Archive for the ‘Los Angeles Criminal attorney’ Category

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Pair Plead in Plot to Prevent Testimony of Rape Victim

Friday, May 4th, 2012

LOS ANGELES – A Highland Park businessman and one of his employees pleaded no contest today to conspiracy to obstruct justice in a plot to prevent a rape victim from testifying against the businessman’s son, the District Attorney’s Office announced.

The no contest pleas to the felony charge by real estate broker George Izquierdo, 64, owner of Las Casas Realty, and a man who worked for him in 2006, Camilo Valentin, 36, bring an end to a case that began seven years ago.

Deputy District Attorney Frank M. Tavelman of the Target Crimes Division prosecuted the case.

Izquierdo, Valentin and private investigator Bradley Gregory Miller, 51, were arrested and charged in June, 2006, after a rape victim who began testifying against Izquierdo’s son disappeared during a preliminary hearing in 2005.

An investigation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation determined the female victim was taken to Las Vegas and given money to prevent her from further testifying against 26-year-old Alex Javier Izquierdo, who was charged with raping and torturing her.

He later pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and one count of making criminal threats and was sentenced on Feb. 5, 2009 to 22 years in state prison.

Miller, who earlier pleaded no contest to all four counts, including one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and three counts of offering to bribe a witness, is scheduled to be sentenced May 17. His maximum sentence for all the counts is five years in county jail.

George Izquierdo and Valentin return May 22 for sentencing before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lance Ito. They each face a maximum three years in county jail.

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Japanese National Sentenced to 21 Months in Federal Prison for Smuggling Turtles and Tortoises into the United States

Friday, May 4th, 2012

LOS ANGELES – A Japanese national described in court documents as “a major wildlife trafficker” was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for smuggling 55 live turtles and tortoises from Japan into the United States, all of which were concealed in snack food boxes when the protected animals were discovered at Los Angeles International Airport in January 2011.

Atsushi Yamagami, 39, a resident of Osaka, Japan, was sentenced this morning by United States District Judge George H. King. In addition to the prison term, Judge King ordered Yamagami to pay a $18,403 criminal fine, which will paid to the Lacy Act Reward Account, which is used to finance investigations conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

On August 1, 2011, Yamagami pleaded guilty to smuggling the 55 reptiles from Japan. The majority of the turtles and tortoises were species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an international treaty that protects species being threatened by international trade. In a sentencing memorandum filed with the court, federal prosecutors argued that the method of secreting the turtles in snack food packages stuffed into suitcases constituted animal cruelty, and the animals posed the risk of transmitting salmonella.

Yamagami has been held without bond since his arrest last year.

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Latest Federal Enforcement Actions Against Marijuana Operations Target Illegal Storefronts and Grows in Santa Barbara County

Friday, May 4th, 2012

LOS ANGELES – In the latest series of actions against the commercial marijuana industry in California, federal authorities this week filed three asset forfeiture lawsuits against properties housing marijuana operations in Santa Barbara County, executed search warrants at four locations, and have sent warning letters to people associated with 10 other illegal marijuana stores in the county.

Three civil asset forfeiture complaints were filed yesterday afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles against properties in Santa Barbara and Summerland where marijuana is being grown or marijuana stores are currently operating. Prosecutors yesterday also sent letters to marijuana store operators and the owners of buildings where 10 marijuana stores currently operate in Goleta, Summerland and Santa Barbara.

The three forfeiture lawsuits filed this week allege that the owners either knowingly allowed commercial marijuana stores to operate or knowingly allowed a significant indoor marijuana farm to function. The buildings named in the forfeiture lawsuits house:

•Miramar Collective on Ortega Hill Road in Summerland, which local authorities estimate was generating annual profits of approximately $840,000 in 2009, and whose owner is currently being prosecuted by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office on state narcotics charges;

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Federal Jury Finds Ira Isaacs Guilty in Los Angeles Adult Obscenity Case

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Ira Isaacs, 60, was found guilty today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on one count of engaging in the business of producing and selling obscene videos and four counts of distributing obscene videos, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California, Assistant Director in Charge Steve Martinez of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, and Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck.

A federal jury in the Central District of California found Isaacs guilty on all charged counts of a superseding indictment filed in April 2011.

Evidence presented at trial established that beginning in or about 1999 and continuing until at least 2011, Isaacs, doing business under the name L.A. Media, operated numerous websites, through which he advertised and sold obscene videos which he acquired from other persons.  The obscene videos included a video approximately two hours in length of a female engaging in sex acts involving human bodily waste and a video one hour and 37 minutes in length of a female engaged in sex acts with animals.

The evidence presented at trial also established that in or about 2004, Isaacs began operating under the name Stolen Car Films, and made obscene videos in which he instructed women to engage in sexual activity involving human bodily waste.  He subsequently advertised and sold the videos through his various websites.

Isaacs is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 6, 2012.

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Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads in Drug Smuggling Case

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles County deputy sheriff accused of smuggling drugs into a courthouse jail in a burrito pleaded no contest today, the District Attorney’s Office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Amy Pellman Pentz of the Justice System Integrity Division said Henry Marin, 27, pleaded to one count each of bringing drugs into a jail and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25 in Department 118 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Marin entered an “open” plea to the court before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anne Egerton. At the next hearing, the court will hear arguments from the prosecution and the defense before deciding on a sentence.

