Michael Martin, 32, was charged with possessing a controlled substance and possessing controlled substance paraphernalia, while a third suspect, 37-year-old Amy Swartz was charged with being under the influence of controlled substance.

It all went down at this corner

Swartz was cited and released while Alsept and Martin were book into the Kern County Jail’s Central Receiving Facility.

According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, deputies pulled over a vehicle that Alsept was driving in the area of 4th and Ash Streets in the Ford City area of Taft around 12:58 a.m. on April 14, after noticing the vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed.

Alsept, a resident of Taft and passengers Martin and Swartz also of Taft, were all inside the vehicle, where deputies located a glass smoking pipe and approximately 7.5 grams of suspected methamphetamine.

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“Carny” Andrew Thomas Jackson

A man on Redding’s most wanted list was arrested Monday in Roseville.

Andrew Thomas Jackson is marking his 36th birthday today in custody after being arrested Monday on an outstanding warrant from Redding Police and Shasta County. Jackson was due to appear in Shasta County Courthouse to face sentencing on burglary charges, and did not show up. He appeared on the Shasta County’s Most Wanted list on Tuesday, but had already been picked up by Roseville Police on Monday.

The Roseville Spring Carnival at the Galleria Mall ran from last Wednesday until Sunday at 10 pm. Jackson was found by Roseville police at the scene of the carnival the day after it closed. His arrest report gives his occupation as carnival worker, so he likely worked there for the 5 days and was perhaps still on site working with the clean up crew. Jackson is a resident of North Highlands in neighboring Sacramento County.

In an earlier incident, Jackson was arrested stealing a motorcycle from Harrison’s Marine in Redding.

Jackson made the news in Redding in 2010 when he was arrested trying to steal a motorcycle. The Redding Record Searchlight reported on August 23, 2010 that he was caught trying to take a motorcycle from the fenced yard at Harrison’s Marine and RV on Twin View Bl. in North Redding. Someone had spotted him pushing it through the yard and called police. He admitted to breaking into a shed and taking the bike. Police were investigating him at the time for other area burglaries.

Images: Facebook, Google Maps

Ventura County - With well-rehearsed precision akin to that often seen in popular heist movies, on the afternoon of April 9^th six females hailing from the San Francisco Area pulled up to Ventura County’s Camarillo Premium Outlets in their rented Chrysler mini-van (gold in  color, no less), quickly alighted, and summarily marched into the upscale store carrying large shopping bags.

Once inside the store, the women quickly, and without exchanging a word among themselves, and filled their large shopping bags with a wide array of merchandise.  As they made their sweep through the store aisles, a store employee recognized them from a prior similar burglary some months ago.  During that earlier incident, one of the suspects had threatened to shoot the store clerks, which led the employee on this day to believe that there was a credible threat of violence once again.

Just 30 seconds after entering the store, and just as they were contacted by the suspicious employee, “the suspects fled the store with the merchandise without paying for any of the items,” according to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Pete O’Sullivan. As the six women ran from the store, employees observed them retreat into the gold mini-van and speed away in the direction of U.S. 101.

With VCSD deputies responding to a 911 Emergency call within minutes, all Ventura County law enforcement agencies were soon notified of the burglary and given a detailed description of the getaway vehicle.  Shortly thereafter, the mini-van was spotted heading southbound on U.S. 101, heading into the Thousand Oaks area.  A “high risk” traffic stop ensued, whereupon deputies “detained the six suspects,” O’Sullivan said.

With a positive identification of all six suspects made by a store clerk who was brought to the scene of the traffic stop, and the discovery of all the stolen items inside the gold mini-van, arrests were made of Lashay Beasley, 21, Mercedes Cannonier, 30, Chappell Turner, 22, Bianca Woodson, 23, Nicole Wigfall, 21, and Andera Rose, 39.  All six were transported to Ventura County Jail on charges of burglary, conspiracy, possession of stolen property, and possession of burglary tools, with bail set at $20,000 each.

Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Sheriff

Read more:

Hometown Station: VC deputies arrest suspects after robbery

VCStar: Details emerge in “flash mob’ theft

ABC7: ‘Flash mob’ women stealing merchandise arrested

Alexis Edmundo Garcia, 31, of Murrieta, was arrested last week after allegedly approaching young girls and asking them about their socks. He is being charged with suspicion of child annoyance, contacting a child with the intent to commit a sexual offence and possession of child pornography, police said.

Garcia was arrested Friday after a Murrieta police detective noticed him speaking to a young girl near the Murrieta Boys and Girls Club. The detective’s investigation revealed Garcia has been regularly approaching young women and trying to get them to talk about their socks – leading police to believe he has a sock fetish.

Investigators confirmed that Garcia has approached girls at Murrieta Mesa High School, Shivela Middle School, Rail Ranch Elementary School and Alta Murrieta Elementary School, according to reports.

Police believe there may be additional victims, and are asking anyone with information to call Sgt. Phil Gomez at 951-461-6356 or police dispatch at 951-696-3615.

Read More:

Los Angeles Times: Man allegedly obsessed with girl’s socks is arrested

Temecula Patch: Police Say Murrieta Man Has Sexual Obsession with Young Girls, Socks

A Modesto man on a work crew in Petaluma, about 120 miles from his home, attacked a co-worker, stole a car, and then fled to the Humboldt County town of Weott, another 320 miles north along Highway 101 through the coastal mountains and forests.

