Manuel Morales was arrested yesterday by Ventura County detectives after a string of residential burglaries took officers to his home. Morales is accused of victimizing elderly residents of Leisure Village in Ventura County. Morales was said to be breaking into the homes of old people and stealing their jewelry. Officers said when they arrested Moreno he was under the influence of narcotics, was in possession of narcotics as well as stolen property. Moreno is also a convicted felon. Officers found prohibited ammunition at his home. Moreno was said to be a house cleaner who worked with his mother. The victims were all clients of …

Don’t lie to the cops, especially not in Ventura County. A Simi Valley, California man was arrested when the police came to his home in response to his 911 call. The man told the 911 operator he had been shot and was locked in his bathroom. It turns out that Simi resident Herbert Alvaranga had simply gotten into an argument with his wife and wanted the cops to get there as soon as possible. Herbert must have recently moved to Simi from Los Angeles. Alvaranga was taken into custody after police assessed the situation and determined that no shots had …

18 people were arrested and 2,000 pounds of marijuana were seized after a boat landed on a quiet Santa Barbara Beach Friday. Law enforcement officials said the boat was first spotted by a group of national guardsmen. The tip was turned over to Santa Barbara Sheriff’s who made the bulk of the arrests with the help of some other law enforcement agencies. Federal authorities later located a truck which was tied to the bust and led to additional evidence and arrests. Many of the suspects were thought to be from Los Angeles County. Identitites of the subjects were being withheld pending filing …

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 …