San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Joaquin Martinez was sentenced on Friday in Vista to 28 years to life in prison for injecting Janina Hardoy, his former girlfriend, with a lethal amount of heroin and then spreading her dismembered body throughout parts of North County.

Thirty-two year old Martinez was convicted last year of this horrific murder that occurred in 2005, however, his sentencing was delayed until this year so that his mental competency could be tested. According to Geoff Allard, Deputy District Attorney, he explains that in his 20 years, he has “never ever prosecuted a murder as chilling and stone cold as this one.” Hardoy was murdered because she threatened to turn Martinez as well as others into the police because of the bank robberies they committed.

Joan Weber, Vista Superior Court Judge did not grant the San Diego murderer a reduced conviction of second-degree murder. In court, a statement was read by Martinez claiming his innocence as well as asking for more time so that another witness could prove that innocence.

Prosecutors and witnesses claim that Martinez injected the victim with a lethal dose of heroin, and then chopped off her hands. He then asked a roommate to chop off her feet and hit her in the head with a bat so that she would not be identified by her dental records. Her body would ultimately be dumped in Escondido and a backpack containing her hands and feet would be set on fire. The murder case has four others who pled guilty as an accessory for Hardoy’s murder.

Gangster Gets Maximum Sentence for Dismemberment Murder, Sign On San Diego, January 28, 2011

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Michael Bixby pleaded and was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and cruelty to child.

The 23-year-old Marine’s sentencing was moved to Monday. According to prosecutors, Bixby agreed to a 20-year prison sentence for shaking his 4-month-old son to death when the baby started crying. The San Diego crime occurred last February when Bixby was watching his two sons, a 22-month old and a 4-month-old Andru, while playing video games. Deputy District Attorney Leonard Trinh said that when the baby started crying, the defendant grabbed the victim by the wrist and shook the baby so hard that his head snapped forward, ceasing the child’s crying.

Bixby did not contact emergency personnel and instead called his wife, who then came home and had an intense emotional reaction which then caused neighbors to call the authorities. Deputy District Attorney Leonard Trinh said that the infant had a fractured wrist and injuries to his optic nerve and spinal cord and passed away the next morning. Child Protective Services obtained Bixby’s older son who at the time of the San Diego crime was upstairs.

If you have been arrested and charged with a crime in San Diego County, trust your case to an experienced San Diego criminal lawyer. Victor A. Orsatti at the San Diego Law Center will explain all of your legal options during a free consultation.

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Authorities arrested a man who is believed to have been involved in a bank robbery at a U.S. Bank in Escondido.

Friday morning around 11:30 a.m. Police responded to a bank robbery at a bank in North County located on 2369 East Valley Parkway. A man allegedly used a demand note to get away with an unrevealed amount of cash. This was told to authorities and to Sgt. Craig Miller. Witnesses of the crime were able to supply investigators with a vehicle description and plate number. The authorities were then able to track the car down shortly after the robbery as it drove up into Valley Center and up onto Lake Wohlford Road.

The San Diego criminal who was driving the vehicle was identified as Simon Degler. Degler was pursued by the police when he drove his car into a trailer park and campsite at 14900 Oakvale Road and turned off his car. Degler refused to leave his vehicle and that’s when officers released a police dog on the suspect where he was then bitten.

After being arrested for suspicion of bank robbery, the San Diego criminal was taken to a nearby hospital so his wound would be treated. The case is currently under investigation by the FBI and Degler was jailed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

Man Suspected In Escondido Bank Robbery Arrested, 10news.com, January 15, 2011

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Marcos Gerardo Manzano Jr was arrested Monday for allegedly harboring illegal immigrants.

Manzano’s home in San Ysidro was raided by a federal SWAT team shortly before sunrise on Tuesday. Manzano’s house, located in the 3600 block of Shooting Star Drive was where Jose Alfredo Garrido-Morena, a suspected undocumented immigrant was arrested. In the regularly quiet neighborhood, neighbors woke up to the see heavily armed law enforcement outside their homes with helicopters circling above in the sky. According to the U.S. Court in San Diego, Garrido-Morena was residing in Manzano’s home since last November along with the accuser’s 46-year-old father, Marcos Gerardo Manzano Sr. Manzano Sr. is facing charges of federal immigration violation in the case and he remains at large according to the FBI. Manzano Sr. was deported twice to his home country in Mexico for being convicted four years ago in a U.S. Court of possessing marijuana for sale. Manzano Jr. and Garrido-Morena are pending their initial appearances in federal court which is scheduled for Wednesday in the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Garrido-Morena has a previous track record in the U.S. in which he was arrested in October 2009 for possession of methamphetamine and for giving false information to the authorities. Garrido-Morena also tried to resist arrest for falsely identifying himself.