The defendant was indicted in January for allegedly conspiring with another person or persons to transport narcotics into county jail on Feb. 23, 2010.

At the time of the alleged offenses, Marin was assigned to the Court Services Division at the Airport Courthouse. The defendant’s alleged criminal conduct took place between Jan. 27 and Feb. 23, 2010.

Marin has been relieved of duty, Sheriff’s officials said.

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Man Pleads Guilty to Hotel Manager’s Murder

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

LOS ANGELES – A man pleaded guilty today to the brutal 2010 first-degree murder and attempted robbery of a 74-year-old residential hotel manager and was immediately sentenced to 29 years to life in prison.

Deputy District Attorney Angela Jordan said Jian Hong Li, 41, admitted using a deadly weapon, a meat cleaver, when he attacked and killed Hideko Oyama, the manager of the Chetwood Hotel, on Jan. 5, 2010.

Li was living at the hotel in the 400 block of East Fourth Street when he decided to rob the hotel’s manager. After killing her, Li fled without any money, Jordan said. A tourist at the hotel later discovered the elderly woman’s body and called police. An investigation led to Li, who checked out of his room the same day her body was discovered.

Li was sentenced by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald Rose. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped the special circumstance of murder during a robbery, which meant Li did not face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Sheriff’s Deputy Charged with Sex Crimes

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

LOS ANGELES – A 10-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been charged in a felony complaint for arrest warrant for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with an underage girl, the District Attorney’s Office announced.

Manuel Enrique Perallon Jr., 36 (dob 4/26/76), is charged in case No. BA396751 with one felony count of oral copulation of a person under 18 and misdemeanor child molesting.

Perallon, who was arrested yesterday and is out on $70,000 bond, is expected to be arraigned on May 16 in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. The case was filed for warrant on April 23.

The alleged offenses involve one victim and occurred between April 29 and May 1, 2011. At the time of the alleged crimes, Perallon was assigned to Cerritos Station where he oversaw the Explorer Program. The defendant met the victim, who was 16 at the time, through the program.

If convicted as charged, Perallon faces a maximum prison term of four years.

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sex crimes, underage girl

Friday, April 27th, 2012

LOS ANGELES – A 10-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been charged in a felony complaint for arrest warrant for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with an underage girl, the District Attorney’s Office announced.

Manuel Enrique Perallon Jr., 36 (dob 4/26/76), is charged in case No. BA396751 with one felony count of oral copulation of a person under 18 and misdemeanor child molesting.

Perallon, who was arrested yesterday and is out on $70,000 bond, is expected to be arraigned on May 16 in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. The case was filed for warrant on April 23.

The alleged offenses involve one victim and occurred between April 29 and May 1, 2011. At the time of the alleged crimes, Perallon was assigned to Cerritos Station where he oversaw the Explorer Program. The defendant met the victim, who was 16 at the time, through the program.

If convicted as charged, Perallon faces a maximum prison term of four years.

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T.S.A. Screeners at LAX Arrested on Federal Drug Trafficking and Corruption Charges for Allegedly Taking Cash Payments to Allow Multi-Kilogram Quantities of Narcotics to Pass Through Security

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

LOS ANGELES – Two former and two current Transportation Security Administration screeners at Los Angeles International Airport have been arrested on federal narcotics trafficking and bribery charges for allegedly taking cash payments to allow large shipments of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana to pass through the X-ray machines at TSA security checkpoints.

In addition to the current and former TSA officials, one drug courier is currently in state custody, and another drug courier is expected to surrender tomorrow. Authorities are continuing to search for another alleged drug courier named in a 22-count grand jury indictment that was unsealed this morning.

The indictment outlines five specific incidents in which current and former TSA employees took payments of as much as $2,400 to allow suitcases filled with drugs to pass through X-ray machines while TSA screeners looked the other way.

“Airport screeners act as a vital checkpoint for homeland security, and air travelers should believe in the fundamental integrity of security systems at our nation’s airports,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “The allegations in this case describe a significant breakdown of the screening system through the conduct of individuals who placed greed above the nation’s security needs.”

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Former Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads to Making a Criminal Threat

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

LOS ANGELES – A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy charged with breaking into his ex-fiance’s residence and threatening her boyfriend with a gun pleaded no contest today to making a criminal threat, the District Attorney’s office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Alfred Coletta with the Justice System Integrity Division said Reymundo Lainez, 43, was immediately sentenced by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson to 90 days in county jail or private municipal jail.

Lainez, who pleaded to a felony and a strike offense, was placed on five years formal probation and ordered to complete one year of domestic violence or anger management counseling. He was ordered to stay away from the victims in this case while on probation.

The off-duty sheriff’s deputy broke into his former fiance’s Pasadena residence on April 17, 2010, and pointed a gun at her boyfriend. He first threatened the man, and then punched him.

In exchange for his plea, one count each of first-degree burglary with a person present and assault with a firearm, both felonies, and one misdemeanor count of battery were dismissed.

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