Sun Region Quarterly court case update
By Charles M. Kelly
The following is the quarterly update on local felony cases.
Two legal terms to keep in mind are pre-trial hearing and preliminary hearing. The terms sound similar, but they mean different things. A pre-trial hearing will deal with specific issues before the trial starts. A preliminary hearing determines if there is enough evidence for a case to go to trial.
The cases are listed in chronological order based on the most recent court appearance or scheduled upcoming appearance.
Child sex abuse
Leisure World resident Denis Lyons, a retired Catholic priest, pleaded guilty on March 23 to sexually abusing a young boy almost 20 years ago in Costa Mesa.
Lyons, 78, was accused of felony lewd conduct with a child in Costa Mesa over a two-year period in the early 1990s. Authorities say he abused the victim known as John Doe four times in the parish rectory when the victim was 7 through 9 years old.
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 was released on $200,000 bail on July 28, 2009. Two bail bond firms, Bail Hotline Bail Bonds and Penny Bail Bonds, each posted $100,000.
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Lyons is expected to be sentenced to serve one year in jail, plus five years formal probation and be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Under the probation system, Lyons would actually be free from physical custody, but would have to answer to state authorities if he violated any of the terms of his probation. A violation could result in his being sent to state prison.
According to a recent staff report to the Seal Beach City Council, there are 10 convicted and registered sex offenders living in Seal Beach and seven of them live in Leisure World.
Lyons, upon sentencing, would be the eighth.
He remains out on bail at this time, according to the courthouse website. He is not listed among the inmates in custody of the Orange County Jail, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department website.
Latest: Lyons’ sentencing hearing apparently began Friday, May 25. However, his hearing was continued to Aug. 10.
Los Alamitos Physical child abuse
On July 24, Natasha Latise Lundy, 21, was arrested for dropping her then 9-day-old son in front of a police officer. Witnesses saw a woman swinging an infant around and called the Los Alamitos Police Department. A police officer ordered the woman to stop. She dropped the infant. The child survived.
There is no evidence that the woman was under the influence of drugs. Lundy was charged with four felony counts including child endangerment and assault with a deadly weapon. Lundy turned 21 on Jan. 3, 2012.
Lundy is being held without bail in the Orange County Jail.
The latest: The court is now conducting a hearing to determine if the Lundy case should be moved to the Orange County Mental Health Court. That hearing was scheduled to continue on Tuesday, May 29. Information about the hearing was not known when the Sun print edition went to press.
Seal Beach DUI/Hit-and Run
On Feb. 4, a motorist struck three bicycle riders in Seal Beach. The driver kept going. The Seal Beach Police Department obtained a description of the suspect car and broadcast it. The Huntington Beach Police Department pulled over a vehicle matching that description.
Juli Ann Brown, of Alaska, has been charged with DUI, causing injury; failure to stop at an accident with injury; unlawful possession of a controlled substance and causing an injury while driving with a suspended driver’s license. Prosecutors have also added an “enhancement”—an aggravating circumstance that could add to the accused’s potential sentence—of inflicting great bodily harm.
The latest: A trial date setting conference has been scheduled for Thursday, May 31.
Los Alamitos murder and arson
Joseph Elija Ettima has been accused of murdering his grandmother and setting her Los Alamitos apartment on fire with two children inside on Jan. 19, 2009. The children were Ettima’s then 8-year-old brother and his 3-year-old niece.
The 8-year-old boy got the 3-year-old girl out of the burning building. Authorities found 69-year-old Emma Louise Hardwick-Street’s body inside.
On April 15, U.S. Marshals arrested Ettima in Mexico. Ettima could face 25 years to life imprisonment if he is convicted. Ettima’s jury trial began on Oct. 18, 2010.
Ettima remains in the Orange County Jail.
The latest: A hearing to determine if Ettima is mentally competent to stand trial began on Feb. 15. The hearing is scheduled to continue on Friday, June 1.
Seal Beach fatal child abuse
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. The crime apparently occurred in the resident housing area of the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station on Anchor Way.
Authorities have said there is no evidence that either of the victims’ other two siblings were physically abused.
Their mother, Linda Wilborn, was initially charged with assaulting a child with enough force likely to cause death. The penalty for fatal child abuse is the same as the penalty for murder: 25 years to life. A murder charge has since been added to the felony counts against Wilborn.
Wilborn is currently in custody in the Orange County Jail.
She entered a not guilty plea to all charges on April 26, 2011.
Latest: Her trial is scheduled to continue on Monday, June 4.
Seal Beach Assault WITH a SWORD
College Park East resident Andrew Baoan Nguyen—also known as Nguyenphuc—was arrested April 16 for threatening his mother with a 5-foot samurai sword.
He was arrested that night for possession of cocaine and being under the influence of cocaine in addition to assault with a deadly weapon and making criminal threats.
