Mother of 3 killed in Mission Viejo wrong-way collision | abc7.com.

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (KABC) — A mother of three was killed in Mission Viejo when she was struck by a wrong-way driver suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The crash occurred on Santa Margarita Parkway just north of Los Alisos Boulevard at about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, according to authorities. Witnesses say a driver at the wheel of a Ford F-250 pickup truck was traveling south on northbound Santa Margarita Parkway and crashed head-on with a minivan.

The mother driving the minivan, identified as 36-year-old Ana Martinez of Trabuco Canyon, was pronounced dead at the scene. The wrong-way driver, identified as 42-year-old William Carroll of Mission Viejo, was taken to an area hospital in critical condition.

Martinez’s three children are between 7 and 14 years old.

Carroll has a prior conviction for driving under the influence. Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said formal tests are pending, but other evidence points to DUI.

“Based on objective symptoms and investigators did detect the odor of alcohol at the scene, the driver appeared to be impaired,” Amormino said.

Northbound Santa Margarita Boulevard was closed from Los Alisos Boulevard to El Toro Road for police investigation.

If you have been arrested for the crime of DUI call Los Angeles DUI lawyer Max Gorby at 310-200-9651.

San Bernardino family counselor charged with pimping girl, 15 – latimes.com.

A San Bernardino family counselor responsible for providing services to children and families also coerced a 15-year-old girl into prostitution and sold sexual services on the Internet, the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office said Thursday.

Daron Lamar Whitworth, 42, worked for EMQ FamiliesFirst, a nonprofit that provides social services, mental-health and foster care for young children and families in San Bernardino County, authorities said. He was arrested without incident Thursday and booked into Central Detention Center in San Bernardino.

Police have issued arrest warrants for two alleged accomplices: Whitworth’s uncle Jacory C. Williams, 30, and Charmaine Williams, 24, both of San Bernardino. Charmaine Williams is in Los Angeles County Jail for unrelated reasons.

Whitworth faces 44 charges, including felony counts of human trafficking, pimping and pandering a minor under 16, and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, according to court records.

Investigators from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department began to gather evidence in August after the arrest of a juvenile for street prostitution in Hemet. The investigation gradually revealed that most of the unlawful activity had taken place in San Bernardino County, according to the release.

Anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a victim is encouraged to contact Sgt. John Sawyer with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department at (951) 544-7000.

Man Arrested After Alleged Kidnap Attempt – Local News – Los Angeles, CA | NBC News.

A Santa Ana man who allegedly tried to grab a 10-year-old boy from soccer practice was arrested Thursday evening after a police search on foot and by helicopter.

Victor Joseph Espinoza, 55, was found hiding in a residential backyard near Delhi Park after he fled when the boy’s soccer coach tried to detain him, according to Santa Ana Police Department.

The victim was walking to soccer practice with his 19-year-old female cousin when the suspect “lured the victim close enough to grab him,” the department said in a press release.

When the boy was able to break free, he and his cousin ran to tell the soccer coach, who confronted the suspect. When Espinoza tried to flee, the coach tackled him, but was unable to detain the 425-pound man, police said.

Espinoza was arrested behind a home in the 500 block of East Central Avenue (map).

Espinoza was booked for false imprisonment, child annoying, and gang enhancements, as he was a documented gang member, police said.

Editors Note: The defendant in this case weighed 425 pounds which was a primary reason for his inability to escape.

If you or a family member have been arrested for the crime of false imprisonment, call Attorney Max Gorby at (310) 200-9651.

Charles Manson

Parole for Charles Manson follower unacceptable, D.A.’s office says – latimes.com.

A child who is spanked, slapped, grabbed or shoved as a form of punishment runs a higher risk of becoming an adult who suffers from a wide range of mental and personality disorders, even when that harsh physical punishment was occasional and when the child experienced no more extreme form of violence or abuse at the hands of a parent or caregiver, says a new study.

Among adults who reported harsh physical punishment short of physical or sexual abuse, psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety disorders, mania and drug or alcohol dependency were between 2% and 5% more common. And more complex psychiatric illnesses marked by paranoia, antisocial behavior, emotional dependency and narcissism were between 4% and 7% more likely, according to the study published in the journal Pediatrics.

The increase in mental disorders among those who were hit or physically punished as children was seen even in families where no family dysfunction or clear evidence of parental mental illness was reported, suggesting that the higher risk of psychiatric woes was not necessarily genetically inherited. Even those who reported harsh physical punishment on a “sometimes” basis were at elevated risk of developing psychiatric disease in adulthood. And boys and girls who experienced such physical punishment were equally likely to suffer mental illness as adults.

The Canadian authors of the report, which is based on data collected from nearly 35,000 adult Americans, said their findings underscore that spanking and other forms of harsh physical punishment are a matter not just of private behavior but of public health.

