Recent Posts in Orange County Category

A man accused of stealing wallets from purses of several customers at Walmart has been sentenced to nearly seven years in a California state prison. Jose Bernardino Vargas, of Placentia, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of second-degree burglary. Three counts, including felony receiving stolen property, misdemeanor falsely representing himself to an officer and misdemeanor petty theft, were dismissed. He will be deported upon completing his sentence.

Bernardino Vargas was arrested at the Walmart at 2595 E. Imperial Highway after store security recognized him as the man suspected in carrying out several previous thefts. He followed potential victims and waited for them to turn away from their carts, grabbed their wallets from their purses and quickly left the area. In one case, he grabbed a wallet from a purse left inside a vehicle in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Bernardino Vargas was caught on store surveillance video, and when he returned to the store, employees notified Brea police. Police watched as he stole a wallet from another shopper's purse and was taken into custody. Along with the stolen wallet, police also discovered gift cards taken during the previous thefts in his car. Police said he admitted to the thefts during an interview. He also had an outstanding warrant for burglary and possession of stolen property.

With the many years we have been successfully representing our clients against burglary and other related theft charges, criminal defense attorneys  Donald Marks and  Anthony Brooklier are committed to providing you with the strongest defense to fight your charges. Having handled large and complex cases in all Los Angeles County courts, we are well-versed in effectively defending you for your theft crime charges, from initial investigation all the way through the court room. We understand the seriousness of these charges and the consequences they can have on your life.  Contact a  Los Angeles burglary criminal defense lawyer at our firm to find out how we can help you.

In Santa Ana, California, a Lake Forest man goes on trial on multiple felony charges of raping five women and sexually assaulting a sixth. The charges against Sekayi Rudo White, could result in a sentence of 119 years to life in prison if he is convicted of all counts. He is accused of 14 felony counts involving six women he met in bars, had been dating, or was acquainted with during a five-year span.

Prosecutors say that three of the victims initially were too frightened to report the sexual attacks, but called police after they read news accounts of his arrest in connection with the other three women. And one of the assaults took place after he was released on $250,000 bail. He has been in custody without bail since that incident in Lake Forest on March 31, 2007.

White is accused of forcible rape, assault with intent to commit rape, sexual battery, dissuading a witness and residential burglary, plus sentencing enhancements for committing sex crimes against multiple victims, using a deadly weapon, and committing crimes while out on bail. The six incidents according to prosecutors:

On March 31, 2007, a 28-year-old woman was drinking with a friend at Patsy's Irish Pub in Lake Forest. Prosecutors say he covertly followed the victim home, knocked on her door, and was allowed inside after she recognized him. He raped her after she passed out.

On Feb. 21, 2007, he broke into the home of a 22-year-old woman he had been dating, pushed her to the ground, and stepped on her chest as he removed her clothes. He is accused of forcibly raping the victim as he held a large hunting knife to her neck.

One night in January 2007, a woman renting a room from the victim in the Feb. 21 incident was attacked in her bedroom after he broke the lock on her door. He is accused of threatening to kill her if she reported the rape.

On Aug. 13, 2006, White met a 19-year-old woman at Atlanta Lounge in Huntington Beach, California. He offered to give the drunken victim a ride home, but instead drove her to his apartment and raped her.

On Dec. 23, 2005 White met a 44-year-old woman at the Fox Sports Grill at the Irvine Spectrum and offered to give her a ride home because she had been drinking. After arriving at her Newport Beach apartment, he asked to use the bathroom. Prosecutors say he ran out of the bathroom naked, tried to rape the woman while threatening to kill her if she told anyone, but she screamed anyway and he fled the scene.

In September 2002, White met a 22-year-old woman in driving school and asked her out for a date. He is accused of taking her to a hotel in Santa Ana and forcibly raping her while she was temporarily unconscious. After the attack, he is accused of harassing the woman, who did not initially report the incident,  by showing up at her work and home.

If you have been charged with a rape or any type of sex crime, you need the skilled defense services of a Los Angeles rape criminal defense attorney who has the experience and knowledge of this area of the law. At Marks & Brooklier, attorneys Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier are qualified Los Angeles sex crimes lawyers who will aggressively defend you. Our skilled lawyers have handled high profile cases involving rape with great success and can do the same for you. Contact us for a free consultation, 24/7, strictly confidential.

An Anaheim, California man has been arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine in the living room of his 87-year-old bedridden aunt. The methamphetamine lab was discovered by police while conducting a welfare check on the elderly woman after her granddaughter to say she had not heard from her grandmother in three months, according to a statement by the Orange County district attorney's office.

Police arrested Thomas George Hogue, the caretaker of his aunt, who was confined to her bed in another room. He is being charged with one felony count each of manufacturing methamphetamine and elder and dependent adult abuse. If convicted, he faces a maximum of eight years in state prison.

