Crime Orange County

Citing the horrifying nature of the crime, Orange County prosecutors on Tuesday charged three Anaheim boys who allegedly took part in a brutal July 3 attack at Black Star Canyon with more than 50 felony counts and said they would try the defendants as adults. The three juveniles--and two adult suspects--are accused of repeatedly raping two girls--ages 13 and 15--and beating their boyfriends, ages 15 and 16--with a metal rod and a rock, fracturing one boy's skull.

Car thefts have jumped 23% in Orange County this year, the largest rise in more than a decade, fueling concern that other property crimes soon could follow the upward trend. Professional thieves and joy riders stole nearly 900 more vehicles during the first five months of 2001 than in the same period last year, everything from luxury SUVs to well-worn RVs.

Gang-related homicides in Orange County dropped for the fifth consecutive year in 2000, a signal that tough sentencing laws have removed some of the county's most violent predators from the streets, law enforcement officials said Monday. The county's 16 gang killings last year marked a 78% decline from the peak in 1993, when officials deemed gang violence an epidemic, according to figures released by the Orange County district attorney's office.

Gang-related homicides in Orange County dropped for the fifth consecutive year in 2000, a signal that tough sentencing laws have removed some of the county's most violent predators from the streets, law enforcement officials said Monday. The county's 16 gang killings last year marked a 78% decline from a peak in 1993, when officials deemed gang violence an epidemic, according to figures released by the Orange County district attorney's office.

Six years after a successful crackdown on cruising, the Sunday night tradition has burst back onto the streets of Santa Ana, clogging roads, upsetting neighbors and raising fears that violence once linked to the gatherings will also make a comeback. The last two Sundays have brought thousands of lowriders and sport-utility vehicles crawling and bouncing along Bristol Street as youths trade glances and phone numbers.

While crime rose across the state for the first time in eight years, most of Orange County's largest cities bucked the trend during 2000 and recorded modest declines in violent and property crimes. Murders showed the largest drop: There were 37 in Orange County last year, compared to 62 in 1999. Property crimes--including burglaries and vehicle thefts--dropped 3% while total violent crime declined by 5.7%. The findings, in a report from state Atty. Gen.

Orange County district attorney's investigators are working with prosecutors in Los Angeles to probe links between a suspect in the 1989 murder of a nude dance club owner and officers from several law enforcement agencies. Orange County officials gathered the information during a yearlong undercover operation at several strip clubs in Los Angeles that led to the arrest last month of three men on suspicion of killing club owner Horace "Big Mac" McKenna outside his Brea estate.

Sheriff's officials said Tuesday they have arrested two juveniles in connection with four armed robberies and other crimes across south Orange County this month. The two 17-year-old boys are suspected of robbing three gas stations in Aliso Viejo and a pizza restaurant in Laguna Woods between Dec. 3 and Dec. 12, sheriff's spokesman Steve Doan said. Investigators identified the pair after distributing a composite sketch of the robbers to local high schools.

Saying that Orange County has emerged as a major center for telemarketing fraud and gang activity, the Santa Ana branch of the U.S. attorney's office is planning to bolster its staff by two-thirds as part of an aggressive effort to crack down on federal crimes. Assistant U.S. Atty. John Hueston, who recently took over as chief of the Orange County office, said more prosecutors are needed to combat sophisticated organized-crime networks and street gangs.

Saying Orange County has emerged as a major center for telemarketing fraud and gang activity, the Santa Ana office of the U.S. attorney is planning to bolster its staff by two-thirds as part of an aggressive effort to crack down on federal crimes. Assistant U.S. Atty. John Hueston, who recently took over as chief of the Orange County office, says more prosecutors are needed to combat sophisticated organized crime networks and street gangs.