February 20, 2012-According to reports a man standing on the tracks was struck and killed by a Metrolink train. According to Orange County Police Sgt. Dan Adams a Metrolink train traveling southbound struck and fatally injured a man standing on the tracks at approximately 6:40 a.m. at the intersection of Batavia Street and Collins Avenue in Orange.
Sgt. Adams said the conductor saw the man standing on the tracks north of Collins Avenue and could not stop in time. According to the conductor the man did not attempt to move off of the tracks upon seeing the train, leading Orange County Police officials to believe the man may have committed suicide. Sgt. Adams said that the 805 Metrolink train on the Empire-Orange County line was the train involved in the fatal accident and was terminated according to Metrolink officials. There were 108 passengers onboard the train at the time of the accident and no injuries were reported.
The man that was struck by the 805 Metrolink southbound train was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to Orange County Police Sgt. Adams. According to Orange County Transportation Authority buses were dispatched to pick up the passengers that were onboard the Metrolink train.
February 16, 2012 – According to reports a police chase of an SUV containing a woman that was believed to be kidnapped ended in a fatal crash, killing the woman.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department police received reports that a woman was grabbed off of the sidewalk at approximately 8:00 a.m. in the vicinity of 6th Street and Bexel Street. The vehicle was identified to the LAPD as a black GMC Yukon that was spotted by officers after the reported kidnapping.
According to Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Andrew Smith, the woman that had been kidnapped was seen by officers hanging out of the window at times and waving to the officers.
The police chase was approximately a mile, before the driver of the Yukon crashed head-on with a Volvo. The LAPD said that the suspect then took off on foot after the crash and was taken into custody a short time later.
The woman that had been allegedly kidnapped was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Cmdr. Smith said that the driver of the Volvo that was involved in the head-on crash suffered minor injuries in the collision. According to the LAPD the relationship between the woman that was kidnapped and the suspect has not been determined at this time.
February 8, 2012 – According to reports 200 more photos have been found in the sexual abuse bondage case. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Scott, investigators have found 200 more bondage photos in the computer at the Redondo Beach CVS store, where the first 40 photos were turned into authorities by an employee.
The new photos that have been recovered, allegedly taken by former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berdt, show approximately 25 victims that have not been identified.
One of the students involved in the sexual abuse case is identified as a ten year old female, who was not in Berndt’s class, but was borrowed from another classroom. According to the young girl Berndt would contact the girl’s teacher and ask to borrow a group of students and the teacher would deliver the students to his classroom.
Berndt, according to the girl would give them cookies, that she believed were for being helpful and as a reward. Police investigators have since discovered the cookies were covered with Berndt’s semen. The girl stated that she received a cookie almost every day.
According to attorney Brian Claypool, who represents six of the alleged victims, including the 10 year old female student, gave the name of the female teacher to authorities. According to Sgt. Scott the female teacher has been interviewed and is not a suspect, police do not believe she had any involvement. He went on to say he cannot tell what will happen in the future.
February 6, 2012 – According to reports a pedestrian was killed crossing Pacific Coast highway Sunday.
According to Seal Beach Police Sgt. Steve Bowles the accident was reported at approximately 8:50 p.m. that a woman was struck by an SUV while crossing Pacific Coast Highway in the vicinity north of Anderson Street.
The woman according to Orange County Deputy Coroner Mitchell Sigal was identified as Holly Barish-Sablich age 22.
Sgt. Bowles stated that witnesses said that the woman was not in a designated controlled intersection and was outside of the sidewalk. Alcohol is not considered to be a factor in the deadly crash and the driver of the SUV was interviewed by officers, Sgt. Bowles said.
Barish-Sablich was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash by paramedics and an autopsy is planned to determine the young woman’s cause of death.
According to Sgt. Bowles the accident is being investigated by a multi-agency Traffic Accident Response team that includes officers from Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, Cypress and La Palma.
February 1, 2011 – Some sick bastard if this is true. So freakin gross! According to reports a third grade teacher fed students that were blindfolded semen from a spoon and on cookies.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office Mark Berndt age 61 of Torrance was arrested on Monday and charged Tuesday with 23 counts of lewd acts with a child. Sheriff’s Lt. Carlos Marquez said that Brandt a teacher at the Miramonte Elementary School, came under investigation when approximately 40 pictures were turned over by a CVS employee that was processing the film. The photos showed children that were blindfolded and had tape over their mouths.
Executing a search warrant at Berndt’s Torrance home investigators found over 100 pictures and at another photo processing location found approximately 250 photos. In total investigators found approximately 390 pictures that had similar tones to a sexual bondage film found at the former teacher’s house.
Lt. Marquez said that the 23 felony counts stem from twenty three boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 10 that have been identified as victims and the number is expected to rise.
Capt. Mike Parker of the sheriff’s department said that the children had contact with Brandt between 2008 and 2010. Photos that investigators found showed children that were bound and blindfolded with Madagascar cockroaches crawling on them.
According to Capt. Parker some girls were holding a blue spoon with a white substance in some of the photos near their mouths. The Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau detectives recovered a blue plastic spoon and an empty container in the trash in Berndt’s classroom. Testing of the container and spoon proved to be semen with a DNA match to Berndt, according to authorities.
Berndt was fired in March and after being arrested is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $2.3 million. Miramonte Elementary School Principal, Martin Sandoval said that this is an unfortunate incident and said he would like to express his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims.
LAUSD Superintendant John Deasy said that anyone that would violate the trust of young people in his opinion is scum. Deasy went on to say that Berndt is in jail, where he should be an hope he remains there for life and longer.
