Raymond Oscar Butler was convicted on Jan. 30, 2012, of the first-degree murder of Tyrone Fleming, 23, with a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders. On Feb. 6, the same jury that convicted Butler deliberated for just one hour and 15 minutes before returning a death verdict in the penalty phase of the trial.

Butler originally was sentenced to death for Fleming’s murder in 1998. The California Supreme Court overturned that sentence in 2009. In 2012, the case was retried by Hardcore Gang Prosecutors Robert Rabbani and David Barkhurst.

At the time of the murder, Butler and Fleming were housed in the jail’s “high power” K-10 module, an area comprised of single-man cells reserved for violent, high-profile or disruptive inmates. Victim Fleming, who was charged with second-degree commercial burglary, was not a violent offender, but had a history of disciplinary issues.

On March 26, 1995, Butler and co-defendant Paul Apollo Gornick, 43, used a jail-made handcuff key to undo their handcuffs before their shower time. Butler and Gornick, along with co-defendant Daniel Rivera, 35, proceeded to attack victim Fleming. Fleming, who was handcuffed, was first beaten by the three men and then fatally stabbed with a shank by Gornick and Butler.

Ultimately, Gornick was sentenced to life without parole for Fleming’s murder and Rivera was sentenced to 11 years in state prison.

In 1996, Butler was sentenced to death for the murders of Japanese students, Takuma Ito, 19, and Go Matsuura, 19, whom Butler killed execution-style in San Pedro after demanding money and the keys to their car. The victims were students at Marymount College in Palos Verdes.

Noe Yanez, 40 (dob 2/29/72), was scheduled to be arraigned today but the hearing was postponed until May 16 in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba set the defendant’s bail at $951,000.

The defendant is charged in case No. BA397305 which was filed on May 7.

Yanez is charged with 10 counts of child molesting; eight counts of contact with minor for sexual offense; seven counts of false imprisonment by violence; and four counts each of meeting a minor for lewd purposes; and arranging meeting a minor for lewd purposes.

He also faces one count each of possession of matter depicting a minor engaging in sexual conduct; sale of alcohol beverage to a minor; sexual penetration by a foreign object; oral copulation of a person under 18; unlawful sexual intercourse; and using a minor for sex acts.

Yanez, a nine-year veteran with the Long Beach Police Department, was originally arrested on April 19 and rearrested on May 9 on a felony complaint filed for arrest warrant. He has been suspended without pay, according to a statement issued by the police department.

The alleged crimes involve 13 victims and occurred between Jan. 1, 2008, and April 13, 2012. The Long Beach Police Department is investigating the case.

Joshua Ethan Thomas, 27, of Long Beach pleaded to five counts – one count of arson of an inhabited dwelling and two counts each of attempted murder and arson of a structure or forest. Thomas additionally admitted a 2004 prior strike conviction for criminal threats out of Los Angeles County.

Long Beach Superior Court Judge Charles Sheldon immediately sentenced Thomas to 33 years, eight months in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney from the Target Crimes Division prosecuted the case.

Long Beach police arrested Thomas in April 2011 following a series of fires and burglaries.

In two of the arsons, both of homes on April 16, 2011, people were inside sleeping when the fires were started. In one case, a victim’s bed was set afire while the victim slept, authorities said. No injuries were reported.

Thomas was known to leave taunting messages for police at the scene of the crimes.

At the time of the crime, Polar and Pabello were friends who lived together in Garden Grove. Polar worked as a paralegal for a Newport Beach law firm.

Between Sept. 21, 2011, and Nov. 16, 2011, Polar and Pabello stole a check worth over $19,500 made payable to the law firm where Polar was employed. The defendants removed the payee’s name and replaced it with Pabello’s name. They changed the check amount to over $285,000.

On Nov. 16, 2011, the defendants used an ATM to deposit the fraudulent check into a bank account jointly held by Pabello and Polar. They used the fraudulently obtained money to charter a private jet to fly themselves and several friends to New York City, rent five rooms at a hotel in Times Square, and purchase items from Tiffany & Co. and Montblanc.

Polar and Pabello also obtained cashier’s checks in the amounts of $33,000 and $100,000 from the fraudulently obtained funds to lease and/or purchase a $3.7 million, 11,000 square foot house in Murietta, CA.

The theft was discovered after the issuing bank rejected the check that the receiving bank had processed. Prior to pleading guilty, the defendants paid full restitution of over $42,000 to the receiving bank. The Cypress Police Department investigated this case.

The 48-count grand jury indictment returned yesterday afternoon names:

Gary Edward Kovall, 66, of Ely, Minnesota, a licensed California attorney who acted as legal counsel for the tribe;
David Alan Heslop, 74, of Templeton, who, on Kovall’s recommendation, was hired by the tribe to oversee some tribal business;
Paul Phillip Bardos, 57, of Rancho Cucamonga, a general contractor; and
Peggy Anne Shambaugh, 56, of Ely, Minnesota, who is Kovall’s wife.
All four defendants have agreed to appear for arraignments tomorrow in United States District Court in Los Angeles.

