Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man in Studio City foridentity theft after allegedly took a new Porsche from a local auto leasing company and apparently used the Underhill’s credit card to pay for it. Andrew Foley Parker III was found at his home along with some 6,000 blank credit cards, fake driver’s licenses and I.D. cards. The Sheriff’s department says the “potential” losses could be huge, but gives no facts to support that statement. Identity theft is a very popular crime these days. Identity theft occurs in a variety of ways from the simply theft of identifying information of …

Lamar Odom was arrested two days ago for DUI. It’s already old news so why am I writing about it now? The reason is because his arrest poses some interesting issues that frequently come up in DUI cases. First, misdemeanor DUI is charged under two different vehicle code sections in California: 23152 (a) and 23152 (b). The first is an allegation of driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two. The second count is an allegation of driving while one’s blood alcohol concentration is .08 or above, regardless of impairment and with no allegation of drugs. When …

A homeless man was arrested yesterday in Studio City after he stole a minivan that was left running in the area of Ventura Boulevard and Whitsett. Nobody seemed to care about the van being stolen. What got the community up in arms was the fact that the van had the Mateo family dog sleeping in the back. It was a hot day in the Valley and the owner said he had stopped to pick up his wife and child at a local store. Mateo left the dog in the car with the engine running and the air conditioning on. It …

Two men in a small boat loaded with bales of marijuana were busted off the coast of Zuma Beach yesterday. Los Angeles County lifeguards in the area notified the United States Coast Guard of the presence of the occupied “panga” style boat just off the popular Southern California Beach. The U. S. Coast Guard deployed helicopters and boats to intercept the boat which had broken down in the area of Malibu near the Ventura County Line. Authorities overtook the boat and arrested two men on board. 26 bales of marijuana were seized by law enforcement and the Los Angeles County …

Grammy winning singer and songwriter Miguel was arrested yesterday for DUI in Los Angeles, California. Miguel, whose full name is Miguel Pimentel, was pulled over by officers with Los Angeles Police Department’s West Traffic Division and later taken into custody in the early morning hours. The singer was said to have submitted to a breath test for alcohol and tested .10, just over the legal limit in California. Miguel is due in court in Los Angeles on September 9, 2013. Miguel, you, or your lawyer have just ten days from the date of the arrest to contact the California Department …

An exciting afternoon in Thousand Oaks, California ended in a car crash after four teenagers were caught trying to escape arrest for robbery. Two 16 year olds and two 15 year olds were arrested today after crashing in a parking lot near Hillcrest Drive and Marin Drive in Thousand Oaks. The four teens allegedly confronted two brothers on Thousand Oaks Boulevard and demanded the victims turn over their money and property. The brothers complied and the four teens left the area in a hurry. Police were called and a Ventura County Sheriff’s deputy located a suspect’s vehicle. A brief car chase led …

Topless Activist to Die in Jail? Not Likely. Phoenix Feeley is in jail in Monmouth County New Jersey for not paying a fine she was assessed back in 2008 after she was cited for going topless in a lakeshore area. Who is Phoenix Feeley you ask? And why is this lawyer in California blogging about her? Feeley is described in the media as a “topless activist”, although my career counselor never gave me that category as a potential career choice. Maybe she didn’t think I had the body for it. In any event, Phoenix refused to pay her fine and …

The San Francisco bicyclist traveling at least 30 mile per hour who failed to stop at an intersection and struck a pedestrian will be tried for felony manslaughter. The pedestrian, Sutchi Hui, a 71 year old man was walking across the street with his wife. He died in the hospital four days later as a result of his injuries. Prosecutors for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office decided to charge the case as a felony believing witness statements that the rider, Chris Bucchere had run two red lights and one stop sign prior to getting to the intersection. Bucchere told …

Ventura County Law Enforcement arrested three men from kern County after they were discovered tending to a 55,000 plant marijuana operation in the Los Padres national Forest located in norther Ventura County near the small town of Ojai. This was very near the site where a record setting bust took place last year. That grow was discovered by hikers while this was discovered by a night surveillance operation by the Ventura County Sheriff. Along with the three men, police found a handgun, growing supplies and about one pound of finished marijuana. One of the three men posted bail while the …

Every once in a while a story just catches my warped sense of humor, like when the Riverside County woman’s body was found in a suitcase. I was struck again today when I read about the woman in Orange County arrested for child cruelty after she allegedly left her 10 year old boys legs chained up when she went out of the house. Child cruelty or child endangerment are often charges that I see over or improperly used. Here, it seems right on target. Santa Ana police got a report from a neighbor that the boy was chained up inside …