Los Angeles Warrants

Published on: January 3, 2013

Getting Beyond Your Holiday Los Angeles Petty Theft Charges

Perhaps you and your frat buddies at UCLA got arrested for petty theft in Los Angeles after a crazy off-campus Christmas party. Or maybe the cops caught you stealing small items from a mall to “re-gift” to friends and family members.

In any case, you now face a misdemeanor charge — as well as other criminal counts, if you mixed up your petty theft with assault, robbery, or misbehavior towards a police officer.

It’s a New Year. You’d like a fresh start. You’d love to refocus on how to move your life forward in a positive direction — to make good on your 2013 resolutions.

Published on: December 19, 2012

Petty Thefts in Los Angeles Spike During Xmas. Santa (and the Police) Are Watching…

by Michael Kraut

Statistical analyses of petty theft in Los Angeles paint a pretty grim holiday picture.

According to the National Retail Federation, 95% of all retail stores (that’s 19 out of every 20 stores) falls victim to petty theft during the Yuletide season: that’s a spike of 30% over normal crime rates.

The diversity of petty theft schemes is literally too large to catalog. Some cases are relatively simple: A thief might snatch a purse left in a shopping cart unattended or take a “five finger discount” at a candy shop or convenience store. Some items are more prone to be stolen than others. Games, shoes and apparel tend to be big targets. Sometimes “odd ball” items can also be targeted. For instance, as we covered earlier this year, Tide detergent apparently is a commonly pilfered item. Thieves steal the Tide and then resell it on the black market.

Published on: December 12, 2012

Southland Attorney Hit with Lewd Conduct Charges — Arturo Gutierrez Allegedly Planned to Meet Under-Aged Girl at Seal Beach Pier

by Michael Kraut

Southland Attorney Arturo Fernando Shaw Gutierrez was arrested in a sting operation last Saturday and charged with arranging to meet a minor for lewd acts and intent to commit lewd acts at the Seal Beach Pier.

According to initial reports from the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force, the parents of an under-aged girl alerted authorities after they noticed that their daughter had been having strange and sexual conversations with an adult man via Facebook. Authorities used clues from the girl’s Facebook account to bust Gutierrez. The criminal defense attorney had been allegedly posing as a young girl online. CBS LA reported that “Gutierrez had been unaware [that] he had been communicating via Facebook with the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force since November.” Authorities believe that he might have also engaged in other online communiqués with young women, although he has not yet been charged with additional crimes. He was held at the Seal Beach jail on a $50,000 bail.

A press release reported that “a search warrant was served at Gutierrez’s home in Ventura County immediately following his arrest.”

Published on: December 3, 2012

Proposition 36 Alert: Man Convicted of Los Angeles Petty Theft Released From Jail after 17 Years

by Michael Kraut

Nearly two decades ago, Sergio Ayala got convicted on charges of Los Angeles petty theft: he stole a leaf blower worth $150. Since the former heroin addict already had two criminal convictions “under his belt,” he found himself whalloped by California’s Three Strikes rule and landed a sentence of 25 years to life behind bars.

17 years passed.

Then came the November elections, and Mr. Ayala’s fortunes changed, thanks to the passage of Proposition 36, which amended the 1994 Three Strikes law and paved the way for Mr. Ayala’s release. The tweaks to Prop 36 were designed to help non-violent offenders exit the California prison system and save the state millions of dollars in tax revenues. Champions of the bill suggested that the Three Strikes law had been long overdue for a reworking, especially as it pertained to practice of “throwing the book” at non-violent third offenders, like Los Angeles petty theft defendants. Critics, however, worry that the changes to the law could lead to increased crime rates and more recidivist behavior.

Published on: November 13, 2012

Santa Barbara Police Officer Acquitted of Southern California Lewd Conduct Charges

by Michael Kraut

After a highly publicized trial, former Santa Barbara police officer Brian Sawicki, has been acquitted by jury on charges of lewd conduct in Southern California and illegal electronic peeping.

Sawicki was convicted of two misdemeanor counts – resisting evidence and destroying evidence – however, the jury found him not guilty of trying to expose himself to two 13-year-old girls on Refugio State Beach in 2010.

The story is a little bit crazy.

