As part of my continuing coverage of unusually cinematic Southern California crimes, complete with the kind of multi-culti bands of perps that are more interesting than the usual gangs of half-cousins, here’s an excerpt from the Orange County Register:
Nearly three years after a father and daughter were set ablaze and the mother, Dhanak, had her throat slit, details surrounding one of Orange County’s most notorious cases are surfacing.
[Iftekhar] Murtaza, 25, of Van Nuys, and his two friends – Vitaliy Krasnoperov, 24, of West Hollywood and Charles Anthony Murphy Jr., 25, of Mission Hills – remain behind bars.
The trio of suspects is accused of killing Jayprakash Dhanak, 56, and Karishma Dhanak, 20, the father and sister of Shayona Dhanak, Murtaza’s former girlfriend. …
The prosecutor, Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Gundy, said a dispute over religion was at the core of the crime.
Shayona Dhanak’s parents disapproved of her nearly three-year relationship with Murtaza, who was Muslim. Murtaza was angry with the Dhanaks, who are devout Hindus, for interfering with his relationship, according to court records. The couple broke up several weeks before the slayings.
Gundy said Murtaza wanted to kill Shayona Dhanak’s family so she would have no one left but him.
One problem today’s youth face in living up to the high marks set by past generations at committing a high volume of crimes is that they are so addicted to electronic communications that they leave digital trails everywhere, making it hardly worth their while to break the law. For example, the kid who stabbed seven times this woman my wife knows while stealing her cell phone and laptop, immediately called his gang friends with the stolen phone. The cops traced the calls and came down hard on the friends a few hours later, and they rolled over on him. He was arrested the day after his crime.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Ariz. immigration bill may have broad implications
By Leslie Berestein, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
The strict immigration enforcement bill that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer could sign this week is likely to have repercussions beyond the state, not only in terms of political precedent, but in shifts it might prompt in the immigrant population.
The bill would make it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration documents in Arizona, requiring people to carry proof of legal status. It also would require police officers to check immigration status if they have “reasonable suspicion” that someone is in the country illegally, and allow people to sue to force police agencies to comply.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
The strict immigration enforcement bill that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer could sign this week is likely to have repercussions beyond the state, not only in terms of political precedent, but in shifts it might prompt in the immigrant population.
The bill would make it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration documents in Arizona, requiring people to carry proof of legal status. It also would require police officers to check immigration status if they have “reasonable suspicion” that someone is in the country illegally, and allow people to sue to force police agencies to comply.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Much fear, little hope in quake-hit village
By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
EJIDO JOHNSON, Mexico — The birds are still chirping in their cages, and the bougainvillea blossoms are spilling from the shaded yards. But since the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck northern Mexico on Easter Sunday, the residents of the tiny rural community of Ejido Luis Encinas Johnson have been gone.
A mile away from their hastily abandoned houses, the community’s 65 families are sleeping beneath tarps and tents pitched in the Sonoran Desert, yearning for home but too afraid to return.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
EJIDO JOHNSON, Mexico — The birds are still chirping in their cages, and the bougainvillea blossoms are spilling from the shaded yards. But since the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck northern Mexico on Easter Sunday, the residents of the tiny rural community of Ejido Luis Encinas Johnson have been gone.
A mile away from their hastily abandoned houses, the community’s 65 families are sleeping beneath tarps and tents pitched in the Sonoran Desert, yearning for home but too afraid to return.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Ex-Rosarito Beach cop arrested by Mexican military
By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 5:10 p.m.
ROSARITO BEACH — A former Rosarito Beach police officer suspected of participating in numerous slayings, kidnappings, attacks on police and drug smuggling has been detained, the Mexican military announced Sunday.
Mario Alberto Herrera Sanchez, 29, was arrested with another suspect in north Rosarito Beach after authorities received an anonymous tip that they were unloading packets from a boat to a vehicle. Soldiers and state police agents seized a bag of marijuana weighing more than 80 pounds, two handguns and ammunition, according to a statement from Baja California’s Second Military Zone.
Herrera is a suspected member of the criminal group headed by Fernando Sanchez Arellano, authorities said. Herrera and his brother, Karlomar Herrera Sanchez, were known for leading criminal operations in the Rosarito Beach region, the statement said.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 5:10 p.m.
