The Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday signed left wing Dustin Penner, a member of their 2007 Stanley Cup-winning team, to a one-year contract. No terms were disclosed, but the Orange County Register reports the deal is worth $2 million.
Penner, 30, has … …read more
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A man was hospitalized after walking into the Orange County nail salon where his estranged wife worked, dousing himself in a flammable liquid and lighting himself on fire, police said Sunday.
The 46-year-old Asian man set fire to himself in Creative Nails & Spa shortly after noon, Costa Mesa police said. He suffered third-degree burns, police Sgt. Clint Dieball said.
A man inside the salon used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, Dieball said. No one else was injured and the salon sustained minor fire damage.
Investigators have not determined a motive, but police said the man’s estranged wife was working in the salon.
Sherry Skipper-Spurgeon, a longtime customer at the salon, said she was having her nails done by the store’s manager when the manager’s husband, with whom she has three children, came in appearing “very distraught” and began shouting at her in Vietnamese.
“He had a bucket with him, and he takes the bucket and pours this whatever liquid over the top of his head,” Skipper-Spurgeon told the Orange County Register. “Then you could smell it, like gasoline.”
The manager, whom she knew only as Lina, told the other employees and the three customers inside the store to step outside and her husband sat down on the floor, said Skipper-Spurgeon, who dialed 911.
“Next thing you know, someone says `He’s got a lighter!”‘ Skipper-Spurgeon said. “As I’m talking to the fire department, he lights himself on fire, and there’s a fireball. The flames are completely covering his head, and then there’s this poof of smoke.”
The manager’s father and brother had been in the back of the store doing repairs and rushed out, the brother blasting the flaming man with a fire extinguisher as customers ran back in and used towels to help smother the flames.
Skipper-Spurgeon said the wife sobbed in her arms for about an hour after her husband was taken away.
“This is absolutely devastating for her,” she said. “She didn’t know how she was going to tell her kids about this.”
A California man has been arrested in southwest Florida on an outstanding murder warrant in the death of his ex-wife, who went overboard from an Italian cruise ship seven years ago.
Lonnie Kocontes, 55, was taken into custody Friday night by federal marshals and booked into the Pasco County Jail where he was being held without bail, authorities said.
He was charged with one count of special circumstances murder for financial gain, according to Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney‘s office.
Kocontes’ ex-wife, Micki Kanesaki, plunged into the Mediterranean on May 26, 2006, off the Island Escape, which was sailing between Sicily and Naples, according to the FBI. Her body washed ashore the next day in Calabria in southwest Italy.
Kanesaki, 52, was sharing a cabin with Kocontes, her ex-husband. They divorced in 2002 after six years of marriage but lived together in their Mission Viejo, Calif., home until 2005, court records showed.
Kanesaki left the cabin around 1 a.m. to get a cup of tea, Andy Furlong, a spokesman for ship owner Island Cruises, said at the time. Kocontes, a lawyer, reported her missing after he woke up and couldn’t find her after a search, Furlong said.
Italian police boarded the ship, seized records and videotapes and took statements from the crew.
Prosecutors said Saturday that Kocontes strangled Kaneski to death on board the ship and then threw her overboard.
The arrest ended an investigation that started in 2008, when Kocontes began transferring more than $1 million from Kaneski’s bank accounts into joint accounts he held with his new wife. That prompted the FBI to begin seizure efforts and a criminal probe, prosecutors said.
Kanesaki’s mother, Setsuko Kanesaki, said her daughter was in good spirits before the cruise.
“I can’t imagine what happened to her. There’s no reason to believe it was a suicide,” she told the Orange County Register in 2006.
It was unclear Saturday whether Kocontes has retained an attorney. Plans were being made to extradite him to Southern California.
If convicted, Kocontes faces a minimum sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole and is eligible for the death penalty, Emami said.
Investigators say a male teacher has been posing as a Southern California girl on Facebook to lure boys into online relationships.
The Orange County Register reports that Irvine police arrested 30-year-old Zachary Reeder on suspicion of lewd conduct with a child, possession and distribution of child pornography, and child annoyance.
Police say Reeder convinced the boys to send him sexually explicit photographs of themselves by posing as a young woman.
It’s not believed Reeder had any in-person contact with the boys
Investigators are trying to determine if Reeder used his job as a history teacher at Servite High School in Anaheim to target victims.
Servite is a Catholic all-boys school.
