California Criminal Attorney Blog

Now that we have officially have entered summer, police officers all over Orange County, especially Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Irvine are on the prowl for people driving under the influence of alcohol. Remember, it is not illegal to consume an amount of alcohol and drive but it is unlawful to operate a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) says it is unlawful to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence. Under the influence can be alcohol, drugs or prescription drugs.

Vehicle Code Section 23152(b) says it is unlawful to operate a motor vehicle if you blood alcohol level is .08 or above.

Orange County is tough on crime, especially multiple DUI offenders. Remember, to always drink responsibly and always have a designated driver if you don’t. If you have had DUI within the last ten years and are involved in an auto related DUI accident, you could be charged with serious felonies and face possible prison time.

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Two Tesoro High School students are being charged with upwards of 69 felony counts of unauthorized computer access, burglary, fraud, identity theft, conspiracy and altering public records. Omar Khan, 18 of Coto de Caza is set to be arraigned on June 19, 2008 in Newport Beach and Tanvir Singh, 18 of Ladera Ranch will be arraigned on July 8, 2008 in Newport Beach.

The students, both seniors are alleged to have committed a series of crimes in an effort to cheat on tests, change their grades all to bolster their GPA’s. Omar Khan, with savvy computer knowledge is alleged to have broken into Tesoro High School late at night and on weekends and installing a spyware computer program to gain access to teachers passwords. Once he had access, he was able to change grades from F’s to A’s. Tanvir Singh, is alleged to have conspired with Khan to break into the school and steal a test but were thwarted by a custodian.

Certainly, we can’t have people gaining unauthorized access to computers but come on, 69 felony counts and a possible 38 years in prison, that’s ridiculous! Back in the day, before computers, this kind of stuff was handled “in-house” and not in the media. The kids should be punished, but let the punishment fit the crime.

These kids, have serious talent and I am sure they have a bright future with the FBI or CIA. Perhaps they can even start their own computer forensic hacking business, educating companies on how to keep their computer systems safe from other computer hackers. Or, they can teach computer science classes if they can get a degree from felony friendly colleges. I say, good luck guys, once you pay for your crime, use your skills for a bright future you still have.

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Hitomi Tsuyuki, 54 of Orange County’s exclusive Coto de Caza was arrested at his daughter’s graduation ceremony in Costa Mesa accused of stealing $2.8 million from clients. Orange County prosecutors have charged Tsuyuki with 200 counts of grand theft, elder fraud and false security documents.
If he is convicted of all counts, Hitomi Tsuyuki can face 163 years in prison, however, not a likely result. In the meantime, Tsuyuki is being held in custody on $3 million dollar bail and the prosecutors have attached a petition to have the source of the bail funds traced to ensure he doesn’t use client monies to post bail.

Prosecutors allege, Tsuyuki stole the $2.8 million over a period of ten years starting in 1997. Prosecutors further allege Mr. Tsuyuki encouraged his clients to purchase bonds and when they deposited the money, Tsuyuki spent the money and created false documents to provide to his clients to make it appear they had purchased bonds.

As of this posting, Mr. Tsuyuki is still in custody at Orange County Jail and his arraignment was continued to July 9, 2008 at his attorney’s request.

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The wife of rapper Snoop Dogg was arrested in Fullerton California on suspicion of driving under the influence. Shante Brodus who is married to Snoop was arrested on June 14, 2008 about 12:15 a.m. She was booked, released and scheduled for a future court date. No further information on blood alcohol level or the reason for the stop have been provided by the Fullerton Police Department or the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

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Brian Keith Patch of Westminster, California was charged with a violation of Penal Code Section 288, Lewd Act on a Minor. The allegation stems from an incident where prosecutors allege Mr. Patch had sexual contact with a 15-year-old female.

Orange County Deputy District Attorney Nicole Nicholson said “we have incriminating statements from the defendant.’ Prosecutors allege Patch had sexual intercourse with the 15-year-old on April 11, 2008.

Patch is the winner of 5 X games and set records for longest air in 2001.
Mr. Patch told the Orange County Register that the alleged victim called him for a place to stay and he told her he was out of town. When he arrived home, she was waiting outside his house. He let the girl sleep over and the next day her father came to pick her up. Weeks later, Patch said police asked him about sexual relations with the teen after she told her parents she was pregnant. This pregnancy, however, was a ruse by law enforcement to try and get Patch to admit sexual contact.

