Online video of apparent sex act in Santa Ana patrol car spurs investigation

Santa Ana police launched an internal investigation after a video of what appears to be a sex act being performed inside a patrol car surfaced online, the department said Friday.

The video, which was published online Thursday, was shot April 10 along train tracks near a recycling facility in Santa Ana, according to OC Weekly. An officer had cleared the area of homeless people before parking the cruiser beside a wall, the publication reported.

It is not clear who was inside the vehicle at the time.

“We are aware of the video released by a media outlet,” Cpl. Anthony Bertagna wrote in a statement. “There is an ongoing internal investigation. It is the city’s policy not to comment on any personnel matters.”

At first, the video — shot from a vantage point above the patrol car — shows movement in the driver’s seat, but it’s not clear what is happening. About halfway through the 29-second clip, the video focuses on the driver’s window, showing what appears to be a sex act occurring in the police car.

OC jail inmate found unresponsive in cell, pronounced dead at hospital

SANTA ANA — A 44-year-old inmate found unresponsive Monday in his cell at the Theo Lacy jail in Orange was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour after arrival, sheriff’s officials said.

Deputies were called to assist the inmate, who had “no obvious signs of trauma on his body,” about 8:20 a.m., according to Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

An autopsy will be conducted and a cause of death determined after toxicology results are received, which typically takes six to eight weeks, she said.

The inmate, whose name was withheld pending family notification, was ordered to begin a jail sentence on July 10 on drug-related charges dating to 2017 and checked himself in then, according to the sheriff’s department.

The case will be investigated by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and an in-custody death review will be completed by the sheriff’s department.

Sheriff’s officials have a new policy of issuing public announcements of in-custody deaths when they are “unexpected” rather than due to a terminal illness.

The move came in the wake of controversy over the death of 37-year-old Theo Lacy inmate Anthony Aceves in May. His family filed a claim — a precursor to a lawsuit — and have held protests demanding answers.

Officials have said there were no obvious signs as to what caused Aceves’ death, with a determination pending the results of toxicology tests.

“The decision to release this information is for increased public transparency, and should not be misconstrued,” Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Don Barnes said in a statement released Monday afternoon. “We take seriously the charge to provide for the inmates in our custody. Inmate deaths are not common, but in an institution that houses more than 5,000 people on a 24/7 basis, they can occur. A full investigation is completed to determine if there are any opportunities for increasing the safety and security of our jails.”

Thousands in SoCal protest planned ICE raids

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Thousands of people across Southern California protested Friday ahead of planned ICE raids scheduled to take place Sunday.

Politicians and families alike turned out in West Hollywood, where people spoke about conditions for refugees at the border and what is happening in California.

"Everybody knows that every country has a right to secure its borders and enforce its immigration laws, but we do so consistent with our values," former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.

Another group gathered near the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. to hold a "Lights for Liberty" vigil.

Hundreds more gathered in San Bernardino, bringing along a large Donald Trump balloon that has been featured in other protests.

Many protesters held signs and made noise, while others raised the voices in song.

Across the street, there was a counter protest with Trump supporters urging the president to finish his promised border wall.

In Santa Ana, another "Lights for Liberty" vigil was held at Civic Center Plaza.

Protests and marches happened across the country, drawing attention to the planned ICE raids and the conditions at migrant detention facilities at the border.

Earlier in the day, large crowds gathered in New York, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.

Teenage Girl Wounded, Lowrider Shooting

SAWEEKLY – Last week, on July 8, 2019, a group of people, including a teenage girl, in green two door lowrider known to many in Santa Ana, California, were the unfortunate recipient of gunfire. Allegedly, the shooting was related to Gang Activity .

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A teenage girl was wounded in the car to car shooting, according to ONSCENE TV.

Around 8:24 p.m. Sunday in the 2400 block of South Main Street, according to Santa Ana police, the teenage girl was shot on the lower torso. She is in stable condition.

The girl was sitting in the car when she was shot in the lower torso, authorities say.