ROSARITO BEACH — A former Rosarito Beach police officer suspected of participating in numerous slayings, kidnappings, attacks on police and drug smuggling has been detained, the Mexican military announced Sunday.
Mario Alberto Herrera Sanchez, 29, was arrested with another suspect in north Rosarito Beach after authorities received an anonymous tip that they were unloading packets from a boat to a vehicle. Soldiers and state police agents seized a bag of marijuana weighing more than 80 pounds, two handguns and ammunition, according to a statement from Baja California’s Second Military Zone.
Herrera is a suspected member of the criminal group headed by Fernando Sanchez Arellano, authorities said. Herrera and his brother, Karlomar Herrera Sanchez, were known for leading criminal operations in the Rosarito Beach region, the statement said.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Trail of ruin: Quake victims' shattered lives
By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
EJIDO DURANGO, Mexico — By day, Dolores Echeverria returns to the spacious sky-blue house where she lived with her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter until Sunday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck. Yesterday afternoon, she stepped through her mud-covered yard in Ejido Durango, past the craters where geysers had surged from the ground, and entered her darkened bedroom, its walls now covered with cracks.
“We carry out a few things, and we run out,” said Echeverria, 66, one of thousands of residents of the Mexicali Valley wondering where to go from here.
Striking 30 miles south of the U.S. border, the quake left a trail of ruined houses, broken roads, destroyed crops and interrupted lives.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
EJIDO DURANGO, Mexico — By day, Dolores Echeverria returns to the spacious sky-blue house where she lived with her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter until Sunday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck. Yesterday afternoon, she stepped through her mud-covered yard in Ejido Durango, past the craters where geysers had surged from the ground, and entered her darkened bedroom, its walls now covered with cracks.
“We carry out a few things, and we run out,” said Echeverria, 66, one of thousands of residents of the Mexicali Valley wondering where to go from here.
Striking 30 miles south of the U.S. border, the quake left a trail of ruined houses, broken roads, destroyed crops and interrupted lives.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Two dead, 100 injuries in Mexicali area due to quake
By Leslie Berestein, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Originally published April 5, 2010 at 12:50 p.m., updated April 5, 2010 at 2:07 p.m.
MEXICALI — Mexican President Felipe Calderon is expected to survey the damage and declare a state of emergency Monday afternoon in earthquake-hit Mexicali.
Authorities in Baja California are assessing damage from the 7.2 magnitude temblor that struck yesterday afternoon 38 miles south-southeast of Mexicali. The official death toll remains at two, according to the state government, including a man who died in the border city’s general hospital and a homeless man who died in the Valle de Mexicali.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Originally published April 5, 2010 at 12:50 p.m., updated April 5, 2010 at 2:07 p.m.
MEXICALI — Mexican President Felipe Calderon is expected to survey the damage and declare a state of emergency Monday afternoon in earthquake-hit Mexicali.
Authorities in Baja California are assessing damage from the 7.2 magnitude temblor that struck yesterday afternoon 38 miles south-southeast of Mexicali. The official death toll remains at two, according to the state government, including a man who died in the border city’s general hospital and a homeless man who died in the Valle de Mexicali.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
2 mentally ill detainees in immigration custody for years are released
By Greg Moran, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 12:05 a.m.
FEDERAL COURT — Two mentally ill immigration detainees whose deportation cases have languished in a kind of legal limbo for years were released yesterday, four days after the ACLU filed court petitions seeking their freedom.
Guillermo Gomez Sanchez, 48, and Jose Antonio Franco, 29, were released to family members while they await disposition of their cases, according to lawyers for the men and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Both men were housed at the Otay Mesa Detention facility, but have been held in a variety of ICE detention centers over the past several years.
Gomez is a paranoid schizophrenic and legal permanent resident who has been in ICE detention for more than four years after an immigration judge declared he was not competent to participate in deportation proceedings against him.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 12:05 a.m.
FEDERAL COURT — Two mentally ill immigration detainees whose deportation cases have languished in a kind of legal limbo for years were released yesterday, four days after the ACLU filed court petitions seeking their freedom.