Manzano Jr. had also allegedly lied to a fellow border patrol agent saying he did not know of his father’s whereabouts when the other agent asked. Authorities did not disclose why they chose to include the FBI and SWAT to help back up the San Diego Police.

Border Patrol Agent Accused Of Housing Illegal Immigrants, 10news.com, January 11, 2011

Border agent arrested for allegedly harboring illegal immigrants , fox5sandiego.com, January 11, 2011

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George Moreland, 47, was sentenced on Friday to 295 years to life in prison.

The San Diego criminal was charged and convicted with nine felony counts including false imprisonment by force and forced oral copulation. The defendant sexually assaulted two women from Tijuana after offering them a job as his housekeeper for his Rancho San Diego home. Moreland alleged that the sex was consensual and that he had paid the two women. The assaults took place at his home in the summer of 2009 after he picked up the two women separately. Deputy District Attorney Rachel Cano said during trial that on July 7 2009, the defendant showed a married 28-year-old woman some cleaning materials and then told her to undress. When she refused him and his offering of 400 dollars Moreland pulled a knife on her and made her perform oral sex on him.

On October 1, 2009, a woman in her 40s went through a similar ordeal with Moreland and was able to provide the general area of where she was taken to investigators. Moreland has a prior conviction of kidnapping for sexual purposes where he was given an eight-year prison sentence for tying up a female customer in 1997 in the back of a Radio Shack store.

Moreland’s San Diego Criminal Defense Attorney Leslie Wolf said during the trial that Moreland had wrote the woman a note asking her if she wanted to perform a sex act and that to Moreland’s understanding she had agreed.

Man Who Assaulted Cleaning Women Sentenced, 10news.com, January 7, 2011

Man Who Molested Cleaning Women Sentenced Friday, sandiego6.com, January 7, 2011

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San Diego homeless parolee was sentenced to nine years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Eugenia Eyherabide.

26-year-old Steven Allen Sinclair pleaded guilty to the charge of assault with the intent to commit rape in September. The sexual assault was reported late on August 10 according to the authorities. The San Diego Violent Crime occurred at the San Diego City College. San Diego Police Department Lt. Rick O’Hanlon said that the 39-year-old victim told the police she and a man she met hours earlier were hanging around at the East Village school when he became violent, pushed her to the ground behind some trash cans, punched her in the face and stripped her clothing from the waist down.

Sinclair fled the scene after the victim fought back and was able to get away. Campus Police officers came to aid her after hearing her screams. The victim was taken to the hospital and was treated for slight facial injuries.

A man matching the description of the attacker was found by San Diego police near San Diego City College and was arrested a short time later. According to Deputy District Attorney Aidee Brunner, Sinclair was on parole for an attempted burglary conviction from 2008 at the time of his arrest.

Homeless Parolee Sentenced For Attempted Rape, 10news.com, January 4, 2011

Homeless parolee gets nine years for attempted rape, cbs8.com, January 4, 2011

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San Diego Resident Samuel Webster is being charged with 1st-Degree Murder in the Death of Devin Johnson.

Webster allegedly shot and killed Johnson in broad daylight on the day of December 10, 2009 in the 3200 block of Fairmount Avenue in City Heights at Maddox Liquor. Deputy District Attorney Paul Reizen told a jury that the victim and his girlfriend had stopped at Maddox Liquor where they then headed to a nearby bus stop where Johnson saw Webster pull up in a silver-colored Honda and look his way. Johnson allegedly yelled something to the defendant after his girlfriend told him that Webster was staring at him. Webster yelled “What”, got back in his Honda and commanded his girlfriend to drive around the block. According to the prosecutor, a few minutes later 27-year-old Webster leaned out of the Honda and fired two shots, one hitting the victim in the back. After Webster fired the shots he reportedly yelled to Johnson “I smoked you”.

The San Diego homicide was caught on tape by the liquor store’s cameras. Reizen told the jury that “This is one of the rare cases where you’re actually going to see a cold-blooded murder on video”. Rachel Battle, the defendant’s girlfriend, told police that Webster was frantic and told her he wanted to “scare” Johnson during the drive-by.

San Diego defense attorney Dawnella Gilzean said Battle constantly changed her story and told the police a variety of stories. Gilzean also said in her opening statement “she changed her story repeatedly”. Gilzean said that the morning of the shooting Webster and Battle were arguing about bills and Webster also told Battle that he was leaving San Diego with another woman. If convicted with the charge, Webster faces life n prison without the possibility of parole.

Suspect Accused Of Shooting Man Who Didn't Say 'Hi, 10news.com, January 4, 2010

Prosecutor: Man shot stranger in back over perceived slight, fox5sandiego.com, January 5, 2010

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