San Diego Criminal Attorneys Blog

Sketch of Teen Murder Victim Helps Portland Police ID San Diego Girl

Published on: October 30, 2012 | by Leslie Legal Group

The body of a teenage slaying victim found four months ago in an Oregon Park has been identified as a runaway girl from San Diego. On June 26th, police found the murder victim’s unidentified body in Washington Park, Portland. It appeared to them the teen had recently been living on the street and they believed she wasn’t from the area. To help determine the girl’s identity, Portland investigators distributed a sketch of her face to law enforcement agencies across the nation.

After viewing the composite sketch, a detective with Clark County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit, recalled a missing person bulletin that went out during the time of girl’s disappearance. The Washington detective notified the Portland police of his discovery and assisted them in connecting the two cases.

Dental records soon confirmed that the missing girl was 15-year-old Mayra Sophia Cruz Rodriguez, a runaway teen from San Diego. According to Homicide detectives, Mayra was first reported missing June 15 while she was visiting relatives in Vancouver, Washington. She was also reported missing as a runaway in San Diego County.

“Keep the Party Off the Road” and Avoid Becoming Another DUI Statistic

Published on: October 25, 2012 | by Leslie Legal Group

San Diego County law enforcement has a message for you ‐‐‐ “keep the party off the road.” Enjoy the festivities, dressing in costume, and celebrating with friends, but make plans ahead for having a safe Halloween ~ and beware of becoming another DUI statistic.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, who coordinates the county’s AVOID the 15 anti‐DUI task force, is increasing their patrols to specifically look for drunk drivers on our roadways. The stepped up enforcement begins today, Thursday, October 25 through Sunday, November 4.

“Far too many people spend hours and hours preparing their Halloween costumes and party plans,” said San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore. “But too often impaired drivers never plan ahead for their designated driver and end up making the roads scarier than a horror show.”

Mom Convicted of San Diego DUI Crash that Took the Lives of Three

Published on: October 24, 2012 | by Leslie Legal Group

Just after midnight on August 13th, 2010, another horrible DUI tragedy took the lives of three, and forever changed the life of a San Marcos mom. Over two years ago, Debbie Sumi, a mother of four, made the unfortunate life altering decision to get behind the wheel while intoxicated. Earlier that evening, she was celebrating the joy of her fiance’s proposal and by morning, because of her reckless decision, her life took an unthinkable turn for the worse.

On Monday, 36 year old Sumi was convicted of three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. According to prosecutors, Sumi was drunk driving when her car crashed on westbound State Route 78 near Sycamore Avenue.

According to CHP, the devastating chain of events that lead to this terrible tragedy began when the driver of a westbound 2008 Nissan Altima pulled over to the side of highway 78 because one of her passengers was feeling ill. After parking on the shoulder, three of the passengers got out of the car. Sadly, it wasn’t long before Debbie Sumi’s 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee veered off the highway and slammed into the Altima and two young women standing right next to it.

Sailor Shot By Police Pleads “Not Guilty” From Hospital Bed

Published on: October 18, 2012 | by Leslie Legal Group

A navy sailor, who was shot by a San Diego police officer in his apartment complex near Horton Plaza, was arraigned from his hospital bed on Wednesday. With his criminal defense attorney by his bedside, 24-year-old Esteban Nandin plead “not guilty” to one count of exhibiting a firearm to a police officer. He was ordered to remain held on $100,000 bail.

According to police, Nandin was armed and wearing a tactical vest, along with a gas mask, when he raised his military-style-assault- rifle at one of their own. The police shooting incident occurred around 3:00 a.m. on Sunday in the stairwell area of the Market Street Square Apartments. Police stated they were responding to reports from neighbors who witnessed seeing a man wearing body armor and carrying guns.

During their search for the suspect, Officer Charles Marciniak, a canine handler, located Nandin after opening a door to a stairwell landing. The two were face to face when Nandin raised his rifle at Officer Marciniak stated police investigators. The officer fired, hitting Nandin in the arm and sending shrapnel into his upper torso. Nandin retreated back into the stairwell and did not surrender for almost one hour. He emerged from the building unarmed with bleeding wounds to his arm and chest.