According to the indictment, Kovall advised the tribe to create a limited liability company to purchase real estate, and the attorney convinced the tribe to hire Heslop as the company’s manager. Kovall and Heslop then recommended that the tribe hire Bardos to act as the tribe’s “owner’s representative” in several construction projects at the Spotlight 29 Casino. When additional construction or construction oversight became necessary in relation to casino projects, Bardos submitted proposals to perform the work, and Kovall persuaded the tribe to give Bardos the contracts. After being paid by the tribe, Bardos paid kickbacks to Heslop who, in turn, paid kickbacks to Kovall though Shambaugh.

The indictment alleges that in 2007 Bardos paid Heslop more than $186,577, most of which was then funneled to Shambaugh.

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to the prosecution of corruption and fraud in all of their guises,” said United States Attorney André Birotte, Jr. ‘This case demonstrates that our commitment extends to vigorously pursuing cases against unscrupulous individuals who abuse their positions to take advantage of Native American tribes.”

The indictment charges all four defendants with conspiracy. Additionally, Kovall, Bardos, and Shambaugh are charged with eight counts of bribery, while Heslop is charged with 16 counts of bribery. In addition to the conspiracy and bribery charges based on the kickback scheme, Bardos is charged with eight counts of money laundering, Heslop is charged with seven counts of money laundering, and Shambaugh is charged with two counts money laundering.

“IRS-Criminal Investigation is committed to aggressively investigating those individuals who conspire to commit bribery and launder those illicit funds to hide their criminal activities,” said Leslie P. Demarco, IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge for the Los Angeles Field Office. “IRS-CI will continue to partner with other law enforcement agencies to ensure that all who secure lucrative contracts play by the same rules.”

Steven Martinez, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, stated, “The charges allege the defendants in this case deprived the victims—the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians—of honest leadership and took advantage of their positions of trust by lining their own pockets with the tribe’s money, including government funding designated for necessary services. The FBI will continue to work with our partners at the IRS and the United States Attorney’s Office to protect groups targeted through corrupt practices and investigate those responsible.”

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court.

If they are convicted of all counts in the indictment:

Kovall would face a maximum statutory sentence of 75 years in feeral prison and a fine of $2 million;
Heslop would face a statutory maximum sentence of 225 years in federal prison and a fine of $5.75 million;
Bardos would face a statutory maximum sentence of 155 years in federal prison and a fine of $4 million; and
Shambaugh would face a statutory maximum sentence of 105 years in federal prison and a fine of $2.75 million.

Michael J. Leighton, who also used the name Michael Santora, 53, a commodities trader and former mortgage broker based in Torrance, California, was charged with one count of commodities fraud in a criminal information filed this morning in United States District Court.

In conjunction with the criminal charges, prosecutors filed a plea agreement in which Leighton admits that he made a series of material misrepresentations to victim-investors, which included his friends and former colleagues who lived in Southern California.

According to court documents, for roughly the past three years, Leighton told a series of lies and failed to disclose information to those seeking to invest in a commodities pool. Specifically, Leighton told investors that their funds would be invested in futures linked to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index that trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which is regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Leighton also falsely told investors that only half of their funds would be at risk at any one time and that they would receive a certain rate of return.

In fact, Leighton invested more than half of the investors’ funds in the futures and used some of their funds to pay for his living expenses. The investors did not receive the promised rates of return because the investments were not successful. In order to conceal his fraud, Leighton created false spreadsheets and account statements falsely showing that the commodities pool was earning certain returns.

The charge of commodities fraud carries a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison.

Leighton has agreed to appear in federal court for an arraignment on June 4.

Between Dec. 20, 2011, and March 21, 2012, Franks is accused of committing 10 robberies at nine different banks in Orange County. The bank chains included Bank of America in Anaheim, Chase Bank in Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel, Citibank in Irvine, two robberies at the Schools First Federal Credit Union branch in Anaheim, Union Bank in Newport Beach, US Bank in Irvine and Ladera Ranch, and Wells Fargo in Irvine.

Franks is accused of attempting to rob a bank teller at the Citibank branch in Irvine and the US Bank branch in Irvine where he is accused of committing robberies before.

In each of the cases, the defendant is accused of carrying out similar acts: entering the bank wearing distinctive headgear which included a beanie, approaching a teller, and slipping the teller a note stating he had a gun and demanding money. The defendant is accused of causing the tellers to give the money to him out of fear. The defendant is accused of taking the money and walking out of the bank. From the 10 robberies, Franks is accused of taking a total of approximately $30,000.

The case was investigated by multiple agencies including Anaheim Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Irvine Police Department (IPD), Newport Beach Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

On Friday, May 4, 2012, IPD arrested Franks at his home in Riverside County.

