San Diego County

A convicted triple murderer jailed in an Illinois prison has been indicted by the Orange County grand jury for the murders of five Southern California women between 1986 and 1995 in Orange, Riverside and San Diego Counties. The first of the murders allegedly committed by Andrew Urdiales was that of 23-year-old Robbin Brandley, a Laguna Beach resident, in 1986, according to district attorney spokeswoman Farrah Emami. Urdiales, 45, is charged with five felony counts of special circumstances murder for committing multiple murders and the personal use of a firearm in three murders.

An Orange County grand jury has indicted 11 suspects — including nine alleged members of a San Diego criminal street gang — in a crime spree involving the armed robbery of two jewelry stores, including one in Laguna Beach, in addition to alleged identity theft, and street terrorism. Law enforcement officials allege that, while retrieving a vehicle impounded by Laguna Beach Police after a pursuit of the armed robbery suspects, members of the gang stole mail from Laguna Beach mailboxes.

A grand jury has indicted 11 suspects — including nine alleged members of a San Diego criminal street gang — in a crime spree involving the armed robbery of a Laguna Beach jewelry store, in addition to alleged identity theft and street terrorism. Law enforcement officials claim that, while retrieving a vehicle impounded by Laguna Beach Police after a pursuit of the armed robbery suspects, members of the gang stole mail from Laguna Beach mailboxes. Most of the stolen property has not been recovered.

A now-retired lieutenant for the California Highway Patrol was convicted Tuesday, Dec. 22 of attempting to commit unlawful sexual acts with a fictitious 13-year-old girl, whom he believed was real, after meeting the girl online and engaging in explicit sexual conversations in an underage sex sting based in Laguna Beach. A jury found Stephen Robert Deck, 55, of Carlsbad, guilty of one felony count of attempted lewd acts on a child under 14. He faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison at his sentencing Jan. 22. Beginning Feb. 12, 2006, Deck had online and phone conversations with a woman who told him she was a 13-year-old girl.

Police make arrests in alleged card theft After police arrested two people on suspicion of breaking into cars near Lang Park to steal credit cards, officers learned the pair may be involved in more crimes in the San Diego area. The pair, Josh Wyatt Nelson, 30, of Oceanside and Michelle Lynn Salisbury, 40, of Oceanside, were spotted by a witness near Lang Park at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Det. Matt August said. A woman reportedly saw Nelson break into a Mercedes and an SUV. When she confronted Nelson, he ran away toward the Albertson's shopping center carrying several credit cards he allegedly stole out of the SUV. As the woman called 911, she was allegedly threatened by Salisbury, who got out of a green Toyota 4-Runner she and Nelson had planned to use as getaway car, August said.

Three Laguna Beach art galleries got a measure of justice for a 10-year-old crime Tuesday. A convicted art thief was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $260,000 in paintings from the galleries in 1999, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Joseph Michael Killebrew, 51, was arrested earlier this year on a decade-old warrant while living under a false name in Las Vegas. Killebrew pleaded guilty to four felony counts of grand theft and sentencing enhancements for a theft of more than $100,000 and was sentenced to two years and eight months in state prison.

Hawaiian authorities have arrested a man in Hawaii on suspicion of robbing John’s Jewelry on Forest Avenue at gunpoint Feb. 6. The suspect allegedly used a semi-automatic handgun to steal $50,000 in diamond rings, after initially posing as a customer of the shop. Leslie Giovanni Church, 34, was arrested Tuesday by officers from the California Department of Corrections on the island of Kauai. Corrections officials had been working closely with investigators from the Laguna Beach and San Diego police departments on the case.

Trial began today in Santa Ana for a retired California Highway Patrol lieutenant charged with attempting to commit unlawful sex acts in Laguna Beach with a fake 13-year-old girl, whom he believed was bonafide, after an online meeting in February 2006. Twelve other men were also accused in the under-aged sex sting operation that took place in a Laguna Beach apartment. All but one of the other arrestees have been sentenced, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Trial began Monday in Santa Ana for a retired California Highway Patrol lieutenant charged with attempting to commit unlawful sex acts in Laguna Beach with a fake 13-year-old girl, whom he believed was bonafide, after an online meeting in February 2006. Twelve other men were also accused in the under-aged sex sting operation that took place in a Laguna Beach apartment. All but one of the other arrestees have been sentenced, according to the Orange County district attorney?s office.

In case we?ve forgotten, Laguna and Orange County do have a perfectly good public bus service (?Sally?s Fund to continue Susi Q service for seniors,? May 7). While there is a need for the services Sally?s Fund provides, it would behoove all of us to pay a lot more attention to the existing services we already have in our community and make better use of them. The more people ride the bus, the better the service will become. I find I can meet all my needs by the public bus, bicycle, walking and occasional ride-sharing.

