On a recent afternoon along a stretch of Beach Boulevard in Garden Grove, California, a man winced before slumping over at a bus stop as he tightly gripped a blowtorch he had used to heat fentanyl. Another man next to him had already passed out after doing the drug in broad daylight just feet away…

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer is receiving a $43,000 pay raise following approval April 11 from the county Board of Supervisors. His annual salary will now be $353,236 and $531,477 including benefits. The pay increase is effective April 21. According to County Counsel Leon Page, the raise will now match Spitzer’s salary to that…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Orange County authorities Monday announced that advances in DNA technology helped solve two murders dating back to 1987 and 1989. The suspect in the killings was identified as Reuben J. Smith, who was 39 when he took his own life with a gun in Las Vegas in 1999, according to Garden Grove police…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has cleared a backlog of rape kits that dated back to the early 1990s, resulting in up to seven criminal cases now under review, District Attorney Todd Spitzer told county leaders June 28. The office tested nearly 1,700 kits that were eligible for testing and identified 311…

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer likely secured a second term June 8 with a significant lead against his opponents, avoiding a November runoff, according to unofficial election results. “The landslide victory last night is a reflection of DA Spitzer’s 30-year career in Orange County and his complete and total dedication to victims’ rights and…

FULLERTON, Calif.—Candidates vying to become the next district attorney (DA) for Orange County faced off in a public forum May 4 hosted by the North Orange County Bar Association. The debate, at Elk’s Lodge in Fullerton, will be the only event with all four candidates present running for office, including current OC District Attorney Todd…

LA PALMA, Calif.—Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer kicked off his re-election campaign Jan. 26 in a conference where he slammed “woke DA’s,” his opponent, and Los Angeles-style policies he says have been contributing to a major uptick in crime. The news conference was held at the border of Orange and Los Angeles counties in…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A man who had pled guilty to possession for sale of fentanyl and methamphetamine was directed by his public defender to hum inside the courtroom to avoid hearing an advisement that he could be charged with murder if someone dies from drugs he sells, according to the Orange County district attorney. In court,…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—The new Orange County Crime Victims Monument was unveiled during a dedication ceremony on Dec. 6, in commemoration of the county’s deceased crime victims. As the morning fog lingered and the bagpipes and drum rolls echoed, a crowd of crime survivors, families, religious leaders, and county officials gathered in a courtyard filled with…

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….