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The suspect in the deadly Southern California stabbing and robbery spree was charged on Friday with 51 criminal counts, including four felony counts of murder.

Zachary Castaneda, 33, is also facing one felony count of attempted murder, one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon to cause great bodily injury, one felony count of aggravated mayhem, one felony count of first degree residential burglary, and three felony counts of second degree robbery, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

The other 40 charges include murder during a robbery and committing a crime after he was released from prison on a separate offense. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Castaneda is accused of killing four people and wounding two others in a string of attacks Wednesday that sprawled across two cities.

He was scheduled to appear in court at 2 p.m. local time. He is currently being held at the Orange County jail on $1.1 million bail.

The district attorney’s office noted his charges make him ineligible for bail.

It was not immediately clear if he had legal representation before his court appearance.

Police released video of one of the attacks late Thursday to show “the speed and viciousness” of the suspect’s actions.

In the footage, the suspect can be seen walking into an insurance company and approaching a woman sitting down. He then all of a sudden pulls out two knives and begins wielding them before stabbing her. The woman in the video is expected to survive the attack, police said.

The violent spree began at 4:09 p.m. in Garden Grove and ended at 6:25 p.m. in Santa Ana, authorities said.

During that time, Castaneda allegedly stabbed two people to death in his apartment complex, an armed security guard at a 7-Eleven, and a person outside a Subway, according to Garden Grove Police Lt. Carl Whitney.

He is also accused of repeatedly stabbing a woman at a Garden Grove insurance business, which is what the surveillance footage shows.

Three minutes after that attack, Castaneda allegedly stabbed a 44-year-old man at a Chevron Gas Station, nearly severing off his nose, police said. That man is expected to survive, according to authorities.

All of the victims ranged in age from 25 to 64, officials said.

Castaneda allegedly robbed several business in Garden Grove and Santa Ana amid the attacks, police said.

Undercover Garden Grove police officers found his vehicle at the 7-Eleven — and when Castaneda exited store allegedly armed with a handgun and knife — he complied with an officer’s order to drop his weapons, police said.

He was then taken into custody.

Castaneda got the handgun after taking it from the armed security guard, authorities said.

Police said investigators were still looking into Castaneda’s motive. They said he "remained violent" throughout the night.

Whitney, meanwhile, called the attacks "tragic."

"We don’t want to see tragedies like this happen," he said. "We’ve seen tragedies like this happen across the United States, but what the good point we can see out of this is that our officers responded quickly, rapidly and were able to take this guy into custody as fast as we could."

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (KABC) — Four people are dead, two are injured, and a suspect is in custody after a series of stabbings and robberies in Orange County Wednesday afternoon, police say.

The Garden Grove Police Department said it started when the suspect, a 33-year-old Garden Grove resident, attempted to rob a bakery on Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove.

He then traveled to an apartment complex in the 12000 block of Jentges Avenue, where one person was stabbed to death. A second person with multiple stab wounds was taken to a hospital and later succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Two more robberies occurred at local businesses in the area. One woman was stabbed at an insurance businesses in Garden Grove. She is expected to survive.

Police then responded to reports from a Chevron gas station on Harbor Boulevard. Police said a man was pumping gas when the suspect approached him. He suffered lacerations to his face, and his nose was almost severed off, but he is expected to survive.

The suspect then made his way over to nearby Santa Ana, where another person was fatally stabbed at a Subway parking lot on 1st Street.

At a press conference Wednesday night, Garden Grove Lt. Carl Whitney said undercover officers located the suspect’s vehicle, a silver Mercedes registered in his name, in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven on Harbor Boulevard and 1st Street, and called for backup.
The suspect was arrested after he exited the store carrying a knife and a handgun. Whitney said the suspect stabbed a security guard inside the store and took his gun. That guard was rushed to the hospital but later died.

"These are all random acts of violence. Our suspect was not associated with any of our victims," said Whitney.

Garden Grove and Santa Ana police were at one point investigating at least eight crime scenes in the area.

Authorities had not determined a motive for the stabbing spree.

"We don’t know. It’s just pure hate that this guy did this," added Whitney.
Garden Grove police were also investigating a separate stabbing that left a 62-year-old woman dead in her apartment. The victim’s 28-year-old son is a person of interest in the case and it doesn’t appear the cases are related.

A federal grand jury indicted a retired Santa Ana Police Department officer Wednesday on three felony charges for using “unreasonable force” during a 2014 arrest, then filing a false report about the beating and arrest, prosecutors said.

Brian Patric Booker, 50, of Chino Hills faces one count of deprivation of rights under color of authority and two counts of falsification of records, U.S. Department of Justice officials said.