Reeder previously taught history at a Christian high school in San Juan Capistrano and coached basketball at an Irvine high school for four seasons.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Los Angeles authorities are offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a fugitive ex-cop wanted in the murders of three people, as the latest investigation into a possible sighting of the suspect yielded no clues.
Police evacuated a Los Angeles home improvement store Sunday after a caller said they had seen someone resembling 33-year-old Christopher Dorner.
Authorities searched for hours but found no evidence that Dorner was there or had been there, Los Angeles police spokesman Gus Villanueva said.
Several tips came in a few hours afterLos Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the reward at a news conference alongside police chiefs and mayors from Irvine and Riverside.
“This search is not a matter of if, but a matter of when,” he said. “I want Chris Dorner to know that.”
Villaraigosa called Dorner’s actions a “reign of terror,” but expressed confidence that he would be brought to justice.
“His actions cannot go unanswered,” Los Angeles Police Chief Beck said.
Meanwhile, authorities said camping gear was found along with weapons inside Dorner’s burned-out pickup truck. The vehicle found Thursday in the ski resort town of Big Bear Lake was so charred that investigators couldn’t be more specific about the nature of its contents, Lopez said.
Also Sunday, police investigated a taunting phone call that may have been made by Dorner to the father of the woman they believe he killed last week. Two law enforcement officers who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press they are trying to determine if the call days after the killing was made by the 33-year-old fugitive or a man posing as him.
SWAT teams with air support and bloodhounds fanned out for the fourth day to search for Dorner, who has vowed revenge against several former LAPD colleagues whom he blames for ending his career.
The effort was significantly scaled back as the weekend went on, with 25 officers and a single helicopter looking for clues in the forest and going door-to-door at some 600 cabins in the San Bernardino mountains, about 80 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
On Saturday, Chief Beck said officials would re-examine the allegations by Dorner that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues. While he promised to hear out Dorner if he surrenders, Beck stressed that he was ordering a review of his 2007 case because he takes the allegation of racism in his department seriously.
“I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do,” the chief said in a statement.
Authorities suspect Dorner in a series of attacks in Southern California over the past week that have left three people dead. The killings and threats that Dorner allegedly made in an online rant have led police to provide protection to 50 families, Beck said.
A captain who was named a target in the manifesto posted on Facebook told the Orange County Register he has not stepped outside his house since he learned …read more
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The hunt for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected in three killings entered a fourth day in snow-covered mountains Sunday, a day after the LAPD chief ordered a review of the disciplinary case that led to the fugitive’s dismissal and new details emerge of the evidence he left behind.
Officials will re-examine the allegations by Christopher Dorner, 33, that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues, Police Chief Charlie Beck announced Saturday. While he promised to hear out Dorner if he surrenders, Beck stressed that he was ordering a review of his 2007 case because he takes the allegation of racism in his department seriously.
“I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do,” the chief said in a statement.
Authorities suspect Dorner in a series of attacks in Southern California over the past week that left three people dead. Authorities say he has vowed revenge against several former LAPD colleagues whom he blames for ending his career. The killings and threats that Dorner allegedly made in an online rant have led police to provide protection to 50 families, Beck said.
A captain who was named a target in the manifesto posted on Facebook told the Orange County Register he has not stepped outside his house since he learned of the threat.
“From what I’ve seen of (Dorner’s) actions, he feels he can make allegations for injustice and justify killing people and that’s not reasonable,” said Capt. Phil Tingirides, who chaired a board that stripped Dorner of his badge. “The end never justifies the means.”
On Saturday, the scaled-back search party took advantage of a break from stormy weather to look for Dorner in the San Bernardino mountains, about 80 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, where his burned-out pickup truck was discovered Thursday.
A law enforcement officer told The Associated Press authorities found weapons in the truck. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe is ongoing.
Investigators have been examining the truck to determine if it broke down or was set ablaze as a diversion. Police say the truck had a broken axle. Investigators are trying to determine whether it was already broken when they found it, or whether it was damaged when it was towed away.
Also, newly released surveillance video showed Dorner tossing several items into a Dumpster behind an auto parts store in National City on Monday. The store’s manager told FOX5 in San Diego that an employee found a magazine full of bullets, a military belt and a military helmet. Majid Yahyai said he and the employee took the items across the street to a police station.
On Friday night, authorities served a search warrant and collected evidence from a Buena Park storage unit as part of their investigation. Irvine police Lt. Julia Engen wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the evidence or say who had rented the unit.
