Corona, CA: Boy, mother pepper-sprayed by burglar

Corona police on Wednesday night were looking for a man who broke into a home with a second intruder and pepper-sprayed a 12-year-old boy and his mother.

The mother and her son arrived at their home in the 600 block of Azure Lane about 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 and found one of the men inside during an attempted burglary, the Corona Police Department said.

Corona, CA: Deputy Accused in Bar Killing Makes Court Appearance

A Riverside County Sheriff' Deputy who was off-duty when he allegedly shot and killed a man Dec. 21 in Spelly's Pub & Grille in Murrieta appeared in court Friday with an injured hand.

With a hand injury suffered in jail, accused killer and former Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Dayle Long appeared in court today.

The court appearance was to set a date for a preliminary hearing for Long, who pleaded not guilty in the Dec. 21 shooting death of Sam Vanettes at Spelly's Pub & Grille in Murrieta.

The hearing was set for March 5 and is expected to take four hours.

Long's deputy public defender, Jeff Zimel, asked that an MRI be ordered for Long's hand.

Corona, CA: $1,000 Reward Offered If You Help City To The North

A band of copper thieves has caused menace in Corona, so the city is offering a $1,000 reward for info that will lead to arrests.

A $1,000 reward was posted by the city of Corona today for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals responsible for a spate of thefts targeting wiring for street lights.

Copper wire thieves have struck a number of times in the city over the past few years, but officials issued their first public notice about the street light activity in October.

Corona, CA: Did life go bad before or after the Tattoo?

On January 12, 2012, at 8:00 AM, officers from the California Highway Patrol contacted the Perris Station regarding the recovery of a vehicle which had been stolen from the 29000 block of Turtle Rock Ct., Menifee on January 10, 2012, at 5:57 AM. Officers from the California Highway Patrol stopped the stolen vehicle, occupied by two people. The female passenger was taken into custody, while the male driver fled the scene on foot.

Investigators from the Menifee Police Department went to Santa Ana and discovered a large amount of stolen property inside the vehicle. The property was determined to have been stolen from various locations throughout Corona and Menifee. Items stolen from an unlocked vehicle in the 28000 block of Via Marsala, Menifee on January 11, 2012, were identified and returned to the victim.

Corona, CA: Anaheim Man, 23, Arrested For Intentionally Running Over Corona Grandfather

A murder suspect was behind bars Monday after allegedly running over and killing a local grandfather on purpose.

Riverside County deputies say 68-year-old Herman Villalobos was riding his bike Sunday along Windsong Street in Corona, just a few blocks from his home, when a male driver intentionally plowed his car into the man.

The driver took off, leaving Villalobos in the street to be discovered by his neighbors.

Corona, CA: Sheriff's Deputy Foils Kidnap

A 47-year old man from Corona, California has been booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on $1-million bail, accused of kidnapping a teenage girl who he met on the internet.

At approximately 3:15am on Sunday, January 8, 2012, a Santa Barbara Sheriff's deputy was patrolling a residential area in Vandenberg Village when he stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation.

Corona, CA: Family Remembers Shooting Victim

Sam Vanettes, 36, who was shot and killed Dec. 21—allegedly by an off-duty sheriff's deputy—is remembered for his kind heart.

When the family of Sam Vanettes gathered around the kitchen table on New Year's Day in French Valley, laughter and coffee flowed—just as they said he would have wanted it.

But tears flowed, too, for the life that ended unexpectedly Dec. 21 when an off-duty Riverside County sheriff's deputy allegedly fired his gun and took it.

Corona, CA: Riverside Hit-and-Run Accident Proves Fatal for Tow Truck Driver

Christopher Barton Tatro, 40, of Corona, was killed in a Riverside car accident, which police report, involved a hit-and-run driver. According to a news article in The Press-Enterprise, the fatal hit-and-run accident occurred on the 91 Freeway, near Monroe Street, during the early morning hours of December 17, 2011.

Officials say Tatro was operating the controls of the hydraulic lift on a tow truck when a tan sedan, possibly a beige late-1990s Saturn, struck the left side of the tow truck. The driver of the vehicle did not stop, and was last seen exiting the freeway at Adams Street. Tatro suffered massive injuries to his legs and torso and succumbed to his injuries a couple of hours later. The authorities are searching for the car, which they believe sustained damage to its right side, including damage to the right mirror, wheels and headlight. Witnesses with information about the incident or the suspect may contact the California Highway Patrol Inland Division at 909-806-2400.

Corona, CA: Pay to Play

A Corona stereo business gets busted for paying employees under the table—don’t mess with workers comp!

Riverside County has a message to business owners who fail to pay workers compensation insurance: you will be caught. Damn straight.

One common illegal activity occurs when employers pay their workers “under the table,” in cash—leaving no paper trail, according to Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Mike Mayman of the Insurance Fraud Unit. This practice increases an employer’s profits; the company gets to keep more money by not paying the legally required workers compensation insurance.