January 16, 2012 – According to reports a sixth body has been found on the Italian cruise ship that sank off of the Tuscany Coast. The identity of the person that was found is unknown at this time according to Italian news outlet Ansa and only identified as a man that was a passenger on the ship.
It has been reported that two people were found aboard the ship on Sunday wearing life jackets, after the Friday evening accident when the Costa Concordia ran aground approximately 500 feet from the shore. The bodies were found at a gathering point in an area of the ship that was submerged.
Costa Cruises, whose parent company is Carnival Corporation said in a statement Saturday that they are investigating to know how the accident occurred. The Costa Cruises stated that the route the ship took was too close to the coast and the captain Francesco Schettino it appeared did not follow their standard procedures. Schettino is in custody and could face charges of manslaughter in the accident that occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. that leaves 10 passengers and 6 crew members unaccounted for. According to the U.S. embassy in Rome they estimate there were approximately 118 American’s onboard the luxury liner and only 188 have been accounted for.
January 15, 2012 – According to reports passengers on the sinking Italian cruise ship, after running aground were told by crew members it was a small technical difficulty.
According to passengers on the Costa Concordia, Vivian Shafer and her friend traveling with her Ronda Rosenthal, they were watching the magic show aboard the ship, with the staff, enhancing the show by turning the lights off and on and using smoke. They felt the ship shutter and upon returning to their cabin were told by the cabin steward that the ship had a small technical difficulty.
The two women went to bed thinking that everything was alright and heard an announcement on behalf of the captain saying that there was an electrical problem that would be fixed shortly.
According to Shafer the next thing that they heard were announcements talking about muster stations and lifeboats. The two women dressed quickly and took their life jackets to go find out what the announcements were about, when they saw chaos, among passengers and crew members.
Shafer said, passengers were left on their own, without anyone to help and were lowering lifeboats themselves.
Costa Crociere said that the crew acted bravely in a statement Sunday, after the Friday night sinking of the cruise ship. But other reports indicate the captain was showing off, and he was trying to get close to shore, so he could blow the horn!
December 20, 2011 – According to reports a woman involved in a hit and run was arrested after turning herself in.
According to Garden Grove Police Lt. Jeff Nighengale a woman identified as Guadulupe Quinonez of Santa Ana was arrested after she turned herself in for her involvement in a Wednesday hit and run accident. The accident occurred on West Street in the vicinity of Acacia Avenue.
Lt. Nighengale said a 57 year old man identified as Gregory Martin was struck by a Dodge Magnum that was traveling southbound on West Street and then struck by a second vehicle. Martin was crossing West Street, but was not in a crosswalk at the time he was struck by the Dodge Magnum.
Witnesses that saw Martin struck followed the vehicle and wrote down the license plate number, Lt. Nightengale stated. Martin was struck by a Ford Explorer, after being struck by the Dodge and lying in the southbound lanes of West Street and dragged approximately 750 feet onto Acacia Avenue. The driver of the Explorer stopped to see what was causing the dragging noise, when he discovered Martin.
Lt. Nightengale said the driver of the explorer stayed and talked to Garden Grove police. Police found the Dodge Magnum abandoned and with significant damage and transported it to the Orange County Crime Lab.
According to Garden Grove police Quinonez had her 7 year old daughter with her at the time she struck Martin and took her home and left her with an acquaintance. She then left on foot and called family members later to pick her daughter up.
Quinonez after turning herself in was arrested for suspicion of felony hit and run, child endangerment and driving with a suspended license. The 24 year old Santa Ana resident was booked into the Orange County Jail, according to Lt. Nightengale. Martin a 54 year old Garden Grove resident is still listed in critical condition, but stable.
December 12, 2011 -According to reports a recall has been issued for more than 6 thousand cartons of cilantro, due to fears of Salmonella. According to the Food and Drug Administration there is a recalled issued for 6,141 cartons of cilantro. The recall was issued after sample tests were positive for salmonella.
According to Pacific International Marketing where the cilantro came from says that it is packed in bunches with the word Pacific on the twist tie and a UPC code of 3338380104. The cilantro was placed on store shelves between November 16th and December 10th in stores in Arizona, California, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey and South Carolina.
There has been no consumer illness reported and the consumer can return the cilantro for a full refund, according to Pacific International Marketing.
December 8, 2011 – According to reports prosecutors were deciding today if James Loney of the Los Angeles Dodgers will face driving under the influence charges, stemming from a November crash. According to prosecutors they had received a report that they are reviewing from the California Highway Patrol, involving the November collision Loney had.
According to California Highway Patrol Officer Leland Tang the traffic collision occurred at approximately 6:00 p.m. on November 14th. The crash Loney was involved in occurred in the westbound lanes of the Ventura Freeway, in the vicinity of Sepulveda Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. CHP Officer Tang said, at the time of the collision, Loney was driving a 2009 Maserati, in which he sideswiped three vehicles and then came to a stop in the fast lane.
According to witnesses they attempted to speak to Loney and he appeared to be unconscious. Officer Tang stated that a California Highway Patrol officer reported Loney who was transported to an area hospital for treatment appeared to be under the influence. According to the California Highway Patrol, Loney was placed under arrest at the hospital, where a blood alcohol test was taken. Loney was then released for medical treatment and prosecutors are awaiting the results of the blood testing that was done. According to Joe Jareck, spokesman for the LA Dodgers, the team is aware of the collision and the possible driving under the influence charges and is looking into the accident.
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