On Tuesday morning, April 15, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office got a call reporting an attack at a ranch in Petaluma on Bailey Avenue. A man there had been repairing chicken coops when another worker, identified as 20-year-old Juan Luis Ayala, reportedly attacked him with a hammer. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Ayala hit the man in the face, knocking him unconscious. Witnesses reported that he continued the attack while the victim was on the ground. Two other men on the work crew, seeing the attack, rushed to the scene and tackled Ayala. They tried to hold him there while law enforcement was called, but Ayala fought them off and ran away.

Sheriff’s Deputies arrived on the scene and summoned an ambulance as well. When the victim regained consciousness, he told them that he had no idea why he was attacked. He had several injuries to his face and head, and was taken by ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Sheriff’s deputies, Petaluma Police officers, and Highway Patrol units all began a search of the area. At 11:40 am, forty minutes after the initial call, a Petaluma PD officer was flagged down by a citizen to report that their car had just been stolen. From the description, it was evident that Ayala had stolen the black 2000 Ford Echo and escaped the area. Ayala was headed north on Highway 101 to the town of Weott in Humboldt County.

Weott is a small town of less than 300 residents located along Highway 101 and the Avenue of the Giants next to the South Fork of the Eel River amid the redwood forests of Northern California. Apart from the Post Office, volunteer fire department and a pair of churches, the town is all homes. Ayala’s aunt is one of the residents of the town, and he showed up at her home along the Avenue of the Giants Highway.

He had left the vehicle he had stolen 11 miles south of Weott, at South Fork High School in Miranda, and apparently walked the rest of the way to his aunt’s home. According to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Ayala told his aunt about what had happened in Petaluma, and that he was a wanted man. She convinced him to surrender to the authorities, and at 9:30 that night, she called the Sheriff’s office. She told them about Ayala and that she didn’t want him at her house, and that he would surrender to them peacefully. Deputies and Highway Patrol officers responded to the home and met her outside, entered the home, and took him into custody without incident.

A long drive brought Ayala all the way to Weott, in Northern California redwood country

Juan Luis Ayala was booked at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility in Eureka by 11:30 pm. His bail was set at $500,000, and he is pending transfer to Sonoma County, where he will be charged with assault with a deadly weapon, vehicle theft, and possession of stolen property. The Violent Crimes units is conducting the investigation.

27-year-old Gilbert Ray Galan faces charges of vandalism under PC 594 (a)(b)(1) and resisting arrest under PC 148 (a)(1). During his detainment by officers, a records check revealed that Galan was currently on parole for a previous conviction in which he was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon, under PC 245 (A) (1). He had been arrested in January for assault, battery and threats of violence at his residence on El Zuparko Drive. Likely as a result, he is now listed as homeless.

On Monday, April 7, Galan had gone to visit his ex-girlfriend after work, just after 9 pm. However, she did not want to talk to or hang out with him. Galan could see that she was ignoring his phone calls, as he watched her mop the floor in the restaurant through the door and windows of Baja Fresh, located at 121 Bernal Road, in San Jose. He became increasingly agitated, and threw a 40 oz. beer bottle, which prompted the store manager to call police. The manager told Galan that he was calling the police and that he should leave. This only seemed to egg Galan on, as he caught his ex flipping him off. She said that she could tell he had been drinking and had asked him to wait outside. That is when he kept calling her cell phone, but she did not want to answer.

Growing angrier at being ignored, he began to bang on the doors and windows of the restaurant. Galan, then in a fit of rage, took a cement man-hole cover and tossed it through the front door, breaking the glass. He entered the store, taking the mop wringer handle and began pacing back and forth, looking for the manager. The manager told SJPD Officers Galan was “Mean Mugging him before he broke down the door.” After Galan broke the door, the manager ran into the office and locked himself in. He felt that his life was in danger and waited for police to arrive. He said he could hear Galan saying, “Where the [deleted] is he, where the [deleted] is he at”.

Galan fled to this Taco Bell once police were called.

Once Galan was unable to find anyone inside the restaurant, he left, dropping the mop wringer handle outside. When SJPD Officers arrived they were unable to see Galan. Officers, seeing the damage, began to look for the suspect in the surrounding area. A male fitting Galan’s description was seen in the back of the Taco Bell located at 170 Bernal Road. Once an officer had found Galan, he started to question him. However, sensing he was about to be arrested, Galan began to run and broke free of the officer’s attempt to restrain him.

Galan ran towards the back of the restaurant where he attempted to escape, only to be blocked by a fence. He turned and faced the officer chasing him. The officer feeling threatened by Galan deployed his TASER to subdue him. Galan told the officer, “Ok, Ok you got me, I won’t resist”. The TASER was deployed once.  Following procedure SJPD officers called paramedics, who took Galan to the Santa Teresa Kaiser Hospital for medical care. Galan was booked into the Santa Clara Main Jail on a parole hold and for the new offense. Galan’s next court date has been scheduled for April 28, 2014 at 9:00 am in Dept. 34. He may have found a temporary home at the jail for a considerable time.