Archbishop’s San Diego DUI Charges Reduced to Reckless Driving

Published on: October 6, 2012 | by Leslie Legal Group

The new archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone, 56, was arrested on suspicion of DUI after being stopped at a sobriety checkpoint near San Diego State University. The archbishop is well known in San Francisco for his views opposing same-sex marriage. In fact, he supported and worked for the passage pf Prop. 8 – which banned same-sex marriage.

According to U-T Sn Diego, Archbishop Cordileone was taken into custody at 12:26 a.m. on August 25 and he was booked into the county jail on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. Ten other individuals were also arrested at the checkpoint, San Diego police said. Cordileone, a San Diego native, stated he was driving his mother home from a dinner at some friends’ house when he was stopped at the checkpoint. He said he was found to be over California’s legal limit of 0.08 percent. Cordileone was released on bail the morning following his arrest. He apologized for his actions in the following statement:

“I apologize for my error in judgment and feel shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself,” he said. “I will repay my debt to society and I ask forgiveness from my family and my friends and co-workers at the Diocese of Oakland and the Archdiocese of San Francisco. I pray that God, in His inscrutable wisdom, will bring some good out of this.”

Escondido Police Begin Cracking Down to Those Involved with Juggalos

Published on: March 4, 2012 | by Leslie Legal Group

Escondido Police Department has begun cracking down on people known as Juggalos, a name for hard core followers of the Insane Clown Posse (a band). There are recent reports, according to Escondido Police, that members of this group are committing violent gang crimes throughout Escondido, including cornering kids and teens in a local park and ordering them to hand over their cash and other valuables. Along with alleged assault and robbery, they as well with held a woman at knife point and proceeded to rob her. A known meeting location of Insane Clown Posse members at Grape Day Park is now being frequently patrolled by Escondido Police to control and catch the criminals in this group.

Many members of the group are upset with how some of the members are acting, stating, they are not a gang but a nonviolent “family”. This remains true with statistics gathered from members of the group, only a few of the hundreds have been involved in any criminal activity. While this isn’t a ‘gang’, members have special signs and code words that they use to communicate with each other which could appear to be gang signs to those who are unfamiliar with them. Another reason why the Escondido gang detectives are cracking down is due to recent confrontation between Juggalos and known Latino gangs in the area. While there has been no major incidents involving them, there have been several fights leaving some members bruised and scratched.

Full Article can be found:

49er’s Star Aldon Smith arrested for DUI in Miami Beach, Florida.

Published on: February 3, 2012 | by Leslie Legal Group

Professional football player Aldon Smith of the San Fransisco 49er’s was arrested on January 28th for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. The police report states that Smith was spotted swerving on the MacArthur Causeway in Miami Beach, Florida and was pulled over a little after 4:30 am. After failing a field sobriety test that checked his blood alcohol level (BAC), Smith was taken to a correctional facility where he spent the next 3 1/2 hours following his arrest. Information on whether the athlete was represented by an attorney during this time has not been released. Authorities released Smith once he posted the 1,000 bond for bail.

Aldon Smith was drafted to the 49er’s in 2011 as the seventh overall draft pick. With 14 quarterback sacks in his first year in the NFL, Smith not only set a franchise record for a rookie linebacker but also ranked first among all NFL rookies in sacks. Unfortunately, this success is being followed by a DUI arrest and much negative attention as Smith faces the heat of unwanted media pressure and a knock to his star reputation. Also something to consider is how this might affect prospective endorsement deals and/or his salary for the coming NFL season.

In an attempt to put a handle on the situation, the 49er’s released a statement later on the day of Smith’s arrest stating, “We take these issues very seriously but will reserve further comment at this time. The 49er’s will continue to gather facts and monitor the developments closely.” 49er’s head coach Jim Harbaugh was aware and informed of the arrest as well. After dealing with his own DUI in 2005, I am sure Coach Harbaugh will be having a talk with his young star.