Laguna Beach Police arrested a man suspected of robbing fast-food joints after two failed stickups Wednesday evening, authorities said. David Brian Mattson, 48, is suspected in a string of 30 robberies of fast-food establishments in various cities, Lt. Jason Kravetz said in a news release. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, employees of Jack in the Box on South Coast Highway called 911 to report an armed robbery had just occurred, Kravetz said. The suspect had pulled through the drive through and pointed a handgun at the employees while demanding money from the cash register, he said.

In case we?ve forgotten, Laguna and Orange County do have a perfectly good public bus service (?Sally?s Fund to continue Susi Q service for seniors,? May 7). While there is a need for the services Sally?s Fund provides, it would behoove all of us to pay a lot more attention to the existing services we already have in our community and make better use of them. The more people ride the bus, the better the service will become. I find I can meet all my needs by the public bus, bicycle, walking and occasional ride-sharing.

A suspect in a decade-long string of rape cases, two of which originated in Laguna Beach, is in custody in Austria after a DNA match through Interpol, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Ali Achekzai, 32, formerly of Ladera Ranch, is suspected of being an international serial rapist, the district attorney alleged. Achekzai, who was on the district attorney’s 10 Most Wanted list, used multiple aliases and lived in various countries before he was apprehended Tuesday in an Austrian hotel after a DNA match.

A now-retired lieutenant for the California Highway Patrol was convicted Tuesday, Dec. 22 of attempting to commit unlawful sexual acts with a fictitious 13-year-old girl, whom he believed was real, after meeting the girl online and engaging in explicit sexual conversations in an underage sex sting based in Laguna Beach. A jury found Stephen Robert Deck, 55, of Carlsbad, guilty of one felony count of attempted lewd acts on a child under 14. He faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison at his sentencing Jan. 22. Beginning Feb. 12, 2006, Deck had online and phone conversations with a woman who told him she was a 13-year-old girl.

Trial began Monday in Santa Ana for a retired California Highway Patrol lieutenant charged with attempting to commit unlawful sex acts in Laguna Beach with a fake 13-year-old girl, whom he believed was bonafide, after an online meeting in February 2006. Twelve other men were also accused in the under-aged sex sting operation that took place in a Laguna Beach apartment. All but one of the other arrestees have been sentenced, according to the Orange County district attorney?s office.

A convicted triple murderer jailed in an Illinois prison has been indicted by the Orange County grand jury for the murders of five Southern California women between 1986 and 1995 in Orange, Riverside and San Diego Counties. The first of the murders allegedly committed by Andrew Urdiales was that of 23-year-old Robbin Brandley, a Laguna Beach resident, in 1986, according to district attorney spokeswoman Farrah Emami. Urdiales, 45, is charged with five felony counts of special circumstances murder for committing multiple murders and the personal use of a firearm in three murders.

Trial began today in Santa Ana for a retired California Highway Patrol lieutenant charged with attempting to commit unlawful sex acts in Laguna Beach with a fake 13-year-old girl, whom he believed was bonafide, after an online meeting in February 2006. Twelve other men were also accused in the under-aged sex sting operation that took place in a Laguna Beach apartment. All but one of the other arrestees have been sentenced, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

A grand jury has indicted 11 suspects — including nine alleged members of a San Diego criminal street gang — in a crime spree involving the armed robbery of a Laguna Beach jewelry store, in addition to alleged identity theft and street terrorism. Law enforcement officials claim that, while retrieving a vehicle impounded by Laguna Beach Police after a pursuit of the armed robbery suspects, members of the gang stole mail from Laguna Beach mailboxes. Most of the stolen property has not been recovered.

An Orange County grand jury has indicted 11 suspects — including nine alleged members of a San Diego criminal street gang — in a crime spree involving the armed robbery of two jewelry stores, including one in Laguna Beach, in addition to alleged identity theft, and street terrorism. Law enforcement officials allege that, while retrieving a vehicle impounded by Laguna Beach Police after a pursuit of the armed robbery suspects, members of the gang stole mail from Laguna Beach mailboxes.

Three Laguna Beach art galleries got a measure of justice for a 10-year-old crime Tuesday. A convicted art thief was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $260,000 in paintings from the galleries in 1999, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Joseph Michael Killebrew, 51, was arrested earlier this year on a decade-old warrant while living under a false name in Las Vegas. Killebrew pleaded guilty to four felony counts of grand theft and sentencing enhancements for a theft of more than $100,000 and was sentenced to two years and eight months in state prison.