The indictment stems from a violent arrest that took place on June 19, 2014.

“Booker used unreasonable force in connection with the arrest of the victim,” U.S. DOJ spokesman Ciaran McEvoy said in a written statement. “The victim was not resisting arrest.”

In justifying punches landed on the victim, “Booker falsely claimed that the victim reached toward Booker and grabbed Booker by his right leg,”  McEvoy said.

“Booker also falsely stated that he delivered three to four punches to the back of the victim’s head because he believed the the victim was about to tackle him and possibly have access to Booker’s firearm,” according to McEvoy. “Booker allegedly knew these statement were false when the reports were filed.”

Booker, who was a 19-year veteran of the department, retired last year, prosecutors said.

If convicted as charged, Booker could face up to 60 years in federal prison. He was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana for an arraignment hearing on August 12.

The investigation was carried out by the FBI, MCEvoy said. The Santa Ana Police Department “fully cooperated” with federal investigators, he added.

The Santa Ana Breakfast Club at the intersection of Main and Fifth streets in 1933. In the forefront, some people are dressed in Spanish costumes and others in Western costumes. (Courtesy of the Santa Ana History Room)

The iconic black and white image of a closed-off street in downtown Santa Ana shows a large crowd sitting or standing by long tables, many wearing the fashions of 1933.

Ladies wore hats. Gents wore ties.

On Sunday, an updated version of that gathering could come to life. The Santa Ana Breakfast Club, a popular tradition during the 1920s and ’30s, will be held July 28 on Fourth Street in honor of the city’s 150th anniversary.

“This is about bringing everyone together to have a great time and feel like a part of history,” said Ryan Smolar of Downtown Santa Ana, one of the event’s organizers.

“It’s a real family day.”

Residents are invited to the giant party that will close Fourth between French and Bush streets from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  The breakfast will feature historic re-enactments, live music, arts and crafts, a kid zone and a breakfast that includes chilaquiles, pancakes and vegan fare. As many as 2,000 people are expected to attend.

Tickets are $10 each and residents are encouraged to buy in advance via eventbrite.com. Group tables are available for $250 to $500.

The open-air breakfast harkens back nearly a century, to when a group calling itself the Santa Ana Breakfasteers began to gather a couple of times a year on Main Street. Then the Great Depression hit and the street breakfasts ended.

But in the decades since, the breakfast gatherings have been recreated at least a couple of times — in 1960 and again in 2016, when more than 1,600 residents showed up. The last was held in 2017 at Santa Ana High.

The upcoming event is part of a broader celebration of Santa Ana’s sesquicentennial. The city was founded on Oct. 27, 1869 by William H. Spurgeon and incorporated in 1886. Other anniversary-themed events include a “Blessing of the City,” from 10 a.m. to noon on Aug. 8, when local interfaith leaders will pay tribute to city and its history.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) — A defendant accused of severing a man’s penis as one of several people involved in a horrific kidnapping and torture plot is going to trial this week.

Prosecutors say defendant Hossein Nayeri believed his alleged victim, who operated a marijuana dispensary, had $1 million cash buried in the desert and he was determined to torture him to get it.

While awaiting trial in the case, Nayeri gained additional infamy as part of a crew of three Orange County inmates who escaped jail in 2016 and triggered an eight-day manhunt that attracted national attention.

The victim in the torture plot was identified in court only as Michael because he was also the victim of a sexual assault.

"Michael’s eyes were beaten and bloodied shut," prosecutor Heather Brown said. "He couldn’t even open his eyes."

The prosecutor says that the victim had operated a legal and lucrative medical marijuana dispensary.

Michael had been living in Newport Beach when he and a housemate, Mary Barnes, were kidnapped, blindfolded and bound in zip ties and then taken to the desert.

Michael was whipped, tased and burned with a blow torch – and threatened with even worse.

"We are going to kill you, we are going to kill your lady friend and we are going to light you on fire," the suspects allegedly told Michael.

Prosecutors say Nayeri didn’t know he was mistaken – the victim never had that kind of money. Yet the torture only got worse. Prosecutors say the defendants laughed and cackled as they committed the torture.

"They proceeded to take a kitchen knife and cut off his penis at the base," Brown said. "His penis was never found and it was never re-attached."

The defense says that there is no eyewitness to the alleged crime and questions the DNA evidence found on a glove.

The next witnesses in the ongoing trial will include Mary Barnes, and the deputy she flagged down for help after escaping the site where the alleged torture occurred.

Another man accused of involvement in the case, Kyle Shirakawa Handley, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole last year.

Homebuying in Santa Ana fell 4% as Orange County sales stalled to the slowest pace since 2014.