Guillermo Gomez Sanchez, 48, and Jose Antonio Franco, 29, were released to family members while they await disposition of their cases, according to lawyers for the men and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Both men were housed at the Otay Mesa Detention facility, but have been held in a variety of ICE detention centers over the past several years.
Gomez is a paranoid schizophrenic and legal permanent resident who has been in ICE detention for more than four years after an immigration judge declared he was not competent to participate in deportation proceedings against him.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Two months later, and no trace of family
By Leslie Berestein, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 6:06 p.m.
Nearly two months after a Fallbrook family of four vanished with scarcely a trace, authorities continue to pursue leads in Mexico, while some relatives are skeptical as to whether they ever crossed the border in the first place.
A grainy Border Patrol video taken the evening of Feb. 8 shows two adults and two small children crossing on foot into Mexico at San Ysidro, which investigators think could be missing businessman Joseph McStay, his wife and their two young sons. The video has been enhanced for resolution by San Diego County Sheriff’s Department investigators, but it has yielded no better identification on the foursome than the original.
“Some family members are more certain that it is them than others,” said Lt. Dennis Brugos of the sheriff’s homicide unit, which has been working with Mexican authorities in hopes of finding the McStays.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 6:06 p.m.
Nearly two months after a Fallbrook family of four vanished with scarcely a trace, authorities continue to pursue leads in Mexico, while some relatives are skeptical as to whether they ever crossed the border in the first place.
A grainy Border Patrol video taken the evening of Feb. 8 shows two adults and two small children crossing on foot into Mexico at San Ysidro, which investigators think could be missing businessman Joseph McStay, his wife and their two young sons. The video has been enhanced for resolution by San Diego County Sheriff’s Department investigators, but it has yielded no better identification on the foursome than the original.
“Some family members are more certain that it is them than others,” said Lt. Dennis Brugos of the sheriff’s homicide unit, which has been working with Mexican authorities in hopes of finding the McStays.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Two people found hidden in Mercedes at border
By Susan Shroder, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 4:49 p.m.
SAN DIEGO — Two people being smuggled into the country were found crammed inside hidden compartments on either side of a 1997 Mercedes-Benz, and one of them was unresponsive when pulled from the car, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The two were found shortly after midnight Saturday after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry ordered the 26-year-old female driver of the car over for secondary inspection.
A drug-detection dog alerted to the car’s fender. Officers found compartments between the engine and both side quarter panels. They removed one panel and found a 39-year-old man who was curled in the fetal position and was unable to move. When officers helped him out, he was sweating profusely and needed assistance to stand, said Angelica De Cima, a CBP spokeswoman.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 4:49 p.m.
SAN DIEGO — Two people being smuggled into the country were found crammed inside hidden compartments on either side of a 1997 Mercedes-Benz, and one of them was unresponsive when pulled from the car, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The two were found shortly after midnight Saturday after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry ordered the 26-year-old female driver of the car over for secondary inspection.
A drug-detection dog alerted to the car’s fender. Officers found compartments between the engine and both side quarter panels. They removed one panel and found a 39-year-old man who was curled in the fetal position and was unable to move. When officers helped him out, he was sweating profusely and needed assistance to stand, said Angelica De Cima, a CBP spokeswoman.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
U.S. retirees find home in coastal Mexico
By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
ROSARITO BEACH — Favorite activity: strolls on the beach. Biggest gripe: litter. Primary reasons for retiring in Mexico: the lower cost of living and proximity to the United States.
A newly released study on U.S. retirement trends in Mexico’s coastal communities takes an updated snapshot of Rosarito Beach, Rocky Point, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and other areas where many Americans go to retire. The study’s authors say their survey marks an important first step in meeting the needs of a group that is likely to grow in size as U.S. baby boomers reach retirement age.
“We felt it was important to understand the dynamics of what is going on,” said Richard Kiy, president and CEO of the International Community Foundation, which conducted the 88-question survey. While research has been done in San Miguel Allende and Ajijic, both well-established expatriate communities in central Mexico, coastal communities “are some of the areas that have been least studied among U.S. retirees,” Kiy said.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
ROSARITO BEACH — Favorite activity: strolls on the beach. Biggest gripe: litter. Primary reasons for retiring in Mexico: the lower cost of living and proximity to the United States.