At the end of the day, people make mistakes and this goes to show that even some of the most idolized and successful of them are capable of a mistake now and then. All we can hope is that Smith takes this as a learning experience to grow from and doesn’t make the same mistake again! At this time, Smith’s next move is to hire an attorney to represent him against DUI court penalties.

Sources:

Aldon Smith DUI Arrest: 49er’s Linebacker Seen Swerving on Miami Street, ninersnation.com, Jan. 30, 2012
Aldon Smith Faces DUI Charge In Miami Beach, stltoday.com, Jan. 28, 2012

DUI arrests on the New Year decrease per CHP

Published on: January 3, 2012 | by Leslie Legal Group

Following New Year’s weekend, the California Highway Patrol released information concluding an increase in fatal traffic deaths and a decrease in DUI arrests in comparison to last year’s statistics. The report was recorded between the time of 6 pm Friday evening to Sunday at 11:59 pm, containing a total of 5 traffic deaths and 58 DUI arrests, differing from 1 death and 60 arrests last year.

Over the course of 2011, the CHP logged 22 traffic deaths statewide which is down from 25 the previous year. In 10 of these instances, the CHP reported those who were killed failed to wear seat belts while driving. In contrast to New Year’s stats, the total number of DUI arrests for the year have increased from 961 last year to 1,181 people.

According to data from the North County area, the majority of drunk driving arrests on New Year’s eve and New Year’s day occurred in Oceanside and Encinitas, where Oceanside police officers arrested a total of 6 drivers, and in Encinitas a total of 5. Other cities with violations include San Marcos with 3 arrests, Carlsbad with 1 arrest, and a total of 2 arrests in both Vista and Escondido.

Del Mar Patrols Net DUI Arrests and TrafficCitations

Published on: September 5, 2011 | by Leslie Legal Group

Sunday, August 28th, was a successful DUI day for San Diego Police Agencies. Officers from San Diego, Coronado, Oceanside, and Chula Vista police departments assisted by the Sheriffs Department patrolled several areas surrounding the Del Mar race grounds. The main goal for patrolling Del Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas was to find and remove drunk (DUI) drivers from the road. The operations was a success with the arrest of 11 people for suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The people arrested will now face both a court and DMV (department of motor vehicles) to further fight or accept charges they have been accused of.

Not only did the day result in DUI arrests of many people, but 43 other traffic citations were issued to drivers. These citations can be anything from, running a red light, rolling a stop sign, speeding, or preforming any other illegal driving maneuvers. In total the combined power of all police departments and agencies were able to stop 298 people, and conducted an amazing amount of field sobriety tests. Surprisingly out of the 67 field sobriety tests only 11 drivers were booked for driving while under the influence.

Article can be found:

Escondido Police Arrest 12 Minors in Curfew Sweep

Published on: August 9, 2011 | by Leslie Legal Group

Escondido Police have been making a constant effort to enforce their new curfew enforcement operations since early March of this year. On Friday, August 5th, twelve juveniles were arrested for being out past curfew. Along with these curfew violation arrests, one fourteen year old boy was arrested for possession of cocaine; and a seventeen year old boy was caught in the company of a 18 year old, an adult, who was in possession of marijuana.

This was the seventh sweep by Escondido Police since the launch of the operation. Seven sweeps may seem like a small number but the sweeps have resulted in the arrest of 125 minors violating curfew or in some cases in possession of drugs, or other crime related activities. When Police arrest minors they go through a similar process as adult arrestees. They are taken to the Police Department for processing and then are released to their parents or a legal guardian and in some cases taken to the juvenile jail facility . Escondido Police Department stated that they will continue to hold frequent curfew sweeps during the summer months. The curfew times are from 11p.m. to 5a.m. anyone under the age of 18 who is outside without a parent could be arrested for violating curfew.

I’m thinking back to when I was 15, 16 and 17 during Summer vacation. Was I out with friends past 11:00p.m. playing flash light tag, kick the can, hanging out with girls, or attending High School parties? Absolutely!! I know each contact or arrest should be looked at on a case by case basis but I wonder how much money from imposed fines these arrests makes for the City of Escondido?