Category: Todd Spitzer

Convicted Sex Offender Accepts Plea Deal in Killing of Orange County Boy

February 22, 2021
Anaheim HillscrimeGeorge GascónJusticeLos Angeles CountyLos Angeles District AttorneymurderNY-CalOrange CountyOrange County District AttorneySouthern CaliforniaTodd SpitzerUS
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POMONA—A convicted sex offender pleaded no contest Feb. 22 to two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of two young boys—including one from Anaheim Hills—within a five-year span. Kenneth Kasten Rasmuson is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The 59-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced on…

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Spitzer Blasts Lawsuit Against DNA Database Program

February 19, 2021
crimecriminalsDNAlawsuitNY-CalOrange CountyOrange County District AttorneySouthern CaliforniaTodd SpitzerUCIUS
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Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said a lawsuit challenging a DNA database overseen by his office was “outrageous” and “absurd.” University of California–Irvine (UCI) Law School professors and students filed the suit Feb. 16 in Orange County Superior Court against the county and Spitzer’s office, seeking an injunction to prevent the Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) office…

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Orange County DA Files Charges Against Predator for 1981 Murder

February 16, 2021
district attorneyGeorge GascónLos AngelesNY-CalOCDAOrange CountySouthern CaliforniaTodd SpitzerUS
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Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has filed special circumstance murder charges against a man accused of abducting, sexually assaulting, and killing two boys in the 1980s in Southern California, after newly implemented directives from Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon forced L.A. prosecutors to dismiss the special circumstances and enhancements in the multiple murder…

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Protest Organizer Charged in Multiple Attacks After Allegedly Beating Men With Metal Rod

January 21, 2021
NY-CalOrange CountyprotestsSeal BeachSouthern CaliforniaTodd SpitzerUSYorba Linda
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A 40-year-old woman charged with attempted murder for allegedly driving her car into protesters at a September rally is facing additional charges after authorities discovered she allegedly used a deadly weapon to attack two men at an earlier event in Orange County, California. Tatiana Rita Turner, a protest organizer from Long Beach, has now been…

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Orange County DA Lashes Out Over Vaccine Wait for Police

January 8, 2021
COVIDNY-CalOCBSOCDAOrange CountypoliceprioritySouthern CaliforniaTodd SpitzerUSVaccine
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As Orange County continues to roll out its vaccine strategy, its chief prosecutor is calling on county officials to give greater priority to police. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer accused the Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) of not “prioritizing front line law enforcement… for first tier vaccinations,” in a Jan. 6 email to…

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Costa Mesa Bar Owner Charged with Illegally Operating During COVID-19 Pandemic

December 31, 2020
Costa Mesadistrict attorneynonessential businessesNY-CalOrange CountySouthern CaliforniaTodd SpitzerUS
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SANTA ANA, Calif. (CNS)—The owner of a Costa Mesa bar has been charged with illegally operating during curfew hours for nonessential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Dec. 31. Roland Michael Barrera—who owns the Westend bar—is set to be arraigned June 22 on a misdemeanor count of violating and…

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California Supreme Court Renders Human Trafficking Decision Based on Orange County Case

December 30, 2020
California Supreme Courtdistrict attorneyHuman TraffickingNY-CalOrange CountyprostitutionSouthern CaliforniaTodd SpitzerUS
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In a ruling based on an Orange County conviction, the California Supreme Court ruled Dec. 28 that human traffickers who attempt to prostitute minors will receive the maximum prison sentence allowed under state law, even if they are actually communicating with undercover law enforcement personnel. The decision reverses an earlier ruling by the state’s Fourth…

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Huntington Beach Crime Scene Investigator Charged With Swallowing Evidence

December 23, 2020
district attorneyHuntington BeachNY-CalOrange CountypoliceSouthern CaliforniaTodd SpitzerUSWestminster
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The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has charged a former Huntington Beach Police Department crime scene investigator with stealing drugs from a suspect’s vehicle, swallowing the evidence, and then driving a police vehicle home while under the influence. Sean Patrick Lotts, 53, of Huntington Beach, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of embezzlement by…

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