As summer gives way to fall, the time has come to update the Sun Region-related criminal cases that are are working their way through the courts. They are listed based on when the cases will next come to court.
Space limits the number of cases that can be covered in a single article.
• Violating bail license regulation—Bail bondsman Ronald Lee Brockway, of Seal Beach, is accused of asking lawyers to refer their clients to him and of soliciting business from inmates of the Orange County Jail, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Brockway is currently out on $50,000 bail.
The arraignment in this case is scheduled to continue on Friday, Sept. 17. There has been no preliminary hearing in the case. A judge has yet to rule if there is enough evidence for Brockway to stand trial.
• Sunset Beach Murder Case—The murder occurred in 1988. A Sunset Beach resident described as a drug dealer by prosecutors was stabbed to death. A contemporary newspaper report identified him as an unemployed bricklayer.
Someone set the victim’s apartment on fire after the murder.
DNA identified a suspect in the case in January 2009.
The suspect was identified as Paul Gentile Smith, of Long Beach, a high school friend of the victim.
The case took a strange twist when both Smith and his girlfriend were charged in December 2008 with attempting to hire someone to assault a homicide detective and a witness. The purported fee of $100 was apparently offered to an undercover investigator.
Smith’s murder trial is now scheduled to start on Monday, Sept. 20, according to the Orange County Superior Court Web site occourts.org.
• Los Alamitos Murder and Arson—When the DA’s Office first announced charges in the case, it was widely reported that Joseph Elija Ettima would face the death penalty for reportedly murdering his grandmother and setting her Los Alamitos apartment on fire with two children inside.
The special circumstances charges have apparently been dropped. That means Ettima does not face the death penalty if he is convicted.
Ettima’s trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 18.
• Seal Beach Child Abuse Resulting in Death Case—A 22-month-old Seal Beach girl identified as Millicent Wilborn died on Dec. 17, 2009. Her twin brother suffered a skull fracture, but lived. There is no evidence that either of their other two siblings were physically abused.
Their mother, Linda Wilborn, has been charged with assaulting a child with enough force likely to cause death. According to the DA’s office, their father was at work at the time the crime occurred.
The DA’s Office described the charge against Wilborn as the “equivalent of murder” because the penalty is the same: 25 years to life.
The preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled to continue on Monday, Sept. 20.
• JFTB murder case—A Costa Mesa man was murdered at the theater at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos on Friday, May 21. Some of his remains were found on the base and some of his remains were found in El Dorado Park in Long Beach.
His killer apparently then went to the victim’s Costa Mesa home and lured a woman the dead man knew to the apartment.
There, he killed the woman and staged the crime to look like a sexual assault.
For a brief time, Costa Mesa Police considered the first victim a suspect in the second murder. It wasn’t until the following week that they learned their murder suspect was in fact a murder victim.
The DA’s Office has charged Daniel Patrick Wozniak with the crime. The charges include “special circumstances,” which theoretically could make the accused eligible for the death penalty.
A hearing in the case has been scheduled for Oct. 18. However, there has been no preliminary hearing in the case.
• Child Sex Abuse Case—The DA’s Office has charged Denis Lyons, a Leisure World resident, with felony lewd conduct with a child over a two-year period in the early 1990s. Lyons has entered a not guilty plea in the case.
According to the DA’s Office, an attorney representing the accuser in an un-related civil suit reported the crime to the prosecutor’s office in July 2008. The accuser filed a police report in September 2008, about 16 years after the abuse reportedly began.
Lyons, a retired priest, is currently out on $100,000 bail.
Trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 10, 2011.
Capt. Olsen graduates Command College
Seal Beach Police Capt. Tim Olson graduated from the California Command College on Friday, Sept. 10.
According to a press release issued by the city of Seal Beach, the 18-month Command College provides advanced management training that focuses on preparing police departments and the communities they serve to deal with “changing societal conditions.”
“Congratulations to Capt. Olson on a job well done” said Mayor David Sloan.
To make a comment on this story at the Sun Newspapers’ Web site, go to Sunnews.org.
SBPD to watch intersection in College Park East
In response to citizen complaints, the Seal Beach Police Department will monitor the intersection at Candleberry and Fuchsia in College Park East for traffic violations.
According to an e-mail from Jan Sledge, executive assistant to the city manager, drivers have been seen running the stop sign at Candleberry and Fuchia between 7:30 and 9 a.m. and again between 4 and 6 p.m. The traffic violations are of particular concern to police because the school year has started.