A methamphetamine manufacturing conviction can be produce severe consequences. Therefore, it is critical that you discuss your case with an aggressive Los Angeles methamphetamine manufacturing criminal defense lawyer immediately. If you are facing any type of drug crime, you will need an experiences lawyer to take immediate action and to represent you at a bail hearing. Criminal defense lawyers Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier have been able to successfully challenge evidence obtained improperly and have methamphetamine manufacturing criminal charges reduced, or even dismissed. When you retain Marks & Brooklier as your criminal defense lawyers, you can be assured you will have the best legal counsel representing you. Contact our office today for your free consultation.

In Tustin, Californa, in Orange County, a law office manager has been charged with embezzling more than $480,000, after prosecutors allege she used the money for her own personal pleasure. Donna Joy Henderson, has been arrested for 14 felony counts of falsifying records and a felony count of grand theft by embezzlement by the Orange County District Attorney's Office. 

Prosecutors say between January 2003 and September 2009, she was responsible for all financial accounts for Rinos & Martin, LLP. She wrote 122 company checks that she deposited into her own personal bank account. Prosecutors say she used the embezzled funds to maintain a "lavish lifestyle," purchasing such things as timeshare properties, cruises, jewelry and collectibles from the Home Shopping Network, home improvements, an indoor sauna, and visits to pampered pet day spas and gambling.

To conceal her theft activity, prosecutors say she falsified the firm's financial records, recording the stolen checks as "void" and altering monthly statements from the bank. Tustin police detectives began investigating the reported theft after a new accountant hired by the firm noticed that one of the checks had been marked "void" and made payable to herself. If convicted, Henderson faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in a California state prison.

Regardless of what type of theft charges you may be facing, Los Angeles grand theft criminal defense lawyers at Marks & Brooklier are confident they can successfully assist you with your defense. Attorneys Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier will aggressively approach your criminal case with the intention of either having your charges lessened or getting them dismissed altogether.

At Marks and Brooklier, we are successful Los Angeles embezzlement criminal defense attorneys who have been defending clinets since 1976. We also represent clients in all types of theft crimes including burglary, commercial burglary, conspiracy, counterfeiting, grand theft auto, petty theft, petty theft with prior, residential burglary, shoplifting, and white collar crimes. Call our office anytime, 24/7, to discuss your case with a skilled attorney who can help you.

The bodies of Phong Le, 30, his wife, Ngoc "Trish" Lam, 25, and their son Tommy, were found in separate bedrooms in their Garden Grove home. They had been bound, gagged and stabbed multiple times. The couple's infant daughter, dehydrated but alive , was found next to the body of her mother.

During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons argued that Le had borrowed $80,000 from Quan but never paid it back. That was the motivation for the murders, he said. Quan, who has two prior strike convictions for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in 1990, was sentenced by Orange County Superior Court Judge William R. Froeberg.

Police will conduct an intensive investigation following a murder. Therefore, if you are charged, you will need a skilled homicide attorney from Marks & Brooklier. Murder criminal defense lawyers Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier have been representing clients for murder charges for decades and have the resources and experience necessary to provide you with skilled criminal defense. It takes a dedicated legal team to fight a murder charge, and with our firm you can feel condifent that we will provide you with the highest quality criminal defense team possible. Our Los Angeles homicide and murder criminal defense lawyers are aggressive in a court room setting and look forward to assisting you with your case. Contact us for a free consultation, 24/7.

A Santa Ana man was charged with abducting and raping a 16-year-old girl as she was walking home from a fast-food restaurant. Police were led to Juan Humberto Avila, from DNA collected after he was convicted of a federal weapons charge in Ariznoa.

The girl was walking home after meeting friends at an In-and-Out Burger in Santa Ana about 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 21, 2008, when her attacker jumped on her and punched her, according to prosecutors. Avila allegedly dragged the girl across the street while threatening to stab her to death if she screamed. He allegedly forced her behind large storage containers at the rear of a parking lot, where he repeatedly raped and sodomized the teenager before forcing her to orally copulate him.

Avila stole the girl's bank card before fleeing. She ran home and reported the assault to the Santa Ana Police Department. Prosecutors said DNA was recovered from the girl during a medical rape examination, but the case remained cold until recently, when the recovered DNA was matched to Avila's.

Avila is charged with felony sexual penetration by a foreign object by force and two felony counts each of forcible rape, sodomy by force and forcible oral copulation. He is also accused of inflicting great bodily injury and kidnapping. Avila has a previous strike against him from a 1997 conviction for participating in a criminal street gang. He faces a maximum sentence of 355 years to life in state prison if convicted. Prosecutors planned to request that Avila be held on $2-million bail.

If you have been charged with a rape or kidnapping, you will need the services of a Los Angeles rape criminal defense lawyer who has the special knowledge of this area of the law. At Marks & Brooklier, attorneys Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier are qualified Los Angeles and Beverly Hills sex crimes lawyers to represent you. You will need the over 33 years of experience that our law firm can provide you with. Our legal team has handled high profile cases involving rape and kidnapping with great success and can do the same for you. Contact us for a free consultation, 24/7, strictly confidential.