SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 42-year-old man was convicted May 9 of opening fire on a pickup full of six men in a road-rage dispute in Costa Mesa on Thanksgiving Day that killed one and wounded four. Lee Queuon Walker was convicted of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder. Jurors took about two hours to…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 19-year-old Garden Grove man who stabbed his mother to death when he was 13 years old, pleaded not guilty Dec. 22 to making a shank while in jail, according to officials. Ike Souzer was indicted on single felony counts each of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner and a prisoner manufacturing…

Gene Hambrecht died in 2020 after the truck he was driving got in the path of two cars illegally racing in Santa Ana, California. His wife, Pat Buchanan, told a throng of reporters April 29 that the last time she saw her husband alive was as she was heading out from their home to pick…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Tucked between the offices of the Orange County District Attorney and Sheriff’s Department, victims and survivors of crime were honored April 25 during the 14th Annual Orange County Crime Victims Rally. “We have victims who passed, and we have victims who are alive today … who have to live with the grief every…

Orange County Deputy District Attorney Kelly Ernby, 46, who ran for California State Assembly in 2020, has died, it was reported Jan. 3. The Huntington Beach resident’s passing was met with condolences from her colleagues. “Kelly was an incredibly vibrant and passionate attorney who cared deeply about the work that we do as prosecutors –…

Orange County Deputy District Attorney Kelly Ernby, 46, who ran for California State Assembly in 2020, has died, it was reported Jan. 3. The Huntington Beach resident’s passing was met with condolences from her colleagues. “Kelly was an incredibly vibrant and passionate attorney who cared deeply about the work that we do as prosecutors –…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced Nov. 9 that his office will now be charging convicted drug dealers with murder if they manufacture or sell drugs that result in someone dying. The move comes as fatal fentanyl poisonings have skyrocketed across Orange County and the United States over the last few years….

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer on July 8 called for reforms in the firefighting program for state prison inmates in response to one inmate’s joyriding spree in a Cal Fire truck on the Fourth of July. Cameron Zoltan Horvath, 31, is accused of going off-roading in a stolen fire truck after leaving…

Independence Day celebrations are never complete without colorful nighttime explosions, but authorities in Orange County, Calif. say lighting firework is no job for amateurs. The improper use of fireworks could spark blazes as the state enters into fire season, said Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy. “To avoid the risk of fireworks and enjoy…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A former Irvine police officer pleaded guilty June 23 and was immediately sentenced to a year in jail for stealing about $68,000 by putting in for overtime he never worked. Matthew Christian August, 49, of Aliso Viejo, was also placed on three years of formal probation upon pleading guilty to 34 felony counts…