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Irvine, California elementary principal Nancy Bower was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence or what is known as DUI. Ms. Bower was driving on Jamboree and San Joaquin in Newport Beach on Saturday night when she was involved in a traffic accident. No serious injuries were reported and nobody was taken to the hospital but the victims, both of Newport Beach, did report neck pain.

Ms. Bower, was placed on administrative leave and will not finish out the school year at Westwood Basics Plus.

Typically, we don’t provide commentary on our blogs, however today, we make an exception. Ms. Bower, like so many other residents of Orange County, California are arrested for Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) and 23152(b) or DUI. And, 99.9% of those arrested are never “outed” by the local news.

It is my opinion that a first time DUI should be treated as a civil matter, not a criminal matter. Many people do not know the difference between a .07 BAC and a .08 BAC. Many people do not know between being ok to drive or being impaired for purposes of driving. Many people do not know their limits.

In Ms. Bower’s case, there was no indication that this was anything other than a first time DUI. But now, her personal matter has become public because she happens to be a principal of a school? Why does her profession warrant a news story? It doesn’t!

It is sad this personal matter, while serious, has become public because the ramifications for her are likely to be huge. The Irvine school board will probably meet to discuss her employment. She could lose her job, her career, her passion to inspire children. I don’t know what type of principal Ms. Bower is, but hopefully the teachers and parents will rally around her and she starts the 2008 school year as the principal of Westwood Basics.

Everybody listen up……it is not illegal to drink alcohol and drive. It is illegal to drive while impaired. Don’t take chances, if you have more than two drinks, take a cab or find a designated driver.

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Henry Nicholas III, co-founder of Irvine, California’s Broadcom Corporation was formally charged with distributing illegal narcotics, distributing narcotics to prostitutes and spiking the drinks with ecstasy of executives in the technology field. Mr. Nicholas along with his attorneys appeared in federal court in Santa Ana, California to plead not guilty to all charges.

Nicholas, of Newport Beach, California was also charged in federal court with securities fraud. The securities fraud allegation stems from the alleged backdating of stock options for employees. William Ruehle, Broadcom’s former CFO was also named in the federal indictment. Broadcom’s Co-founder Henry Samueli was not named in the indictment, however, there was a loose reference to him by way of initials used in the indictment as a “unindicted co-conspirator.”

In the drug indictment, Nicholas is being accused of using and distributing ecstasy, methamphetamine and cocaine. In an attempt to cover up his criminal conduct, the indictment alleges Nicholas used “threats of physical violence and death and payments of money to conceal his unlawful conduct.” The indictment also alleges Nicholas used his properties in Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Newport Coast and Las Vegas for "the purpose of distributing and using controlled substances."

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1.How many years have you been practicing criminal law?
2.How familiar are you with the judges, DA’s and court staff?
3.Are you the one who will be handling my case or do you assign it to an associate? Will you make all my court appearances personally?
4.Do you have any discipline record with the State Bar of California?
5.What are the potential costs I face? Investigators?
6.How many cases have you handled like mine?
7.What exactly do I get for my retainer?
Felonies- Does the retainer include preliminary hearing and post-information representation? Trial?
Misdemeanors- Does my retainer include trial?
8. Will you personally take my calls and meet with me regarding my case?
9. Are you familiar with any alternative sentences?
10. Does the retainer cover the cost of representation regardless of how long it takes to resolve my case?

Pilchman & Kay, PLC invites you to a free consultation where the above questions and more can be discussed. Our Orange County, Ca criminal defense firm handles cases throughout Southern California.

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California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced a 74-count felony indictment against a former Santa Maria-Bonita School District official and three executives from TurnKey, a Temecula-based company, for misappropriating $3.6 million in public money for schools. 
 
Turnkey misappropriated money that was supposed to go to construction costs of sixteen Santa Barbara County schools. From 2000 and 2002, TurnKey entered $62 million in construction contracts with the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, promising to complete several school projects. Records show instead of using these funds to pay for the projects, executives purchased expensive automobiles, artwork and gave themselves cash bonuses.
 
In early 2003, TurnKey fell behind in payments to subcontractors who were hired to build the schools. To cover their debt, Turnkey submitted false invoices to the school district. Cynthia Lynn Clark, the Assistant Superintendent of Schools knew about the false invoices yet didn’t report it to the school board of file any criminal charges.  .   
 
A Santa Barbara grand jury returned the indictment on March 14, 2008 against former company executives Harold Leo Clark III, 46, Michael Patrick Bannan, 43, David Irwin, 39, and Cynthia Lynn Clark, 54, on 74 counts of Misappropriation of Public Monies, Embezzlement of Public Funds, Diversion of Construction Funds, and Grand Theft of over $3.6 million between June 2004 and September 2004.

