Santa Cruz Criminal Law Blog

Police continue to investigate a burglary at the home of the late former San Diego Charger Junior Seau. Officials believe the Southern California burglary was accomplished with the use of a doggy door in the garage at the former football star's home. Law enforcement still does not know how the alleged burglar was able to crawl through the doggy door and steal a bicycle without anyone noticing.

In light of the football star's recent and tragic death, neighbors are outraged that the burglary occurred. Law enforcement says that someone apparently rummaged through cabinets inside the garage before taking a bicycle valued at around $500. The theft is believed to have occurred May 7.

Firefighters in Richmond, California, say that they found a large marijuana growing operation inside a warehouse that caught on fire early Wednesday morning. The fire department responded to a call reporting an electrical fire in the structure, and the crew found what they claim is a marijuana cultivation operation as they worked to control the blaze. The fire department called in law enforcement to investigate.

Police claim that the woman who reported the fire may have been a "lookout" for the marijuana cultivation site. Authorities have made no arrests, but police say that the woman has been questioned. Details of what authorities may have found inside the warehouse remain sketchy. Law enforcement officials say that they are working on obtaining a search warrant for the location.

A 33-year-old San Jose man accused of masterminding an alleged kidnapping reportedly brought his criminal defense before a jury. Ultimately, the jury returned a guilty verdict to the charges. The accused, known as "Capone," was sentenced last Friday to a California three-strikes sentence of 223 years to life in prison, with an additional 112 years tacked on in enhancements.

The man was not accused of being present during the alleged kidnapping event. Authorities had claimed that the man was the leader of a Nuestra Familia street gang regiment. Prosecutors argued that the man had ordered others to make an example of a person who allegedly had failed to pay for drugs that had been advanced to him.

Law enforcement officials in Southern California have arrested three men on suspicion of conspiracy and burglary charges on allegations involving Craigslist, Facebook and thefts of high-end bicycles. Sheriff's deputies claim that the three men sat on the Internet, perusing photographs online and ads on Craigslist to target high-end bicycles that the men later stole from locations in six Southern California counties.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's department says that the trio may face dozens of counts of conspiracy and California burglary charges in relation to an investigation conducted by the Sheriff's Department's Major Crimes Bureau.

This year, Cinco de Mayo falls on a weekend. Law enforcement agencies all across the state are planning a variety of DUI enforcement efforts to mark the holiday. DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols are common events in California, regardless of whether or not a holiday is involved. But Californians can usually expect local law enforcement agencies and the California Highway Patrol to step-up DUI enforcement details when a recognizable holiday approaches.

Police agencies often use a variety of tactics during stepped-up enforcement operation surrounding a holiday weekend. Checkpoints and saturation patrols may not be the only strategies that police may seek to employ to enforce California DUI laws. A story from the Bay Area highlights the type of unique strategies an agency may use in an effort to find drunk drivers.

Most, if not all, drivers know that California law prohibits driving under the influence. California law, like every state in the union presumes impairment based upon a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent. Many drivers, however, are surprised to hear when a chemical test returns a result of presumed impairment after a DUI arrest.

A recent story in the news that highlights the situation involves a Southern California Assembly member who was arrested in late March on DUI charges. The assemblyman, who has the right to remain silent under the law, reportedly told reporters after this arrest that he was not drunk the night of his arrest.

He reportedly said that he had some wine with dinner, but was not drunk. He also reportedly told the news media that law enforcement lacked probable cause to conduct a traffic stop.

California's laws prohibiting driving under the influence involve more than restrictions against impairment from alcohol. Drugged driving, or prescription medication DUI offenses, can haunt medical patients who may be hauled into court on allegations of driving under the influence. Santa Cruz DUI defense lawyers know that California treats any DUI charge harshly.

A recent California case involves allegations of a so-called "Whip-it" canister containing nitrous oxide. A 22-year-old Folsom man is accused of serious DUI-related charges after a tragic double-fatal car accident in January. The man is facing two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter.

Police apparently approached two people early Saturday morning at an undisclosed business in Napa. Law enforcement believed the two were under the influence of drugs and placed the two people under arrest, according to the Vallejo Times-Herald.

Somehow, Napa police learned that one of the arrestees has an 8-year-old child, and law enforcement says that they became concerned about the child's whereabouts. An investigation into the child's whereabouts may eventually lead to serious charges for alleged drug crimes.

Napa Police claim that they received "misleading and conflicting information" about where the 8-year-old might be located. Authorities descended on the mother's home after the 2:00 a.m. arrest Sunday and claim to have entered the woman's apartment, possibly without a warrant based upon information reported in the media, to search for the child. Authorities claim that they found the child inside the home.

California lawmakers are considering a proposed bill that would make certain possessory drug offenses a misdemeanor instead of a felony level crime in the state. The bill was debated this week by the Senate Public Safety Committee, which voted 4-2 in favor of the measure. The bill proposes to reduce personal drug possession crimes involving heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine from felony offenses to misdemeanor offenses.

Four of the panel members voted to approve the bill, which would still need approval from the full California Senate and the State Assembly before it would be put before the governor for his signature.

The bill has the support of a District Attorney from San Francisco, who says that imposing long prison sentences for Californians convicted for personal drug possession offenses creates a "vicious cycle that does further public safety." However, the California District Attorneys Association does not share that view, as the association opposes the bill.