Latest safety updates near Ladera Ranch
CAL FIRE2+ weeks agoAgencyOn March 31, 2024, and April 8, 2024, the California State University, San Jose (SJSU) Police and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) - Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) Arson and Bomb Unit responded to fires in the Martin Luther King Jr. Library on the SJSU campus. The investigation revealed the fire causes were arson, on State of California property, and occupied by students at the time of the arson fires. The joint law enforcement investigation was a collaboration between SJSU Police and the CAL FIRE – OSFM Arson and Bomb Unit. All personnel involved worked tirelessly to canvass the area, review security camera footage, cultivate leads, and ultimately identify the suspect. The suspect was identified as SJSU sophom*ore student Amogh Upadhya. Amogh Upadhya was arrested and charged with four (4) counts of Arson and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail. Upadhya is being held on $400,000.00 bail until a court hearing on April 12, 2024. The CAL FIRE – OSFM Arson and Bomb Unit is dedicated to helping agencies all over California no matter the size of the department, location, or the time of day or night. Together we can make California safer! Contact the Arson and Bomb Unit at (213) 302-5855 or arsonbomb@fire.ca.gov.194Like10
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE2+ weeks agoAgencyAn important message from Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer 30-year-old Fontana Man Charged with Murder, DUI for Hitting, Killing 14-year-old Girl who was Walking Across Street in Newport Beach Twice previously convicted DUI driver was driving with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit with his 8-year-old daughter in the car in the Memorial Day weekend collision. Full Press Release: https://bit.ly/3V0tAHa SANTA ANA, Calif. – A 30-year-old twice previously convicted drunk driver has been charged with murder for driving under the influence and hitting and killing a 14-year-old girl walking across the street in Newport Beach while spending a day at the beach Memorial Day weekend. The driver had his 8-year-old daughter in the car when he hit and killed the teenage girl and running over a 13-year-old girl’s foot while driving with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit. Joseph Alcazar, 30, of Fontana, was charged with one felony count of murder, one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing great bodily injury with two previous prior convictions, one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol with a BAC of .08 or higher with two previous prior convictions, and one misdemeanor count of willful endangerment of a child. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life plus six years if convicted on all counts. Alcazar is scheduled to be arraigned in CJ 1 this afternoon. On Saturday, May 25, at approximately, 6:49 p.m., 14-year-old Rosenda Elizabeth Smiley, of Rialto, was crossing E. Balboa Boulevard west of Palm Street with two other people against the don’t walk sign. A driver stopped to let the group of pedestrians, including Smiley, cross the street, but another driver, later identified as Alcazar, is accused of going around the stopped car and hitting Smiley, who died at the scene of the collision, and running over the foot of a 13-year-old girl. Alcazar is accused of stopping a short time later after hitting Smiley. His 8-year-old daughter and another man were inside the vehicle at the time of the deadly collision. Alcazar was arrested on suspicion of homicide and cruelty to a child. Alcazar has two previous out-of-county driving under the influence convictions, including one related to a single vehicle collision which left him seriously injured. Drivers convicted of driving under the influence in California are required to be given what is known as a Watson advisem*nt that informs them that if they kill someone while driving under the influence they can be charged with murder. “A 14-year-old girl living the California dream enjoying a day of sun and sand at the beach with friends to kick off the beginning of summer is dead because of the selfish decision of a stranger,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “A repeat drunk driver not only took the life of a little girl, but he also endangered the life of his own daughter by getting behind the wheel after drinking and traumatized her and the other young girls who witnessed him hitting and killing a teenager. Instead of a summer of memories with their daughter, the family of Rosenda Smiley is now forced to live with the harsh reality that there will be no more memories to make of California sunshine and sandy days at the beach and that the only memories they will ever have were what could fit into the short fourteen years of her young life.” Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Orue of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.348Like
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICEa week agoAgencyAn Important Message from District Attorney Todd Spitzer Fullerton Man Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter for Hitting and Killing Motorcyclist While Running a Red Light at More than 100 Miles Per Hour with a Blood Alcohol Content of Nearly Three Times Legal Limit Full Press Release: https://bit.ly/45myu69 SANTA ANA, Calif. – A 44-year-old man has been charged with vehicular manslaughter for hitting and killing a motorcyclist while running a red light at more than 100 miles per hour with a blood alcohol level of nearly three times the legal limit. Francisco Garcia-Vargas, 44, of Fullerton, has been charged with one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and one felony count of driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher. Garcia-Vargas faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison if convicted on all counts. At about 9:45 p.m. on June 12, 2024, Alexander Marce, 28, was stopped on his Harley Davidson motorcycle at a red light at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Gilbert Street in Fullerton when Garcia-Vargas hit him from behind at more than 100 miles per hour. After knocking Marce off his motorcycle, Garcia-Vargas drove a few hundred yards with Marce’s motorcycle stuck underneath his BMW before finally coming to a stop. Marce died at the scene. People who witnessed the collision pulled Garcia-Vargas from his vehicle and held him until police arrived. Garcia-Vargas is scheduled to be arraigned today in CJ1. Deputy District Attorney Devin Campbell of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.98Like
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