Izzy Ocampo

​UPDATE, FEB, 3, 6:19 P.M.: Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas just announced that charges will be dropped against 24-year-old Eder Giovanni Herrera in the murder of his mother and older brother in Yorba Linda Oct. 25.

Those counts will now be filed against Itzcoatl Ocampo, the accused serial killer of four homeless men since Dec. 20.
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​With more murders expected to bring more charges against a Yorba Linda man accused to preying on homeless men in North County (see this post), the multi-agency Homeless Homicide Task Force is joining forces with the Community Service Programs (CSP) Crisis Response Team, the Orange County Rescue Mission and Vineyard Christian Fellow to meet with the public--and especially our homeless population--Saturday afternoon.

The meeting is scheduled to run from noon to 2 p.m. at the church, 5340 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim.
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​UPDATE, FEB. 3, 4:27 P.M.: According to a release this afternoon from the Anaheim Police Department, that agency and 13 others are taking part in the previously announced countywide law enforcement patrols targeting drunken drivers on Super Bowl Sunday.

That now makes it an "Avoid the 26" operation--meaning 26 law enforcement jurisdictions across the county are participating--at least until the remaining 12 cop shops in Orange County pile on as well.More >>

​UPDATE, FEB. 3, 4:17 P.M.: Superior Court Commissioner Vickie Hix today ordered a third evaluation of Sonia Hermosillo to determine if the mother accused of tossing her 7-month-old son off a parking structure to his death is mentally competent to stand trial for murder. Two psychologists reached opposite conclusions about the La Habra 31-year-old, creating the need for the opinion of a third mental health professional scheduled to report back to Hix on March 9.
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​After several starts and stops, Catherine Kieu Becker finally entered another not guilty plea today to slicing off his estranged husband's penis as he was waking up, throwing the member into the garbage disposal and turning it on. That means she still could have done it, as she supposedly admitted to police at the time, and is planning a defense of insanity, temporary insanity or, "Oops, I thought I'd disposed of a rotting piece of cauliflower."
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​It's the week that wuz and what we learned from it all . . .

JAN. 28: Under a bright blue sky and appreciating warm temperatures despite occasional gusty winds, more than 1,000 line Bolsa Avenue in Little Saigon for the Tet Parade celebrating the Lunar New Year. Based on the number of South Vietnamese flags waving, it's as if the long dead Asian nation has been resurrected, if only for a day. What we learned: Absolutely the wrong place to break out our new Ho Chi Minh tee.
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​Tomorrow, downtown SanTana will see its monthly First Saturday, which has all the galleries in the Artists Village open their doors to thousands. But not everyone will be happy--and I'm not talking about the folks gnashing their teeth about gentrification.

Feeling lost in the city's continued push to bring in restaurants, commerce, lofts, and other businesses are actual artists, especially those who have spaces in the Santora Building, where the neglectful hand of Mike Harrah reigns. Last month, a group of artists put in a public records request to find the original contract that had Harrah get a sweetheart loan with the city in the name of arts--and didn't like what they found.
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​Pound for pound, preachers are the best humblebraggers around because they can rattle off a list of professional accomplishments while giving God the glory for "working through them."

It's a nifty trick that can be pulled off only by those who make a living chatting with the Lord and sharing his insights.

The most common way for preachers to humblebrag is to spout off big numbers related to their ministry. They do this even though an argument can be made that the practice is demonic: "And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." -- 1 Chronicles 21:1 More >>

​Jose Raul Pineda claims that his massive prison sentence is unfair following an Orange County trial that found him guilty of 20 sex offenses against his nieces.

Pineda admits that when alone with the elementary school girls he liked to touch them, but he disputes that anyone could know his touching accompanied lewd and lascivious thoughts.

His position is that only he can know if he had dirty thoughts and because he said he didn't, then that's that -- he can't be guilty of committing sex crimes.
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​With murder charges pending against a drunken driver accused of causing a collision before zipping along the wrong way on two Orange County freeways, our 2012 homicide count accelerates up to five.

Kyung Namgood, 53, of Buena Park, was killed early Sunday after the Toyota sedan she was riding in on the 91 freeway in Anaheim was plowed into head on by a Honda sedan driven by Ruben Gurrola, 23, Pomona.
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