Category: Violent Crimes

KTLA reports that five men were arrested over the weekend that are believed by authorities to have forced their way into a person’s home and held them at knifepoint. According to the article, at about 4 a.m. on July 10, deputies in Orange County responded to reports of the alleged home invasion in San Clemente. Officials allege the men attempted to rob the man living in the home by holding him at knifepoint. The five men are suspected gang members. A perimeter was set up around the house and deputies arrested all five men, with the last man arrested around… Read More

Staff writer for the Daily News website reported on January 15, 2009 that two men affiliated with the Latino street gang, Canoga Park Alabama, are being charged with last month’s murder of an African American father of two. Martin Sotelo, 23 and Richard Bordelon, 21, each of Conoga Park, have been charged with the murder of James Shamp, 48 who was shot outside his work place on December 22 in this Los Angeles violent crime. Police say the attack was racially motivated, potentially making Bordelon and Sotelo eligible for the death penalty. According to police reports, Shamp, who had been… Read More

For the first time since the late 1960s, Los Angeles has had fewer than 300 murders in the city in 2010, according to latimes.com. In the early 90s, there were over 1,000 murders in the city for three consecutive years. The statistics are promising, not only because of the huge decrease in murders in the city, but also because a large number of the murders, as well as other violent crimes, are viewed as “repressible.” Repressible crimes are those which can be prevented with an increase in the police force, or improvements in the nature of police work. Crimes which… Read More

The largest antipiracy raid in Los Angeles history occurred this month, according tolatimes.com. The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 10 individuals and seized over $4 million worth of counterfeit goods. The raids began in November and ended on December 20. The raids were conducted by L.A.’s antipiracy task force. Dozens of officers from the LAPD, as well as investigators from private companies, were involved in the raids. The counterfeit goods included CDs, DVDs of recently-released movies such as “Tron” and “The Tourist”, purses, sunglasses, and other goods. Much of the merchandise was seized from vendors and downtown flea markets. Gangs… Read More

Adolescents are very impressionable. Unfortunately, the media realizes this very notion, yet fails to monitor materials that profess concepts that may be misconstrued by some young minds. According to the Los Angeles Times, one such incident in Calabasas was emblematic of this very idea. Reportedly, middle school students acted upon a request sent out via a Facebook message. The message declared that it was “Kick a Ginger Day” (with “Ginger” being a term in reference to those individuals with red hair, freckles, and fair skin). The concept was proliferated by the animated, adult-humored television comedy “South Park.” While the TV… Read More

Members of a crime ring based in New York and Los Angeles have been arrested for defrauding Medicare, according to The Wall Street Journal. It is the largest Medicare fraud operation in history. The crime ring defrauded over $35 million from Medicare, starting in 2006. They submitted $100 million in fake bills, but only received $35.7 million in payments. Experts say Medicare has been especially vulnerable to fraud, although improvements have been made. The criminals used doctor and patient identities to set up dozens of fake clinics across the country that were nothing more than post office boxes. The organization… Read More

Earlier this month, two Hispanic gang members were convicted of first degree murder for killing a 14-year old African-American girl and a potential witness in Los Angeles, according to the L.A. Times. The gang members, aged 22 and 23, were found guilty of killing the 14-year old because of her race. They shot her in 2006 while she was standing with some friends in a driveway in broad daylight. The shooting allegedly occurred because one of the gang members was still angry from an earlier argument with a black man. However, the defendant’s attorney claimed that race was not a… Read More

A 14-year old Stockton boy was beaten and stomped to death allegedly by a group of teens, ranging in age from 14 to 19 years old, according to RecordNet.com. The incident happened at a park on Friday, August 6 and all six teens accused of the crime have been charged with first-degree murder. Investigators say that some of the boys were also charged with street-terrorism causing officials to suspect that the beating was an act of gang violence. The juvenile justice system in California is very complex and in many cases, someone under the age of 18 will be charged… Read More

According to The Los Angeles Times, three individuals have been charged with multiple counts of white collar crimes for their alleged involvement in a credit card scam. Apparently, the individuals are being charged with stealing $2 million from unaware gas station consumers. Reportedly, credit card skimming devices were installed on computerized gas pumps, collecting consumer credit card information and personal identifying numbers (PINs). The information was then downloaded onto computers and other electronic devices, and transferred to equipment used to create credit cards and debit cards. Based on the article, the three men accused of being involved in the scam… Read More

Tax season is upon us, and with anxious taxpayers eyeing the April 15 deadline, it is important to execute great care in the preparation of tax forms so as to avoid arousing suspicion from the IRS criminal investigation division regarding tax evasion. The following is a list of some of the criminal activities in violation of the tax law: Deliberately underreporting or omitting income Overstating the amount of deductions Keeping two sets of books Making false entries in books and records Claiming personal expenses as business expenses Claiming false deductions Hiding or transferring assets or income As a taxpayer, you… Read More