A newly released study on U.S. retirement trends in Mexico’s coastal communities takes an updated snapshot of Rosarito Beach, Rocky Point, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and other areas where many Americans go to retire. The study’s authors say their survey marks an important first step in meeting the needs of a group that is likely to grow in size as U.S. baby boomers reach retirement age.
“We felt it was important to understand the dynamics of what is going on,” said Richard Kiy, president and CEO of the International Community Foundation, which conducted the 88-question survey. While research has been done in San Miguel Allende and Ajijic, both well-established expatriate communities in central Mexico, coastal communities “are some of the areas that have been least studied among U.S. retirees,” Kiy said.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Smugglers found stranded on Santa Rosa Island
By Leslie Berestein, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 5:24 p.m.
A drug-smuggling vessel spotted 46 miles off the coast of San Diego County by a U.S. Navy helicopter last week wound up out of fuel and shipwrecked on the coast of one of the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara.
On the night of March 4, a Navy helicopter spotted a panga, a traditional fishing vessel used in Mexico, far out at sea off Point Loma. U.S. Customs and Border Protection vessels joined the search, but it was called off early the next morning after searchers lost sight of the boat.
The afternoon of March 6, Customs and Border Protection officers in a helicopter sighted fuel canisters and boat wreckage along the coast of Santa Rosa Island, about 26 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara.
For rest of article click here.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 5:24 p.m.
A drug-smuggling vessel spotted 46 miles off the coast of San Diego County by a U.S. Navy helicopter last week wound up out of fuel and shipwrecked on the coast of one of the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara.
On the night of March 4, a Navy helicopter spotted a panga, a traditional fishing vessel used in Mexico, far out at sea off Point Loma. U.S. Customs and Border Protection vessels joined the search, but it was called off early the next morning after searchers lost sight of the boat.
The afternoon of March 6, Customs and Border Protection officers in a helicopter sighted fuel canisters and boat wreckage along the coast of Santa Rosa Island, about 26 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara.
For rest of article click here.
Female faces of recession; Jobless rate forces Baja women to wait, hope for work
By Omar Millán González - SPECIAL TO THE UNION-TRIBUNE
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.
Every day before dawn, the women leave their homes on the working-class east side of Tijuana to look for work.
Their destination is an upscale residential zone near downtown, home to wealthy businessmen and politicians, even the mayor.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.
Every day before dawn, the women leave their homes on the working-class east side of Tijuana to look for work.
Their destination is an upscale residential zone near downtown, home to wealthy businessmen and politicians, even the mayor.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Mexico’s passport rule in effect tomorrow; Visitors staying less than 72 hours will be exempt
By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
TIJUANA — A new Mexican federal regulation requiring U.S. and Canadian visitors to present passports when entering Mexico goes into effect tomorrow, but the majority of travelers to Baja California won’t be affected.
Exempt from the new rule are visitors to border regions who remain in the country for less than 72 hours, according to Mexico’s National Migration Institute. In addition, cruise ship passengers who briefly disembark in Ensenada will not be required to present a passport.
“For us, it’s business as usual,” said Oscar Escobedo, Baja California’s tourism secretary.
When announced earlier this month by Mexico’s federal government, the regulations stipulated that all U.S. and Canadian citizens entering Mexico by air, land and sea must carry passports. The measure was quickly modified to exempt border zones after protests by tourism officials and business groups in Baja California and other northern border states.
to continue reading click here
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
TIJUANA — A new Mexican federal regulation requiring U.S. and Canadian visitors to present passports when entering Mexico goes into effect tomorrow, but the majority of travelers to Baja California won’t be affected.
Exempt from the new rule are visitors to border regions who remain in the country for less than 72 hours, according to Mexico’s National Migration Institute. In addition, cruise ship passengers who briefly disembark in Ensenada will not be required to present a passport.
“For us, it’s business as usual,” said Oscar Escobedo, Baja California’s tourism secretary.
