COMPILED BY CHARLES M. KELLY
Editor’s note: Court case numbers have been placed at the end of case summaries. If you want to follow a particular case, visit www.occourts.org.
Sentencing hearing and firearms reliquishment set for Oct. 4
Two Costa Mesa men on Aug. 30, 2019, entered guilty pleas to charges stemming from a 2017 home invasion robbery on Seal Way, according to the Orange County Superior Courthouse website.
The guilty pleas came on the second anniversary of their arrests.
The sentencing hearing for both men is scheduled for Oct. 4. A hearing is also scheduled on that date so Lipsey can surrender his guns.
A “firearms relinquishment” hearing is a standard procedure when a person who lawfully owns a firearm is convicted of a felony.
Arron Michal Lipsey pleaded guilty to 12 felony charges, including first degree robbery, first degree burglary, using force to dissuade a witness, and making criminal threats. Lipsey also “admitted” to sentencing enhancements for four counts of causing property damage of more than $200,000.
Richard Derderian pleaded guilty to 13 felony charges, including first degree robbery, first degree burglary, using force to dissuade a witness, making criminal threats, possession of ammunition by a prohibted person, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Derderian also “admitted” to sentencing enhancements for causing property damage of more than $200,000 and committing a secondary offense while released from custody.
The jury trial had been scheduled to start Sept. 20, 2019.
On Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, accoding to a police press release issued shortly after the event, Seal Beach Police detectives arrested Richard Henry Derderian, and Aaron Michael Lipsey, in connection with the Aug. 21, 2017 robbery on the 1100 block of Seal Way.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office charged Lipsey and Derderian with first degree robbery, first degree burglary, threatening witnesses and making criminal threats.
According to the police, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, at approximately 4 p.m., two suspects broke into a home on the 1100 block of Seal Way in Seal Beach.
The three men who occupied the home were reportedly tied up and the suspects reportedly ransacked the home. According to the authorities, the suspects told the victims they had a gun, but no gun was ever seen. A safe was reported stolen.
The case number is 17WF1844.
Discovery compliance hearing set in Main Street manslaughter case
The court will hold a “discovery compliance” heairng on Sept. 16, 2019 , to determine if the attorneys in a local manslaughter case have complied with the rules governing the sharing of evidence. Defendant Matthew Paul Meier has entered a plea of not guilty. The jury trial had originally scheduled for Sept. 16, but is currrently scheduled to begin on Oct. 15, 2019.
“During the pretrial stage of a court case there is an important step called ‘discovery’,” according to www.courts.ca.gov, the website for California’s judicial branch of government. “During discovery, both sides collect and exchange information about the case and prepare for trial,” according to the website.
Meier has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Seal Beach resident James Tinsman, 46, who died on July 18, 2017, after being punched once in the face, according to the authorities.
The case number is 17WF1635.