CoreLogic homebuying stats show May was the 10th consecutive month Orange County home sales failed to beat the pace of the year-ago period. Plus, this was the slowest-selling May countywide in five years as sales ran 13% below their historical monthly norm. Fewer buyers cut the countywide median selling price by the largest amount in seven years.

ICYMI: OC suffers nation’s 10th largest net population outflow

How do these homebuying patterns translate locally? Well, CoreLogic found these 12 trends in six ZIP codes covered by Santa Ana …

1. Purchases: Home sales for May totaled 177 vs. 184 a year earlier, a decline of 3.8% in a year.

2. Who’s up: Prices increased in 3 of the 6 ZIPs as sales rose in 4 ZIPs.

3. Countywide: $720,500 median selling price, down 2.6% in a year. Orange County saw 3,313 existing and new residences sell vs. 3,526 a year earlier, a decline of 6.0% in a year. Prices rose in 44 out of 83 Orange County ZIPs; sales were up in 40 out of 83 ZIPs.

Here is how prices and sales moved in Santa Ana …

4. Santa Ana 92701: $364,500 median, up 32.5% over 12 months. Price rank? 82nd of 83 Orange County ZIPs. Sales of 28 vs. 20 a year earlier, up 40.0% in a year.

5. Santa Ana 92703: $480,000 median, down 8% over 12 months. Price rank? 79th of 83 Orange County ZIPs. Sales of 25 vs. 40 a year earlier, a decline of 37.5% in a year.

6. Santa Ana 92704: $528,500 median, down 3% over 12 months. Price rank? 73rd of 83 Orange County ZIPs. Sales of 40 vs. 37 a year earlier, up 8.1% in a year.

7. Santa Ana 92705: $888,500 median, up 9.4% over 12 months. Price rank? 22nd of 83 Orange County ZIPs. Sales of 40 vs. 38 a year earlier, up 5.3% in a year.

8. Santa Ana 92706: $625,000 median, down 12% over 12 months. Price rank? 59th of 83 Orange County ZIPs. Sales of 21 vs. 20 a year earlier, up 5.0% in a year.

9. Santa Ana 92707: $508,500 median, up 28.7% over 12 months. Price rank? 77th of 83 Orange County ZIPs. Sales of 23 vs. 29 a year earlier, a decline of 20.7% in a year.Sign up for The Home Stretch newsletter and its new Bubble Watch edition. Get a  twice-a-week serving of hot housing news from around the region! Subscribe here.

Plus, three more countywide trends found in May vs. May 2018 …

10. Single-family-home resales: 2,107 Orange County sales vs. 2,135 a year earlier, a decline of 1.3% in the period. Median: $800,000 — a rise of 0.6% in the period.

11. Condo resales: 944 sales vs. 939 a year earlier, a gain of 0.5% in a year. Median: $497,500 — a dip of 1.5% in 12 months.

12. New homes: Builders sold 262 residences vs. 452 a year earlier, a decline of 42% in 12 months. Median: $944,000 — a dip of 4.3% in 12 months.

A man who was already in custody for an unrelated crime was arrested in connection with two armed robberies that occurred on July 4, while another man remains at large, officials announced Tuesday.

Brian Ho is shown in a photo released by Santa Ana Police Department on July 16, 2019.

Although police gave the man’s first name as Brain, a 28-year-old man named Brian Ho was arrested the same day in Orange County, jail records show.

He was found in possession of a gun “similar” to the one used in the robberies, police said.

Detectives are working with police in Garden Grove and Westminster on cases believed to have also been committed by Ho during the same time period.

The incidents occurred at the M & Toi Café and Dey’s Doughnuts on the morning of July 4. In both incidents, Ho allegedly pointed a weapon at the victims and demanded money.

The man who remains at large acted as the lookout during the robberies. That person is described as being between 20 and 30 years old, about 5 feet six inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie sweatshirt and dark sunglasses. He was also armed with a black handgun.

Anyone with information about the crimes can contact Santa Ana Police Detective Duane Greaver at 714-245-8362, dgreaver@santa-ana.org or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227.

A federal appeals court overturned the conviction of a Southern California man accused of soliciting the murders and assaults of a federal judge, two prosecutors and two FBI agents.

The Orange County Register reported Saturday that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found last week that John Walthall was improperly denied the right to represent himself at trial.

Walthall was sentenced in 2016 to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors said he targeted the judge, prosecutors and agents for their involvement in his 2009 conviction in a fraud scheme that duped an elderly couple out of $5.5 million.

Prosecutors say Walthall plotted to kidnap Judge Andrew Guilford and kill him by putting him through a wood chipper.

A new trial has not been set.