Abergil and Ozifa were charged in July 2008 in a 77 page federal grand jury indictment in the Central District of California with federal racketeering charges including conspiracy to import ecstasy, a popular and powerful “club drug,” into the United States from Belgium.  Agents from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency intercepted approximately 100,000 pills of ecstasy at hubs in the Midwest that were being transshipped for ultimate distribution in Southern California.  The street price for the drugs approached $2 million.  At the time of the shipment, Abergil, Ozifa, and their co-conspirators were under investigation by Belgian law enforcement authorities.  According to the indictment, Abergil was the leader of the Abergil crime family and used the power and influence of the Abergil family to conduct criminal activities in Israel and around the world.

Abergil was also charged with racketeering conspiracy to extort repayment of usurious loans to individuals in the United States and with racketeering conspiracy to murder Sami Atias.  Atias was gunned down, execution style, in August 2003 in Sherman Oaks, California.  Abergil admitted during his guilty plea hearing that Atias was killed for interfering with a drug deal in which Abergil and others were involved.

Earlier this year, another co-defendant, Meir Abergil, the brother of Itzhak Abergil, who is 58 and also a citizen of Israel, was convicted in federal court of one count of extortion for making threats against individuals in the United States and Israel in an effort to collect $1,350,000.   On August 22, 2011, Meir Abergil was sentenced to thirty-six months custody, including time served previously in Israel, and he was subsequently returned to Israel.

Itzhak Abergil, Ozifa and Meir Abergil were all extradited in January 2011 to the United States from Israel.  The January 2011 extradition was the first of its kind under Israel’s racketeering law, a law that parallels the United States federal racketeering statute known as RICO, which is designed to combat organized crime.

The investigation was led by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Internal Revenue Service.  The Los Angeles Police Department provided additional assistance.

Abergil is scheduled to be sentenced before Federal District Court Judge Christina A. Snyder on May 21, 2012, at 12:00 p.m., and Ozifa is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Snyder on May 23, 2012, at 12:30 p.m.

Co-defendant Moshe Malul is scheduled for trial on September 25, 2012 in front of Judge Snyder on charges of racketeering and murder based on Malul’s alleged hiring of members of the Vineland Boys street gang to kill Atias in retaliation for Atias stealing ecstasy that belonged to Malul and others.  Co-Defendant Sasson Barashy is scheduled for trial on November 27, 2012 in front of Federal Judge Synder on charges of racketeering, extortion and money laundering.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on April 27, 2012, as students were leaving Santa Ana High School, Sotello is accused of getting into a verbal altercation with 16-year-old John Doe just outside the school grounds. During the argument Sotello is accused of pulling out a gun and shooting John Doe in the chest. The defendant is accused of fleeing the scene. The victim was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper torso and remains in critical condition.

Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), who investigated this case, arrested the defendant on May 3, 2012.

SANTA ANA - A man has been charged with the special circumstances stabbing-murder of his girlfriend and her two young sons. Shazer Fernando Limas, 31, Orange, is accused with three counts of special circumstances murder for committing multiple murders with sentencing enhancements for the multiple murders and the personal use of a deadly weapon. The special circumstances in this case makes Limas eligible for the death penalty. He is being held without bail and is scheduled arraignment, today, May 7, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.

Death Penalty Decision
In the majority of special circumstances murder cases, the District Attorney convenes a special circumstances committee consisting of the District Attorney, the Senior Assistant and Assistant District Attorney in charge of the Homicide Unit, and other prosecutors experienced in capital cases after an indictment or preliminary hearing. The committee discusses the defendant’s record, the nature of the crime, and the vulnerability of the victim, among other factors. The committee also considers mitigating circumstances from the defense attorney.  The final decision to pursue the death penalty rests on the District Attorney. The decision will be determined at a later date.

Circumstances of the Case
On April 14, 2012, Limas is accused of stabbing and murdering his girlfriend 31-year-old Arlet Contreras and her sons, 2-year-old Fernando L. and 4-month-old Emmanuel L. at an Orange apartment they occupied in the 3000 block of West Chapman Avenue.

On April 15, 2012, Limas is accused of going to Long Beach Memorial Hospital for surgery on a cut to his hand.

On April 24, 2012, Limas is accused of buying a sundry of supplies at a Home Depot. He is accused of moving out of the apartment.

On April 25, 2012, Limas is accused of disposing of victim Contreras’ body, which was found in the City of La Puente by County workers with multiple stab wounds that same day. Her body was found on the street in the gutter.

On April 28, 2012, Limas is accused of turning in his keys and a letter of notice to vacate to the apartment management.

On May 3, 2012, Orange Police Department (OPD) was contacted by apartment management about blood found in Limas’ vacant apartment. Later that day, at approximately 6:30 p.m., OPD located Limas driving a Nissan 350Z in Santa Ana. Limas is accused of leading police on a high-speed pursuit going south of the Interstate 405 to Interstate 5. The California Highway Patrol took over the pursuit approximately 15 minutes into the pursuit. Limas was detained when his vehicle was disabled by a spike strip and he was arrested at 7:30 pm.

On May 4, 2012, OPD contacted various County Coroners’ Offices and found Contreras’ body at the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

The case is still being investigated. The two child victims have not been located at this moment.