To make a comment on this story at the Sun Newspapers’ Web site, go to Sunnews.org.
Suspicious call turns out to be automated con game
Seal Beach resident Roger Gilliam was nearly the victim of a scam. Gilliam recently told the Sun Newspapers that he received an automated telephone call informing him that his bank account had been frozen for security reasons.
The machine asked him a question, to which he responded by pressing a button.
Then the machine asked him to enter additional information—and Gilliam hung up.
He checked with his bank. His account had not been frozen. He was told that this is, in fact, a fairly common scheme to steal from people.
To make a comment on this story at the Sun Newspapers’ Web site, go to Sunnews.org.
Crime Log Assembled by Charles M. Kelly
The crimes listed in the Sun Newspapers were reported to Seal Beach Police Department, Los Alamitos Police Department and Orange County Sheriff Department between Aug. 23 and Sept. 4, 2010. Only street names are used; times given are reported times, not incident times. Crime Log entries are based on preliminary information. Space limitations make it impossible to publish every incident. Until proven guilty in a court of law, all suspects are considered innocent.
IN SEAL BEACH
Monday, August 23
Disturbance—10:12 a.m.—Jade Cove Way—The caller was painting his residence. A neighbor’s landscaper was blowing weeds on the wet paint, which started an argument.
Tuesday, August 24
Patrol Check Requested—12:21 p.m.—5th Street—The caller said people were putting out orange cones to save parking spaces for friends. The people responsible for the cones were advised against putting them out and the cones were removed.
Petty Theft Report—3:52 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—Two bicycles were taken from in front of the location. Police issued two crime reports because the bikes belonged to two separate victims. It was not known if the bikes were taken by the same unknown suspect or by two separate unknown suspects.
Wednesday, August 25
Bike Theft—11:36 a.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller, reporting the crime on behalf of a neighbor, reported the theft of a green 5-speed bike with a basket. The log did not include information about the value of the bike. However, the incident was described as a 488 report—meaning petty theft.
Dead Animal Report—3:30 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller reported a dead coyote on the north side of Pacific Coast Highway. The dead animal was apparently not in the traffic lanes. Message delivered to Long Beach Animal Care Services.
Thursday, August 26
Identity Theft—1:31 p.m.—Wisteria Street—Someone opened a new credit card account using the caller’s Social Security and driver’s license information.
Animal Information—6:10 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller reported that a dog inside a vehicle appeared to be in distress. The windows were rolled down slightly. Police relayed a message to Long Beach Animal Care Services at 6:12 p.m. However, the call to LBACS was cancelled. Police unit 123 counseled the owner. The dog was apparently not in distress after all.
Saturday, August 28
Welfare Check—4:08 p.m.—Electric Avenue—The caller reported a dog locked in a car parked in front of an address on Electric Avenue. Referred to Long Beach Animal Control.
Suspicious Person—5:41 p.m.—Ebbtide Place—The caller said a man was going door to door, selling magazines without a clip board or paper work. When the caller asked the man what he was doing, he said he was selling magazines—but did not try to make a sale to the caller.
Sunday, August 29
Hail By Citizen—2:47 a.m.—Ocean Avenue—The manager at Ruby’s reported that four people were fishing beyond the fence.
IN LEISURE WORLD
Friday, August 27
Counseling—3:47 p.m.—Northwood Road, Mutual unknown—The caller had received numerous calls from people attempting to scam her out of money. She had also received two checks from people who wanted her to deposit the checks and then send her the money. Counseled. No report desired.
IN ROSSMOOR
Monday, August 30
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—3:34 p.m.—Silverwood Drive.
Tuesday, August 31
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—4:27 p.m.—Montecito Road and Mainway Drive.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—7:35 p.m.—Druid Lane.
Wednesday, September 1
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—8:14 p.m.—Baskerville Road.
Friday, September 3
Criminal Threats Report—12:55 p.m.—Bradbury Road.
Burglary Report—2:28 p.m.—Martha Ann Drive.
IN SUNSET BEACH
Monday, August 30
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—12:06 a.m.—N. Pacific Avenue and 15th Street.
Thursday, September 2
Stolen Vehicle—7:17 p.m.—Pacific Avenue.
Friday, September 3
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—12:26 a.m.—Pacific Coast Highway.
Disturbance, Music or Party—8:55 p.m.—25th Street.
Brian Smith of the News-Enterprise contributed to this article.