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Gary Dourdan, CSI co-star was arrested Monday in Palm Springs California for possession of narcotics and dangerous drugs. The actor was found asleep in his car which caught the attention of the Palm Springs, California Police Department when they noticed it parked on the wrong side of the street with the interior light on.

Officers described Dourdan as disoriented and possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Dourdan was arrested after officers found suspected cocaine, heroin, Ecstacy, miscellaneous prescription drugs and paraphernalia in his vehicle. Dourdan was released on $5,000 bail at 10:30 a.m.

Dourdan plays crime scene investigator Warrick Brown on CBS' "CSI." It is unknown why Mr. Dourdan was in town, perhaps to attend the Coachella Valley Music Festival being held in Indio, California.

Dourdan faces possible Driving Under the Influence or Vehicle Code 23152 (a) and (b), Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance or Health and Safety Code Section 11550, Possession of a Controlled Substance or Health and Safety Code Section 11377 and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia or Health and Safety Code Section 11364. The drug possession and under the influence charges are going to be felony charges which means his jail exposure could be 3 years in state prison on each felony conviction. On the other hand, Mr. Dourdan may be eligible drug programs as an alternative to jail. PC 1000 is a drug diversion program where upon successful completion of the program and 18 months probation the charges can be dismissed. Proposition 36 (Prop 36) is a similar drug program but the case does not get dismissed, it just allows individuals to stay out of jail for their convictions.

Unfortunately for Mr. Dourdan, he was arrested in Riverside County which is one of the toughest District Attorneys offices in Southern California, except maybe Orange County. In any event, Mr. Dourdan needs a very skilled and aggressive criminal defense attorney to handle this very media driven case.

Mr. Dourdan or anyone arrested for drug possession cases in Riverside County or Orange County should call our office for a free consultation. We are tough, skilled and highly respected among our legal peers and you will not find another criminal defense firm that works harder for their clients than we do.

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California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr. announced the arrest of an Orange County travel agent for selling more than $160,000 in “bogus travel packages.” These travel packages were aimed at senior citizens who wanted to travel to Cuba for cultural and religious purposes.

Ralph Adam Rendon, of Santa Ana was arrested on 78 felony counts, including fraud, embezzlement, grand theft, misappropriation of consumer funds and trust account violations. Mr. Rendon is alleged to have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting travelers. Currently, Mr. Rendon is out of custody having posted $170,000 bail.

The travel packages were designed to attract Greek Orthodox and Jewish Americans with members of their faith in Cuba. Mr. Rendon’s travel agency, “USA to Cuba” was advertised in religious magazines targeting religious travelers. When interested travels contacted Mr. Rendon’s travel agency he directed them to send $1,000 to “USA/AAE Scholarship Foundation.” After the travels deposited the $1,000 he asked them to deposit an additional $2,850 and then cancelled the trips saying the U.S. Treasury Department had blocked travel to Cuba, which was not true.

Orange County, California law enforcement investigators determined that Rendon sold fake trips to at least 30 elderly travelers from New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Utah. When travels attempted to get refunds, Mr. Rendon ignored all calls and demands.

Records show Mr. Rendon used the money to pay his rent, lease a new Mercedes, and hire an attorney. Brown charged Rendon with 78 felony counts, including grand theft, embezzlement, mishandling consumer funds and trust account violations. Mr. Rendon is being charged in Orange County Superior Court and is scheduled to be arraigned in May, 2008 in Santa Ana.

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Mater Dei offensive line coach Reed Diehl was arrested by FBI agents on suspicion of stealing $2.5 million dollars out of an investor. Diehl, of Coto de Caza, an exclusive Orange County neighborhood and father of three posted $75,000.00 bail and is now out of custody.

Authorities believe Diehl engaged in financial schemes taking millions of dollars from his victims. The former Tennessee Titan football player is accused of scamming a man identified in court documents as Ron V., a Chicago developer out of millions with the promise to build condo projects in Cabo San Lucas. Instead, authorities allege Diehl used the money to pay off other outstanding debts.

Diehl, owns ARA Capital, an investment banking firm in Irvine, California and is also accused by federal authorities of promising his clients investment opportunities where he indicated the return on investment would be 5% a month…..60% a year which is unheard of in today’s financial climate. It is unclear at this time how many potential Orange County fraud or theft may exist or how many victims may be involved.

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