The cocaine possession charge was dismissed on May 3.
Latest: A trial scheduling conference has been set for Thursday, June 7.
Rossmoor home invasion robbery
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, an elderly Rossmoor resident used her Life Alert system to call for help. According to the Sheriff’s Department Web site, she said she had been robbed and was tied up in her home on Weatherby Road. Authorities say Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies found her tied to a chair.
The Sheriff’s Department investigators obtained descriptions of two suspects: a white man with a gun and a man she described as Hispanic. The second suspect wore black gloves with snowflakes on them.
They left the scene in a white Mazda pick up truck.
Tyler James Compton, 23, was arrested the next day, Thursday, Dec. 8, according to the Sheriff’s Department Web site.
Compton is being held on $210,000 bail, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Web site.
The latest: Compton’s trial is scheduled to start on Thursday, June 7.
The other suspect in the case remains at large.
Seal Beach sexual assaults
A masseur who used to work in Seal Beach was charged last year with three counts of assault with intent to commit specified sex offenses.
Seal Beach Police Sgt. Steve Bowles described the incidents as “a series of inappropriate and unwanted physical contacts” between Jason Michael Elliot, 28, and the three women clients.
Bowles confirmed that all three incidents apparently took place at Massage Envy.
The company issued a statement that said out the accused passed a Seal Beach Police background check prior to being hired. He was dismissed when the business learned about the accusations against him.
The incidents reportedly took place in 2009.
Elliot is currently out on $100,000 bail posted by Viking Bail Bonds.
The latest: A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for Friday, June 8.
Seal Beach real Estate Fraud
John Wesley Martynec, 36, of Long Beach, was convicted Friday, March 16, of stealing $302,000 from investors by fraudulently promising to buy and re-sell foreclosed homes for a profit.
Martynec pleaded guilty to two felony counts of grand theft, one felony count of untrue statements in connection with a purchase or sale of securities and the use of a scheme to defraud, one felony count of financial exploitation of an elder, and a sentencing enhancement for property loss exceeding $200,000.
Martynec, 36, of Long Beach, was originally charged with 33 felony counts, including eight counts of grand theft.
Martynec faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison.
According to the DA’s Office, Martynec took money from investors to buy and sell foreclosed houses, but he did not actually purchase any property.
Latest: Martynec’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Friday, June 8.
Leisure World rape
On July 6 or July 7, 2010, a 46-year-old woman took a cab from Sunset Beach to an apartment in Seal Beach’s Leisure World. According to the Seal Beach Police Department, she awoke the next morning with no recollection of the previous night.
On Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010, Seal Beach officers arrested Orange County cab driver Orlando Bruce Bosley, 57.
Bosley has been charged with one count of rape by duress or menace, one count of rape by use of drugs and one count of rape of an unconscious person.
He is currently out on $100,000 bond.
Latest: Bosley’s preliminary hearing is set to continue on Wednesday, June 13.
Series of Bank robberies
Three men have been charged with a series of Orange County bank robberies, including a U.S. Bank in Seal Beach. The defendants are Paul Acosta, Andres Soto and Richard Valdez.
Acosta has been charged with eight counts of second-degree robbery and four counts of second-degree burglary.
Soto has been charged with 10 counts of second-degree robbery and seven counts of second-degree burglary.
Valdez has been charged with two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of second-degree burglary.
All three defendants are in custody in the Orange County Jail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 27, but that hearing was cancelled.
The latest: The preliminary hearings continue for all three defendants on July 18.
Seal Beach nursing home murder
Roy Charles Laird, 88, has been charged with one count of murder and with one enhancement of personally discharging a firearm, resulting in the death of his 86-year-old wife.
That means Laird could be sentenced to 50 years to life, meaning the 88-year-old man would have to wait 50 years to be eligible for parole.
The shooting occurred on Sunday, Nov. 21, in the victim’s apartment in the Country Villa Healthcare Center just outside of Leisure World. The DA’s Office reported that the victim was in late-stage dementia.
According to press reports, Laird was released and placed in a nursing home.
According to the Orange County Superior Court Web site occourts.org, Laird is out on a conditional release. No bail has been posted.
Latest: A pre-trial hearing in the case has been scheduled for Nov. 16.
Los Alamitos road rage
Los Alamitos Police arrested Robert Barnhart, 52, of Bellflower in November as a result of a road rage incident. Barnhart is accused of following another driver in his car and striking that car with his following a collision.
The Orange County DA’s Office has charged him with 11 felony counts, including nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of making criminal threats.
There is no evidence that Barnhart was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time.
Barnhart is currently out on $150,000 bond, according to the Orange County Superior Court Web site.
The latest: Trial began on Thursday, May 24. The trial is scheduled to continue on July 17.
Los Alamitos JFTB murder
A Costa Mesa man was murdered at the theater at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos on Friday, May 21, 2010. 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” that make the accused eligible for the death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Wozniak remains in custody.
