California Criminal Attorney Blog

Susan Rachele, 39, of Fullerton plead guilty to 107 felony counts of forgery with sentencing enhancements and white collar crime enhancements for theft over $500,000. Rachele, a certified public accountant was sentenced to six years in state prison and ordered to pay more than $500,000 in restitution to Consolidated Design West, a box printing company.

Rachele worked as the controller for CDW and was responsible for maintaining and reconciling the finances and records. Between 2001 and 2007, Rachele wrote over 107 checks to herself from CDW accounts.

To cover the theft, Rachele manipulated the company’s financial records showing the checks made payable to vendors instead of herself.

In March 2007, the owner of CDW discovered the theft and forgery after receiving a call from a Wells Fargo Bank employee, who became suspicious after noticing several checks for large sums of money written to the defendant.

Santa Ana- Sunny Hills High School teacher Gregory Abbott pleaded with Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals and asked for leniency in the sentencing of his wife Devon Abbott, 33. Devon Abbott and her then boyfriend Soloman Brian Silver conspired to plant a shotgun and drugs in her husband’s Jeep Cherokee to get him arrested. Guess what…..it worked.

Gregory Abbott was arrested by Fullerton Police Department when an anonymous caller claimed Gregory Abbott was selling drugs to students. Police searched Gregory Abbott’s vehicle and found the gun and drugs.

Soon after his arrest, Fullerton Police Department investigated and confirmed Gregory Abbott had been set-up by his wife and her boyfriend presumably to gain custody of the couple’s children.

On March 27, 2009 Devon Abbott plead guilty to felony conspiracy to falsely charge a crime, false imprisonment by fraud, conspiracy to commit a crime and misdemeanor transportation of marijuana. While Orange County prosecutors requested prison, Gregory Abbott stood up and by his wife and asked Judge Goethals for leniency.

Silver, was not so lucky. He will be serving three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to similar charges plus one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

For men have been accused of gang raping a 13-year-old girl at a party in the city of Orange.

Mario Santibanez, 22, Diego Ramierez, 19, Daniel Ramirez, 23, and Gustavo Gomes, 18, appeared in court for an arraignment on the rape charges. All three men had their arraignment postponed until April 13, 2009.

According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, the victim and her 14-year-old friend were drunk when they went to a party at Ramirez’s house. The girls continued to drink at the house when the defendants allegedly took turns raping the victim, who prosecutors say was too drunk to fight them off.

The victim told her mother about the incident and was brought to the Orange Police Department to make a statement. All four men are charged with one felony count of PC 264.1, forcible rape in concert, PC 261(a)(3), rape by intoxication, PC 288a(d), oral copulation in concert with force and fear, PC 288a(i) oral copulation by intoxication, and PC 288a lewd act upon a child under 14.

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of 35 years in state prison. They are being held on bail of $200,000 each.

A gang injunction was issued against Orange Varrio Cypress (OVC) gang. There are allegedly 55 members of OVC who will be forbidden to associate with one another. The purpose of issuing an injunction is to try and break up criminal street gangs.

What the injunction forbids is gang members associating with each other, intimidating others, carrying concealed weapons, graffiti, possessing burglary tools, wearing gang attire and being out past a 10 pm curfew.

This is the sixth injunction issued to Orange County, California gangs. Other cities such as Santa Ana, San Clemente, Anaheim, Orange and San Juan Capistrano have also had injunctions issued against street gangs in their cities.

According to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, from January 2005 to December 2008 there were 16 attempted murders, 53 firearm or dangerous weapons violations, 29 assaults crimes, 35 fights, 82 drug or paraphernalia-related incidents and 53 graffiti crimes in the safety zone.