They concluded that the nation’s physicians should explicitly tell parents that physical punishment, including spanking, smacking and slapping, “should not be used on children of any age.”

Pediatricians would need to instruct some parents in the fundamentals of positive reinforcement and other positive parenting approaches to correcting unwanted behavior in children, the authors wrote. But discouraging harsh physical discipline — a response to child behavior practiced by close to half of American parents — could yield important payoffs, the authors wrote, concluding that “reducing physical punishment may help to decrease the prevalence of mental disorders in the general population.”

Among the adult mental illnesses most strongly linked to a history of harsh physical punishment in childhood were mania (an adult diagnosis 5.2% more likely in those who reported harsh physical punishment); alcohol abuse or dependence (3.4% more likely); and drug abuse or dependence (3% more likely).

Adults physically punished as children were even more likely to be diagnosed with personality disorders: Those who experienced such discipline were 7.2% more likely to be diagnosed as adults with schizotypal personality disorders, in which a strong pattern of odd or paranoid thinking results in job loss, relationship failures and other woes; they were 5.5% more likely to get a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, in which low levels of empathy and moral responsibility result in illegal behavior and hurtful relationships; they were 4.7% more likely to be diagnosed with narcissistic personality characterized by extreme egotism and self-regard; and 4.6% more likely to have a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, in which unpredictable swings of neediness, narcissism and risk-taking often result in a string of failed relationships.

The latest study found that in all, only 6% of respondents reported they had been “pushed, grabbed, slapped, shoved or hit” by a parent or other adult in the home before the age of 18. That is far less than in another study, which reported that roughly 48% of adults said they were physically punished during childhood. The current study found that reports of harsh physical punishment were more common in African American homes than in Caucasian, Asian American or Pacific Islander households. But the researchers also found what they described as “a surprising finding”: that as an adult’s reported education and income levels increased, so did his or her likelihood of having experienced harsh physical punishment as a child.

The practice of spanking appears to be widespread in the United States, and a parent’s right to discipline a child physically — short of hits that leave bruises or worse — rarely brings legal repercussions. But in recent years, widely circulated videos of parents spanking or striking their children with repeated blows have sparked angry public debates about the practice.

The American Academy of Pediatricians already has adopted position statements that strongly oppose hitting a child for any reason. But the authors suggest that pediatricians may need to be more specific about what they oppose and more helpful in suggesting other parental strategies to induce desired child behavior.

Spanking linked to increased risk of mental health problems – latimes.com.

If you have been arrested for the crime of Child Abuse, please call Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer Max Gorby at (310) 200-9651.

ADELANTO, Calif. (KTLA) — Two brothers were arrested after a video surfaced online showing two young children kicking, choking and punching each other while a crowd of kids and an adult stood by and watched.

Authorities said they arrested Gabriel Gamboa, 23, and Agustin Gamboa, 24, of Adelanto and charged them with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Gamboa was transported to county jail after authorities said he admitted he was the person in the video and even laughed about it.

In the video, which first aired on KTLA News at 10 Thursday night, a man is seen moving other children out of the way of the fight so that it can continue.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials say Agustin recorded the fight while Gabriel allowed it to go uninterrupted.

The brothers’ nephew was one of the boys in the fight. Officials are still trying to identify the other boy, an African-American.

Sheriff’s Department initiated a criminal investigation after officials saw the video on KTLA on Thursday.

On Friday, deputies at the Adelanto station received an anonymous call from tenants who told them the fight was filmed in front of the Candlewick apartment complex at 11200 Chamberlaine Way in Adelanto.

Deputies made contact with Gamboa at the apartments, interviewing him as well as other tenants.

The Gamboa brothers were issued citations to appear in court regarding the incident.

Officials at the Sheriff’s Department said the boys in the video were five and six years old and the fight occurred at some point in the past two weeks.

Detectives said they determined from the interviews that physical altercations among children–some involving bullying–have been common at the apartment complex.

The video, which lasted for at least two minutes, was entitled “My nephew messed him up for picking on his home boy.” Gamboa had posted it to Facebook and it has since been removed.

The video shows Gamboa’s nephew pinning the other boy to the lawn and choking him at one point.

The two then move to a sandy part of a yard. There, the Hispanic boy gets pinned.

The children crowding around are seen cheering.

Adelanto Fight: Two Brothers Arrested In Case Of Fight Video Involving Young Boys – ktla.com.

Editor Opinion: Watching two 5 year olds fight and facilitating the fight is a violation of Felony Child Endangerment.   If you or a family member have been arrested for Child Endangerment, call Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer Max Gorby at (310) 200-9651.

Please contact Attorney Max Gorby at (310) 200-9651 regarding any questions related to California Vehicle Code 23152 (A) and (B), Driving Under The Influence.