Latest: A trial setting conference was heard on Friday, May 15. However, no trial date has been set.
A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 14.
Salon Meritage case
Scott Evans Dekraai has been charged with eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the Oct. 12, 2011 Seal Beach shootings at the Salon Meritage beauty shop. He was reportedly involved in a bitter custody dispute over his 8-year-old son with his ex-wife, who was one of the victims. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty. Dekraai has entered a plea of not guilty. So far, he has not entered an insanity defense.
Dekraai is being represented by the Orange County Public Defender’s Office. He is in custody in the Orange County Jail.
The latest: The trial has been scheduled for Oct. 15.
Crime Log Compiled
by Charles M. Kelly
IN SEAL?BEACH
Monday, May 14
Municipal Code Violation—11 a.m.—Ocean Avenue—A volunteer at the location tried to stop an unspecified number of individuals from taking their dog on the Seal Beach Pier. They took their dog on the pier anyway. The dog relieved itself on the pier. Police unit 107 contacted the dog owners and they left the pier.
Suspicious Person—3:55 p.m.—Island View Drive—The caller said two individuals came to his home and asked to come in so they could look at his TV. When the caller asked who they worked for, one of the two individuals asked if the caller didn’t see his hat. Police unit 107 determined they were representatives for FIOS. They were warned about their behavior and left the area.
Tuesday, May 15
Suspicious Person—1:01 a.m.—12th Street—Two individuals came to the caller’s door and asked to go through the caller’s backyard into the alley. One of the men appeared to have been injured in a fight. Both suspects were white men in their 20s with shaved heads.
Burglary Report—4:03 p.m.—14th Street—The crime apparently occurred between 4 a.m. and 5 p.m., Saturday, May 12. Point of entry: a broken garage door lock. Loss: a silver racing bicycle. No suspect information.
Wednesday, May 16
Disturbance, Noise—2:13 a.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller complained about construction noise at the end of Adolfo Lopez. The caller requested a call back in the morning. However, it turned out that the construction crew was working on a drainage ditch and had a permit. The unit was cancelled prior to dispatch.
Property Destruction—2:54 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller was inspecting the contents of a safety deposit box when she found a revolver and three knives. Report taken.
Thursday, May 17
Grand Theft Report—8:09 a.m.—Central Avenue—The crime apparently occurred overnight. Loss: tools valued at $1,500 were taken from a locked tool shed. The thief (or thieves) apparently took the lock while they were at it.
Illegal Peddlers—6:30 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said two individuals, a man and a woman, were soliciting for money outside of the Ralph’s store. The caller said they had been advised to stop several times that week and they kept coming back. Police unit 206 arrested one individual for panhandling and released her in the field.
Friday, May 18
Petty Theft Report—4:40 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said her daughter left her iPhone on the counter at the location. She went back within five minutes and the iPhone was no longer there. Report taken.
Saturday, May 19
Traffic Collision Without Injury—9:50 a.m.—Seal Way—The caller’s vehicle was parked. Unfortunately, her vehicle rolled out of the spot and hit another vehicle. The caller did not know who owned the second vehicle. Names were exchanged. A business card was left on the second vehicle. Assisted.
Welfare Check—1:11 p.m.—Montecito Road—The caller said there was a minor alone at the pool who appeared to be 16 years old. The caller did not feel he should be alone. The call was cancelled before a unit could be dispatched after the caller contacted neighbors who apparently convinced the caller that the boy at the pool did not need police assistance.
Sunday, May 20
Trashdigger—8:39 a.m.—Fourth Street—The caller said a man was digging through a trash can in the alley between Third Street and Fourth Street. Police unit 107 contacted a man who met the suspect’s description and advised him to stop digging through trash. The man told the officer he would comply.
IN Leisure World
Tuesday, May 15
Police Information—7:40 p.m.—Sunningdale Road, Mutual 14—Someone called a Leisure World woman and told her that she had a lot of money in an account. The suspect tried to get her personal information. The suspect also tried to set up a meeting with the Leisure World resident at a bank. She told police she did not intend to meet the suspect and would report the incident to the bank on Wednesday, May 16. The resident did not desire a report at that time. Log entry.
IN ROSSMOOR
Tuesday, May 22
Welfare Check—3:29 p.m.—Christy Lane.
Wednesday, May 23
Pedestrian Check—12:20 a.m.—Kensington Road and Piedmont Avenue—An Orange County Sheriff’s Department unit gave a man a ride.
Vandalism Report—10:51 a.m.—Loch Lomond Road.
Thursday, May 24
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—12:16 p.m.—Bostonian Drive.
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—7:15 p.m.—Donnie Ann Road.
Friday, May 25
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—7:10 p.m.—Mainway Drive and Foster Road.
Fraud Report—7:23 p.m.—Druid Lane.