Earlier Friday, another warrant was served at a La Palma house …read more
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The hunt for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected in three killings entered a fourth day in snow-covered mountains Sunday, a day after the LAPD chief ordered a review of the disciplinary case that led to the fugitive’s dismissal and new details emerge of the evidence he left behind.
Officials will re-examine the allegations by Christopher Dorner, 33, that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues, Police Chief Charlie Beck announced Saturday. While he promised to hear out Dorner if he surrenders, Beck stressed that he was ordering a review of his 2007 case because he takes the allegation of racism in his department seriously.
“I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do,” the chief said in a statement.
Authorities suspect Dorner in a series of attacks in Southern California over the past week that left three people dead. Authorities say he has vowed revenge against several former LAPD colleagues whom he blames for ending his career. The killings and threats that Dorner allegedly made in an online rant have led police to provide protection to 50 families, Beck said.
A captain who was named a target in the manifesto posted on Facebook told the Orange County Register he has not stepped outside his house since he learned of the threat.
“From what I’ve seen of (Dorner’s) actions, he feels he can make allegations for injustice and justify killing people and that’s not reasonable,” said Capt. Phil Tingirides, who chaired a board that stripped Dorner of his badge. “The end never justifies the means.”
On Saturday, the scaled-back search party took advantage of a break from stormy weather to look for Dorner in the San Bernardino mountains, about 80 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, where his burned-out pickup truck was discovered Thursday.
A law enforcement officer told The Associated Press authorities found weapons in the truck. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe is ongoing.
Investigators have been examining the truck to determine if it broke down or was set ablaze as a diversion. Police say the truck had a broken axle. Investigators are trying to determine whether it was already broken when they found it, or whether it was damaged when it was towed away.
A college basketball coach and her fiance were found shot to death in a car at their upscale condominium complex in Southern California, and authorities say they have no motive or suspects in the killing.
Cal State Fullerton assistant women’s basketball coach Monica Quan, 28, and her fiance Keith Lawrence, 27, were found dead around 9 p.m. Sunday on the top floor of a parking structure at the complex, police said. Officers found their bodies after someone reported seeing Lawrence slumped over the wheel of his vehicle.
Quan was found in the front passenger seat and Lawrence was in the driver seat, Irvine Police Lt. Julia Engen said.
“It doesn’t appear they were robbed,” Engen told the Orange County Register. “There’s no obvious motive.”
Few other details have been released.
Lawrence and Quan played basketball at Concordia University, and Quan was in her second season as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton.
“The loss of any member of the Titan family causes our community great grief, but the loss of one of our own under these circumstances is indeed tragic and heart-wrenching,” university President Mildred Garcia said in a statement Monday. “We hope that Monica’s family and friends will feel and be comforted by our support during this difficult time.”
Counselors will be available for staff and student athletes, Garcia said.
Engen said the couple recently moved into the condominium complex. The parking structure requires a key-code for entry and there are security cameras throughout the complex, a resident told the Los Angeles Times.
“We moved here because it was so safe — Irvine was the safest city in America,” Sharon Smith said. “I guess like anywhere else, we’re going to have a few incidents. … Nobody worries about living here.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
A doctor was fatally shot in an examination room of an Orange County medical office, and the man who police believe shot him was taken into custody in the same room without a struggle, authorities said.
Several 911 calls reported six or seven shots fired Monday afternoon at the medical office near Hoag Hospital in Orange County, Newport Beach police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe told The Associated Press. Officers found a man dead from gunshot wounds in a patient examination room, Lowe said.
They took into custody another man in the room.
Dr. Ronald Franklin Gilbert, 52, a urologist, was pronounced dead at the scene with several gunshot wounds on his body, The Los Angeles Times reported. The doctor’s relationship to the gunman weren’t immediately clear.
The floor of the shooting included the offices for Orange Coast Urology, which lists three doctors on its staff. A phone message at the clinic said the office was closed.
Becky Calderwood said she works two doors down from the office where the shooting took place, and said the gunman was a patient.
“I sit right at the front desk, I would have caught the first bullet,” Calderwood told the Times.
No one else was injured or targeted, Lowe said. “It does appear to be an isolated incident,” she said.
Detectives were interviewing employees and patients in the building.
Kristen Cotty, who works as an office supervisor at a lab one floor above, said she thought the gunfire was construction noises.
“What’s going on with the world today?” she told the Orange County Register. “I mean, schools, now I got to worry about going to work. This has got to stop.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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