Recent Blog Posts in December 2010 |
| December 21, 2010 |
| A Day-Care Center Operator Arrested on Suspicion of Lewd Acts |
| Posted By Admin |
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The operator of a South Los Angeles day-care center has been arrested on suspicion of lewd acts with her godson. Chelsea Nichole McClelland, 34, was arrested on suspicion of multiple instances of lewd acts with a child. She is being held in lieu of $400,000 bail at the Van Nuys jail. On Friday police responded to reports of a white van repeatedly parked in the neighborhood. Police found the boy in the vehicle, he told them he was 18, but after being interviewed by LAPD he admitted to being 13.
McClelland has three biological children and is the legal guardian of a fourth. At the time of her arrest, she was taking care of eight children at her day-care center. Det. Kim Porter said "Working cases like these involving young children is always disturbing, especially when you are a parent."
California Penal Code 288:
(a) Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or
lascivious act, including any of the acts constituting other crimes
provided for in Part 1, upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.
(b) (1) Any person who commits an act described in subdivision (a) by use of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.
(2) Any person who is a caretaker and commits an act described in subdivision (a) upon a dependent person by use of force, violence,duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, with the intent described in subdivision (a), is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.
The charge of committing lewd acts can bear very harsh penalties, and for this reason it is important that you have the proper legal representation. If you or someone you know is being accused of a sex crime, contact the Hedding law office today at (818) 986-2092. Our criminal defense attorneys have an extensive amount of experience with these types of cases and will work hard to get the best possible outcome for your unique case.
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| December 16, 2010 |
| Christmas Decorations Stolen From Carson Home |
| Posted By Admin |
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$600 worth of Christmas decorations were stolen from Patricia Castenada's front yard last Friday morning. The thieves took two Snoopy Christmas ornaments, a 3 ft. tall "Flintstones" Dino character & a 4-foot-tall gingerbread house. Although the decorations were "not real valuable," it's "just a nasty thing to do at this time of the year," said Sgt. John Hauck of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department's Carson station.
Sgt. Hauck suggested placing decorations as close to the house as possible and motion detector lights. "Really, it's not as common as you might think," Hauck said. "Once every year, someone has a loss like that."
California Penal Code 484:
(a) Every person who shall feloniously steal, take, carry,lead, or drive away the personal property of another, or who shall fraudulently appropriate property which has been entrusted to him or her, or who shall knowingly and designedly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud any other person or money, labor or real or personal property, or who causes or procures others to report falsely of his or her wealth or mercantile character and by thus imposing upon any person, obtains credit and thereby
fraudulently gets or obtains possession of money, or property or obtains the labor or service of another, is guilty of theft. In determining the value of the property obtained, for the purposes of this section, the reasonable and fair market value shall be the test,
and in determining the value of services received the contract price shall be the test. If there be no contract price, the reasonable and going wage for the service rendered shall govern. For the purposes of this section, any false or fraudulent representation or pretense
made shall be treated as continuing, so as to cover any money, property or service received as a result thereof, and the complaint, information or indictment may charge that the crime was committed on any date during the particular period in question. The hiring of any additional employee or employees without advising each of them of every labor claim due and unpaid and every judgment that the employer has been unable to meet shall be prima facie evidence of intent to defraud.
If you or someone you know is facing theft charges, contact our office today to set up a free face-to-face consultation. Our burglary attorneys will look into all the facts pertaining to your unique case and answer any questions you may have. At the Hedding law firm we will work hard to get the best possible solution for your case.
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| December 14, 2010 |
| IS LOS ANGELES COUNTY JAIL LETTING PEOPLE GO TOO EARLY? |
| Posted By Admin |
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Over the course of the past 5 years, I have seen a huge shift in the amount of actual custody time people are serving on Los Angeles jail sentences. Because of budget cuts, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department has taken matters into their own hands. They have been systematically letting people go early on just about all jail sentences in Los Angeles County.
The rationale behind letting inmates out early apparently relates to not having enough deputies to staff the jail. Further, this practice permits the Sheriff to save money on food and every other cost related to housing inmates. Prosecutors and judges have adjusted their sentencing practices because they too know that their jail sentences are simply not being served. Their standard line is, "it is not our problem if the jails let the inmates go early...we are not going to consider that in what we decide the sentence is going to be."
This of course is not true. They do and say things all the time that make it clear they are trying to craft a sentence to get around the Los Angeles' sheriffs policy of letting inmates go early.
I have seen them give cal trans instead of jail, because they know that the person will actually have to do the cal trans. I have seen them keep a person in custody and then sentence them after they feel the person has served enough time. In more serious cases, they offer prison time instead of a county jail sentence, because they know that the person will not serve enough time in the county jail.