When announced earlier this month by Mexico’s federal government, the regulations stipulated that all U.S. and Canadian citizens entering Mexico by air, land and sea must carry passports. The measure was quickly modified to exempt border zones after protests by tourism officials and business groups in Baja California and other northern border states.
to continue reading click here
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Vehicle checks at border paying off
By Leslie Berestein, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
SOUTH COUNTY — Last spring, U.S. officials announced a $400 million effort to tighten border security, this time with an emphasis on southbound inspections of vehicles headed into Mexico to check for contraband cash and firearms.
Since then, inspectors have made some impressive discoveries — and in addition to the money and guns, some unexpected ones.
Because of California’s relatively strict firearms laws, gun seizures have been minimal compared with discoveries made farther east, particularly in Texas, said Angelica De Cima of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which conducts the checks. However, large amounts of cash have been found.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
SOUTH COUNTY — Last spring, U.S. officials announced a $400 million effort to tighten border security, this time with an emphasis on southbound inspections of vehicles headed into Mexico to check for contraband cash and firearms.
Since then, inspectors have made some impressive discoveries — and in addition to the money and guns, some unexpected ones.
Because of California’s relatively strict firearms laws, gun seizures have been minimal compared with discoveries made farther east, particularly in Texas, said Angelica De Cima of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which conducts the checks. However, large amounts of cash have been found.
To continue reading click here.
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Drug smugglers’ creativity grows
By Leslie Berestein, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Monday, February 15, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
Hidden among truckloads of peppers, bananas, toilet paper and medical supplies entering from Mexico, customs officers have been finding another type of import.
With drug cartels becoming increasingly creative in evading border authorities, it has become commonplace to find drugs embedded among the truckloads of goods that move each day through the nation’s ports of entry. Two weeks ago, inspectors at the Otay Mesa cargo port found more than 3,800 pounds of marijuana hidden in a shipment of peppers and green beans. A few days later, they found a ton of pot stashed in a load of bananas.
to continue reading click here
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Monday, February 15, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
Hidden among truckloads of peppers, bananas, toilet paper and medical supplies entering from Mexico, customs officers have been finding another type of import.
With drug cartels becoming increasingly creative in evading border authorities, it has become commonplace to find drugs embedded among the truckloads of goods that move each day through the nation’s ports of entry. Two weeks ago, inspectors at the Otay Mesa cargo port found more than 3,800 pounds of marijuana hidden in a shipment of peppers and green beans. A few days later, they found a ton of pot stashed in a load of bananas.
to continue reading click here
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Proposed aqueduct would quench Baja wine valley
By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Monday, February 1, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
TIJUANA — As they watch millions of gallons of treated Tijuana wastewater flow into the Pacific Ocean each day, Baja California authorities say they have a better idea: Why not pipe it to the Guadalupe Valley, Baja California’s winemaking region, where the water table has been falling even as the area has risen in international renown?
Gov. José Guadalupe Osuna Millán’s government is proposing a 46-mile aqueduct that would carry the treated water from eastern Tijuana to the vineyards and olive groves in the small agricultural valley north of Ensenada.
to continue reading click here
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Monday, February 1, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
TIJUANA — As they watch millions of gallons of treated Tijuana wastewater flow into the Pacific Ocean each day, Baja California authorities say they have a better idea: Why not pipe it to the Guadalupe Valley, Baja California’s winemaking region, where the water table has been falling even as the area has risen in international renown?
Gov. José Guadalupe Osuna Millán’s government is proposing a 46-mile aqueduct that would carry the treated water from eastern Tijuana to the vineyards and olive groves in the small agricultural valley north of Ensenada.
to continue reading click here
[Posted by Carl Nash]
Agent's suspected killer had escaped Border Patro
New report reveals that a man accused of killing a local Border Patrol agent, and eluded extradition, had been in custody
Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 12:05 a.m.
Months before a suspected drug smuggler was accused of running down and killing a local Border Patrol agent in January 2008, U.S. officials had him in custody, only to see him escape in a Border Patrol vehicle.
The revelation about the earlier arrest is in a seven-paragraph statement of facts in a court file for Jesús Navarro Montes.
For rest of Article click here
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