Published on: November 1, 2012

Got Arrested for Petty Theft in Los Angeles? 3 “Egg Theft” Cases Indicate That Your Case May Not Be So Original, After All…

by Michael Kraut

You’ve recently been arrested for petty theft or grand theft in Los Angeles.

Not only are you sweating the potential legal ramifications — you don’t want to go jail or pay thousands of dollars in fines and restitution — but you’re also concerned that your case might be “one of a kind.” Perhaps you stole something “weird” for a fluky reason. Or maybe the events that occurred before, during, or after the theft were very quirky. As a result, you fear that even the best Southern California criminal defense lawyer might not know how to assist you.

Odds are, however, that your case is far more “normal” than you realize.

Published on: October 18, 2012

Medicare Fraud Strike Force Scores Victory: Ambulance Admin Submitted Over $1.7 Million in False Claims

by Michael Kraut

On October 16th, 31-year-old Okechukwu Ofoegbu pled guilty to charges that he had tried to bilk Medicare out of over $1.7 million. His arrest, prosecution, and guilty charge showcase the seriousness with which the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has been cracking down on crimes like Los Angeles healthcare fraud.

Back in May, Ofoegbu was indicted along with 106 other people, including nurses, doctors, and medical specialists of all types, for allegedly trying to falsely bill Medicare for over $452 million. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force – the group that organized the investigation and indictments – has charged nearly 1,500 defendants since the spring of 2007. Collectively, these people have been accused of trying to steal ~$5 billion from Medicare’s coffers.

Ofoegbu’s plea arrangement will net him a restitution fine of over $550,000, and he could face up to a decade behind bars. He will be sentenced in January 2013.

Published on: September 18, 2012

Petty Theft Conviction in Los Angeles Will Make LL Cool J’s Burglars’ Defense That Much More Complicated

by Michael Kraut

Could a conviction for petty theft in Los Angeles (e.g. for shoplifting some t-shirts or clothes) ultimately land you a 30-year prison conviction and $1.1 million bail?

If that scenario sounds far-fetched, think again.

It’s a reality for 56-years-old Jonathan Kirby, who was charged last week with breaking into rapper LL Cool J’s house. Kirby apparently picked the wrong house to burglarize. When the NCIS: Los Angeles star woke from his slumber around 2 AM, Cool J – a.k.a. James Todd Smith – confronted Kirby and got into a brawl with him. Cool J smashed up Kirby’s nose and broke his ribs and jaw before detaining the intruder and holding him there. Police believe Cool J acted in self-defense, and no charges against have been filed against him.

Published on: September 13, 2012

Sophisticated Computers May Prove the Bane of Los Angeles Medicare Fraud Defendants

by Michael Kraut

If you’ve recently been investigated or arrested for Medicare or MediCal fraud in Southern California, prepare for serious challenges.

According to a recent NPR report, the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. “Obamacare”) has empowered federal investigators to identify and prosecute fraud like never before. Peter Budetti, an anti-fraud manager at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said the federal government is now “able to verify whether a person was being treated by two different physicians in two different states on the same day or a variety of other possibilities,” thanks to powerful anti-fraud computer software. These systems are roughly analogous to systems that credit card companies use to suss out suspicious buying patterns.

The anti-fraud computer systems may spark a paradigm shift in terms of how the government suppresses fraud. The old/current paradigm is often known as the “pay and chase” model. Here’s how it works:

Published on: August 28, 2012

Dealing with Your Wickedly Embarrassing Los Angeles Lewd Conduct Charges – On The Beach, in a Public Bathroom, Wherever…

by Michael Kraut

Whether you were hit with Los Angeles lewd conduct charges for engaging in explicit sexual behavior in a bathroom (like the men charged earlier this summer at Manhattan Beach) or you were arrested for a sex crime on a public beach in Venice or Santa Monica, you’re probably pretty scared and confused about what’s going to happen to you.

Recognize that you are not alone in your struggles, and you are probably not the first to be arrested for your type of crime. Truth be told, you may find it difficult to find support even from normally empathetic coworkers, advisors, and family members. But understand that, in all likelihood, your type of crime has “happened before.”

Consider, for instance, two recent arrests on opposite sides of the country that parallel each other.