The bad economy and budget cuts have continued to effect every aspect of our lives. It is imperative that Sacramento deal with the budget issues immediately. There are issues being argued in the Supreme Court, as of this writing, related to releasing thousands of inmates because of the harsh conditions and overcrowding in state prisons as well.
If you or someone you know is in need of a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney contact our office today to schedule a free face-to-face consultation. The attorneys at the Hedding law firm have a combined 75 years of experience in many types of cases. We will do our best to get the best possible outcome for your unique case. |
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| December 13, 2010 |
| Burbank Flasher Arrested |
| Posted By Admin |
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Vincent Ernest Gaston, 51, of Los Angeles, was arrested by Burbank police on suspicion of being the Burbank Flasher. He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail on suspicion of committing lewd acts. The joggers reported that the flasher was a well-dressed man and he fled in a black Lincoln Town Car with a taxi permit number on the rear window. The tip allowed police to narrow their investigation to limousine drivers.
According to Section 647(a) of the California Penal Code, lewd conduct is defined as any conduct that involves touching another's genitals, buttocks or female breasts with the intent to arouse himself sexually or annoy the victim. The offender must also be in a public place and in the presence of a third party who may be offended. Finally, the offender must be aware of the presence of the third party. Penalties for lewd conduct vary widely. Lewd conduct with an adult is always a misdemeanor, and carries penalties ranging from probation to a fine or jail time.
If you or someone you know has been charged with lewd conduct it is important that you have a experienced attorney working on your side. The criminal defense attorneys at the Hedding law firm have a combined 75 years of experience in these types of cases. They will do their best to get you the best possible outcome for your unique case. Contact our office today to set up a free face-to-face consultation. |
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| December 07, 2010 |
| Police are Investigating a Fire that Broke out in a Building for Possible Illegal Marijuana Cultivation |
| Posted By Admin |
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An overnight fire in a Sun Valley commercial building is being investigated and said to contain substantial stores of marijuana. The tenants are described by their neighbors as friendly, but secretive and security conscious. The fire call came in at 11:44 p.m. Saturday and firefighters immediately alerted police investigators when they discovered the marijuana. Sgt. David Tomilin of the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division said "A lot of marijuana had been burned, but I'm not sure how much went up in smoke." Officers booked more than 100 pounds into evidence Sunday morning.
Investigators could not yet call the operation illegal, since marijuana for medical purposes can be grown and distributed legally. "I don't know if they had some kind of licensing," said Tomilin. "It's obviously not for personal use based on the amount. The stuff we could book was in trash cans in 30 to 40 pound bags."
An early wire-service report quoted a police investigator as saying that the fire was started by a high-wattage bulb frequently used to grow marijuana indoors, but authorities backed away from that conclusion pending further investigation.
According to Health & Safety code 11358, Anyone who plants, cultivates, harvests, dries, or processes any marijuana or any part therof, except as otherwise provided by law, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison.
If you or someone you know is facing marijuana cultivation charges it is important to hire a experienced criminal defense attorney. Contact the Hedding law firm today and set up a free face-to-face consultation. Our attorneys have a combined 75 years of experience in these types of cases. They will collect all the information pertaining to your case and work hard to get the best possible outcome.
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| December 01, 2010 |
| 9th Circuit Court Rules Police Must Have Reasonable Grounds to Use Tasers |
| Posted By Admin |
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As a result of a excessive force ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, implications may arise for use of force policies across the West. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a Coronado, Calif., police officer used excessive force when he shot a Taser dart at a young driver who was stopped for a seat belt violation. The driver, Carl Bryan, fell to the asphalt after being stuck by the dart, broke four teeth, and suffered facial cuts. He went on to sue the Coronado Police Department and Officer Brian MacPherson.
The appeals panel said police must have reasonable grounds for using a Taser on a suspect. Bryan was wearing only boxer shorts and tennis shoes and was clearly unarmed. Bryan was standing about 20 feet away with his back to MacPherson when he was hit.
While the appeals panel deemed the Taser use excessive and unjustified, they decided that the officer deserved immunity from prosecution because the circumstances in which the weapon could be reasonably deployed were not clearly defined at the time.
According to Boehmer, MacPherson attorney, due to the immunity grant, Coronado will not appeal the excessive force ruling and would work with police to establish guidelines for the weapon.
If you feel that you were illegally stopped and as a result you are facing criminal charges, contact our office today to set up a free face-to-face consultation. The criminal defense attorneys at theHedding law firm have a combined 75 years of experience and will work hard to get the best possible outcome for your unique case.
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