Corona, CA: Stealing Copper Wire is a Crime

The City of Corona Public Works and Police Departments ask residents to report suspected theft of copper wire.

At isolated sites in Corona, late at night and in the early morning hours, thieves are stealing underground wire between streetlights. After cutting the stolen wire into small pieces to resemble "scrap metal", the thieves take it to recycling centers for quick cash; thus making the copper stealing business a profitable crime. The rising value of copper has stimulated this criminal activity.

Corona, CA: Gang Member Convicted of Killing Youth at Corona Party

A gang member who fatally shot a 13-year-old Corona boy during an attack on celebrants at a "Sweet 16" birthday party was convicted today of first-degree murder and other charges.

Jurors deliberated a week before finding Lewis Gray guilty of the murder count, as well as attempted voluntary manslaughter, conspiracy and shooting at an inhabited dwelling, and jurors found true special circumstance allegations of killing for the benefit of a street gang and having committed a prior murder.

Riverside, CA: Man Sentenced for Setting Girlfriend

A Santa Ana man who doused his 23-year-old girlfriend in gasoline and set her aflame while driving on a freeway near Corona was sentenced today to 15 years and four months behind bars.

Constantino Monterrosas Gamez, 39, pleaded guilty last week to attempted murder, making criminal threats, false imprisonment and a sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegation for the July 15 attack on Jessica Munoz.

Corona, CA: County Cracks Down On Shining Too Brightly

The new ordinance proposes penalties for property owners who allow their exterior lights to shine too brightly and infringe on neighbors' lots.

Are your neighbor’s lights shining too brightly?

There’s probably going to be an ordinance against that very soon.

Riverside County supervisors today tentatively approved an ordinance mandating fines as high as $500 for residents of unincorporated communities whose outdoor lights create a nuisance.

Corona, CA: Debt collectors harassed consumers with violent threats, FTC says

Two California debt-collection firms used abusive tactics to harass financially distressed consumers, with one firm threatening to kill debtors’ pets or desecrate the bodies of their deceased children, according to recent Federal Trade Commission complaints.

The cases highlight an increase in complaints about the debt-collection industry as the economy has soured. Consumers lodged about 140,000 complaints with the FTC about debt collectors last year, more than any other industry, according to federal data.

Corona, CA: COURT - Feds claim Corona-based debt collectors illegal

The federal government has gone to court to shut down a Corona-based operation described as a “shake-down debt collection enterprise” that has “unjustly” collected more than $9.4 million in a little more than two years’ operation — with many of its alleged victims actually owing nothing to anyone.

Collectors speaking English and Spanish called people nationwide and falsely represented themselves as process servers, lawyers or legal office staff and claimed the people who picked up the phone were facing a lawsuit over an unpaid debt.

Corona, CA: Lenny Dykstra Cops Grand Theft Auto Plea

Former MLB great Lenny Dykstra struck a deal in his mega-criminal case, by pleading no contest to 3 counts of felony grand theft auto, and one count of submitting false statements to a financial institution.

Dykstra is charged with 25 crimes, but under the plea deal, 21 will be dismissed.

Corona, CA: 91 Freeway shooting causes massive traffic jams in Corona area

Both directions of the busy 91 Freeway near the 15 Freeway in the Corona area were essentially shut down Tuesday night after a shooting, causing massive traffic jams in the area.

The California Highway Patrol said all eastbound lanes on the 91 Freeway were closed and that only one westbound lane was open on the busy artery that connects Orange County with the Inland Empire. The closure was also snarling traffic on the north and southbound lanes of the 15.

Footage on KCAL 9 TV showed firefighters administering first aid to the shooting victim on the side of the freeway.

Corona, CA: Police Chief WANTED

Job ID: 8879199

Police Chief

City of Corona, CA

Location(s): Corona, California, 92880, United States

Job Function: Law Enforcement - Chief Executive

Riverside County, CA: Supervisors Approve Halloween Curfew For Sex Offenders

Editors Note: Good! Check Sex Offender locations HERE

(120 in Corona, CA alone!)

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a measure that would prohibit convicted sex offenders from handing out candy or taking part in any other activity that might attract children to their homes on Halloween.

As part of a strategy to enhance protections for children trick-or- treating, Supervisor Jeff Stone is seeking a revision to the county's anti- loitering law that would impose additional restrictions on registered sex offenders who reside in unincorporated communities.

Murrieta, CA: Slain Salon Owner Was Father, Friend, Golfer

Friends and family grapple with Randy Fannin's death.

On Monday and Tuesday mornings--including this past Tuesday--Randy Fannin could typically be found on the golf course near his Murrieta home.

On Wednesday afternoon, he was one of eight people killed when a gunman opened fire at the salon he owned in Seal Beach.