News
- Chelsea Arcos update: Judy O'Rourke was at the courthouse in San Fernando to cover the preliminary hearing of Saugus woman Chelsea Arcos, 19, who stands accused of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other charges after an accident on Interstate 5 last August claimed two lives. Arcos was reportedly returning from a party in Frazier Park when she allegedly hit and killed a Fresno woman and a Long Beach man who were changing a flat tire on the shoulder of the southbound Golden State Freeway near Magic Mountain. After hitting the pair, Arcos allegedly continued down the 5 Freeway until reaching Valencia Blvd. There are a number of new updates here. The prosecution has a witness, one Donald Gollahon, who was travelling behind Arcos and saw a body "fly up in the air," after she hit the pair. Gollahon later confronted Arcos when she exited the Valencia Blvd off ramp. Also, this is the first we've heard from a passenger in the disabled car; the wife of the deceased man testified that she heard a scream and felt the impact of one of the bodies against the car. No mention is made of allegations that Arcos said shortly after the accident that her father, LAPD Lt. Robert Arcos, would "help her out." Earlier media reports also said that one of the victims had been dragged under Arcos' truck, a Toyota Tacoma, after the accident. Arcos faces up to 13 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
- Proposed Castaic High costs too much: The Hart District will consider alternative construction options at tonight's board meeting. Marks with all the details.
- Phony cop arrested: The Sheriff's Department says they have the man who posed as a undercover officer and tried to lure a Saugus high girl into his car. The Friday morning incident prompted school districts valley wide to issue an alert to parents about a potential predator. The girl refused to go with the 21 year old man, who was arrested yesterday at his job site in Valencia. Christi Anne Corpus filed this report.
- COC emergency plans: Jesse Munoz took a look at College of the Canyons' emergency plans following Monday's tragedy at Virginia Tech.
- Diane Trautman to run for city council: The Planning Commissioner says she's concerned about development and wants to maintain the character and quality of the SCV's older neighborhoods. Daams has more.
- Setting fires, breaking windows, issuing racial epithets: All occur on Santa Clarita Transit busses, according to some riders who complained about rowdy youths at a public hearing last Thursday. Bus drivers lack the authority to discipline the kids. Daams with the complete report.
- Do you shop at Ross? My wife does, and she and others will be upset over a change in the traffic pattern on the corner of Newhall Ranch Road and Bouquet Canyon. Pat Aidem reports.
- John Boston wants Huell Howser to visit the SCV: SCVTalk supports Boston's efforts (if they are real?) to get Huell Howser to visit our humble valley.
- Felony charges for shoplifting? The SCV has become fascinated with the Sheriff Department's near daily "Incident Summary," which serves not only as a crime-blotter, but as good PR for the department. The Signal now includes space for it on page three, and one reader's letter to the editor welcomed the summaries and said everyone at his work read them. Local blogs and news sites post the summaries verbatim whenever they are released (usually late afternoon), and one west side blogger even used them to slander Canyon Country.
Monday's summary had an incident that sparked my interest. Let's have a look-see:
Saturday - April 14, 2007 - 9:40 p.m. - Canyon Country: Deputies Davidson and Gonzalez arrested a Newhall man Saturday evening after they stopped him on a bicycle in the 18500 block of Soledad Canyon Road and found he had possession of an alcoholic beverage with a security sensor still attached. The subsequent investigation revealed that the suspect allegedly stole the item from the Canyon Country Albertsons Supermarket. The suspect, Dustin Clifford, MW/19, was booked at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station on a felony charge. He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail. -ref 07011
Wow, felony charges for -correct me if I'm wrong- shoplifting? There's no indication in this brief report that Clifford robbed the Albertsons (that is using violence or the threat of violence in the commission of larceny). Furthermore, he's is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail? Does that make sense to you? In the United States and in California, felony charges are reserved for the more serious offenders. Such crimes include burglary, robbery, assault and battery, arson, rape or murder (and sometimes DUI). Punishment for these crimes almost always involve incarceration in a prison, deprivation of civil liberties (such sa the right to vote), and in California in particular, count as one strike against the perpetrator in a system that locks away felons for life if they have three "strikes" against them. Curious, I decided to call up the Sheriff's department and talk to Sgt. Darren Harris, who sends out the reports. Harris tells me that in this specific incident, deputies determined that Clifford's intent was to steal the alcoholic beverage prior to entering the store. Entering the store with the intent to steal the beverage is technically 'burglary,' Harris told me, which is sometimes a felony. Deputies look for obvious signs of intent: a bag which could be used to conceal the stolen item, whether the suspect was actually shopping at the store or not etc... A shoplifter, in contrast, would be more of an opportunist. It's a fuzzy line alright, but one that the law allows Deputies to determine. Harris noted that whether the District Attorney chooses to charge Clifford with a felony is another matter.
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