Where is Saturday’s DUI checkpoint in Sherman Oaks? – LA Daily News.

A Los Angeles couple and the man’s ex-wife have been charged with recruiting Russian call girls to work in local brothels, federal immigration officials announced.

Mher “Mike” Hakopyan, 38, and his wife Natalya Muravyeva, 31, of Los Angeles, were charged Monday in federal court in Santa Ana of suspicion of conspiracy to transport prostitutes.

Hakopyan’s ex, Alla Kassianova, 43, of Los Angeles, was also charged and is believed to have fled the country.

They were charged after a 10-month federal probe that alleged the defendants brought women from Eastern Europe to Southern California to work as prostitutes.

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting vulnerable victims from ruthless profiteers,” said U.S. Attorney Andr Birotte Jr., in a statement.

“International prostitution rings like the one alleged in this case span jurisdictions and have a direct negative impact on both the woman involved and also on our local communities.”

The couple was arrested at their home in the 800 block of North Crescent Boulevard by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Santa Monica police detectives. Both were held without bail.

If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in federal prison.

According to the case affidavit, they employed recruiters in Russia and Eastern Europe to target 14 women who wanted to work in the U.S. sex trade.

They then bought them plane tickets and coached them how to enter the country via the Visa Waiver Program.

In Los Angeles, they got them homes, had them photographed in provocative poses and advertised their services on the Internet.

On Monday, agents searched a Los Angeles home and two apartments suspected as serving as brothels for the ring.

The federal investigation began in September 2011 after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers became suspicious of two Latvian women at Los Angeles International Airport. But their stories didn’t add up.

If you have been arrested for the crime of prostitution, contact experience Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer Max Gorby at (310) 200-9651.

Feds bust Russian prostitution ring in L.A. – LA Daily News.

WASHINGTON — For most of his 12 years on death row, Anthony Graves lived in what he called an 8-by-12 “cage.” To see outside he would stand on top of his rolled-up plastic mattress and look through a small window at the top of the concrete wall in the back of his cell. He spent 22, sometimes 24, hours a day in this room.

“Solitary confinement does one thing: It breaks a man’s will to live and he ends up deteriorating. He’s never the same person again,” said Graves, who served over 18 years in a Texas prison before being exonerated of all crimes in 2010.

Speaking at what was described as the first congressional hearing about solitary confinement, Graves told a Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee that the practice was “inhumane and by its design is driving men insane.”

Psychological studies indicate that approximately a third of prisoners in solitary confinement suffer from mental illness and 50% of prison suicides occur in solitary confinement, said Craig Haney, a psychology professor at UC Santa Cruz.

This month, the Center for Constitutional Rights sued the state of California for its practice of isolating prison inmates suspected of having gang affiliations. The lawsuit focuses on 300 inmates who have been held at Pelican Bay State Prison’s Security Housing Unit for more than a decade.

Charles Samuels, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, told the committee that inmates were only placed in solitary confinement to protect the safety of the prison population. The bureau attempts to limit time spent in solitary confinement, which is not supposed to be used for seriously mentally ill inmates, he said.

“Inmates who are disruptive or aggressive to others endanger the security of our institutions,” Samuels said. “Removing and segregating them from the general population allows us to continue to operate institutions.”

Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the committee chairman, said he planned to introduce legislation that would reform solitary confinement in federal institutions.

“I worry about those that end up in isolation for extended periods of time, who are subject to mental stress like none of us can imagine, and then go home to the general population,” Durbin said.

The emotional scars of solitary confinement still haunt Graves, who has trouble sleeping and often cries at night.

“We as American citizens are driving other American citizens out of their minds,” Graves said.

Solitary confinement ‘is driving men insane,’ former death row inmate testifies – latimes.com.

A motorist suspected of driving drunk behind the wheel of a Mercedes Benz led police on a high-speed pursuit Friday night from Burbank to Hollywood.

The chase reached speeds approaching 120 mph, authorities said, as the driver fled from the Burbank area onto three freeways — the 118, 5 and 101 — before getting off at Highland Avenue with his driver’s-side tire blown out.

Once on surface streets in the Hollywood area, the motorist sideswiped another car then came to a stop under an overpass, where California Highway Patrol officers arrested him.

Ambulances arrived on Franklin Avenue to transport the motorist and anyone else who may have been injured in the crash.

CHP Officer Tatiana Sauquillo said it was unknown yet if anyone was seriously hurt.

The chase, which lasted more than 40 minutes, began after an off-duty police officer noticed the black Mercedes driving erratically in the Burbank area.

DUI suspect pushes Mercedes past 100 mph in police pursuit – latimes.com.

If you have been arrested for the crime of DUI, contact experience Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer Max Gorby at (323) 477-2819.