A Teenager Stole a Lemur From a Zoo, and Almost Got Away With It

It was a case worthy of Ace Ventura, the pet detective.

Nearly a year after an endangered ring-tailed lemur named Isaac was abducted from a Southern California zoo and then abandoned in front of a nearby hotel with a note for the police, his captor was brought to justice, the authorities said this week.

Aquinas Kasbar, 19, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to breaking into the Santa Ana Zoo and removing the primate from his enclosure on July 27, 2018, prosecutors said. Mr. Kasbar had planned to keep the animal as a pet, they added.

Mr. Kasbar of Newport Beach faces up to a year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine for taking an endangered species, a federal offense. The sentencing of Mr. Kasbar, who remains in custody, is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Isaac turned 33 on Wednesday, making him the oldest ring-tailed lemur in captivity in North America, according to the zoo. There are about 90 different species of lemurs, all of which are native to Madagascar.

“We’re happy to have Isaac back unharmed,” Ethan Fisher, the zoo’s director, said on Thursday. “Hopefully, this can be a learning experience for other people who might consider something of this nature.”

Brian Gurwitz, a lawyer for Mr. Kasbar, said his client, who was in high school at the time of the episode, was remorseful. “It was obviously terrible judgment, like youth often exercise,” Mr. Gurwitz said. “It was a terribly impulsive decision that he’s accepted responsibility for.”

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Aquinas KasbarCreditOrange County District Attorney’s Office, via Associated Press

Mr. Kasbar was already known to investigators for being charged in a string of home burglaries in Orange County

Prosecutors said Mr. Kasbar put Isaac inside a plastic storage bin with no ventilation holes during the abduction from the zoo, which has been the lemur’s home since 2000.

Wildlife handlers warn that lemurs are not suitable as domesticated animals and that those bred as pets can be highly unpredictable, posing a danger to themselves and their owners. At the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina, researchers estimate it costs about $8,000 a year to care for an individual lemur. The costs can add up over the lifetime of a ring-tailed lemur, which can live about 30 years, according to the center.

“Typically pet lemurs develop aggressive traits toward people, and they do not know how to socialize with other lemurs,” the lemur center’s website says. “If a pet lemur or other pet primate injures someone, public health officials often require the animal to be euthanized. Nearly always, the animal is the ultimate loser.”

It was unclear how Mr. Kasbar gained access to the zoo overnight, but prosecutors said he had used a pair of bolt cutters to cut through one enclosure that housed six ring-tailed lemurs and another that housed eight capuchin monkeys.

Zoo employees discovered the primates wandering on zoo property the next morning and coaxed them with grapes to return to their enclosures. There was no sign of Isaac, however.

Not long after, the zoo received a call from the police in Newport Beach, saying that they had Isaac, who, like many common household pets, has a microchip embedded in him for identification purposes.

He had been left in the plastic storage bin at the front door of a Marriott hotel with a note saying: “Lemur (with tracker). This belongs to the Santa Ana Zoo it was taken last night please bring it to police.” The hotel is about 11 miles from the zoo.

Mr. Kasbar gained attention last summer when he posted a video online of himself surfing on an air mattress that was viewed more than 100,000 times. His lawyer said his client had never intended to cause harm to Isaac and tried to make amends for his poor decision.

“He put down that it had a tracker on it because he wanted to make sure that nobody stole the lemur from the hotel after they came across it,” Mr. Gurwitz said.


El Indio Botanas Y Cervezas, Santa Ana restaurant, redefines OC nightlife. El Indio Botanas Y Cerveza

‘Paisa’, an affective term used between Mexicans, and, sometimes to tease details surrounding one’s origin, is now also in vogue at the Santa Ana Downtown location of #ElIndioBotanasYCervezas since it opened in 2017.
Initially, bar owners in the surrounding area questioned the viability of even one #Cumbia and 1980’s Mexican music night. While this doubt betrays a monolithic view of Mexican musical ranges and tastes, it appears the OC was more than ready to recognize the diversity of a good paisa party.
#DTSA #SantaAna #Weekly