Felony Counts

A Ventura County sheriff's deputy accused of battering his wife on two occasions at the couple's Thousand Oaks home has been indicted on five felony counts, authorities said Friday. Deputy Gary Hughes, 40, pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment Thursday, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Dee Corona, supervisor of the sexual assault and family protection unit. With the indictment, prosecutors can skip a preliminary hearing and proceed directly to a jury trial, which is scheduled for Nov.

A 37-year-old La Crescenta man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting women has been charged with four felony counts, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Tuesday. Jason Maynard Kies allegedly grabbed a woman exiting her car March 22 in North Hollywood and attempted to force her into his gray GMC sport utility vehicle, Los Angeles police said. Later that day, police said, Kies fought a security guard after attempting to steal something from a department store and tried to pull a female jogger into his vehicle near Tujunga Avenue and Sarah Street in Studio City.

State schools chief Bill Honig pleaded innocent to four felony conflict-of-interest counts in Superior Court on Monday and afterward again accused state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren of pursuing the prosecution out of "political motivations." Lungren "is using the criminal justice system to settle political scores," Honig told reporters after the brief arraignment proceedings, "either to advance his career or to pay off his right-wing supporters."

A member of the Moreno Valley Unified School District board was convicted on nearly two dozen charges including pimping and pandering for running a prostitution ring from his home. Mike Rios, 42, was immediately taken into custody after the trial in Riverside, according to the Riverside County district attorney's office. Young women testified that Rios ran a prostitution ring in 2011 and 2012 and solicited at least one young woman on the street using his school board business card.

Holly Wallace was driving north on the Hollywood Freeway on May 18 when an 18-wheel tractor-trailer suddenly loomed menacingly behind her. Hemmed in by the heavy late-afternoon traffic, she had no place to go. The next thing she knew, the 40-foot truck slammed into her from the rear five or six times. She managed to ease out of the truck's way as it continued its rampage, leaving a trail of frightened drivers and twisted metal.

A computer hacker from Panorama City, who was considered such a danger that prison guards supervised his phone calls to prevent him from accessing computers, pleaded guilty today to two felony counts that could imprison him for a year. Kevin Mitnick pleaded guilty to one count of possessing 16 unauthorized long-distance telephone codes and one count of computer fraud for gaining access to a Massachusetts computer company's system and stealing a security program.

Three teenagers who allegedly threw pieces of concrete and steel at vehicles on the Santa Ana Freeway in Anaheim will face nine misdemeanor counts and 10 felony counts of assault, authorities said Tuesday. Tori Richards, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office, said the teens--ages 14, 15 and 17--were spotted by police about 1:15 a.m. Saturday behind a concrete construction barrier along the freeway near Lincoln Avenue.

A Van Nuys deliveryman believed responsible for more than 500 acid attacks on late-model automobiles was arraigned Friday on nine charges of spraying people and cars with hydrochloric acid in the northeast San Fernando Valley. Thomas Lee Larsen, 37, was charged in San Fernando Municipal Court with seven felony counts of assault with a caustic chemical in connection with separate attacks on seven people between March and July.

Richard Raymond Keith again has agreed to cooperate with the government in the wide-ranging investigation of Orange County businessman W. Patrick Moriarty after pleading guilty in Los Angeles federal court to charges of income tax evasion, bankruptcy fraud and making false statements on loan applications. The guilty pleas entered Monday to six felony counts came two months after Keith, 47, of Cathedral City, backed out of an earlier plea bargain with the U.S.

A 28-year-old Los Angeles man, whom police dubbed the "security building rapist," pleaded guilty Monday to 29 felony counts involving 17 victims in the mid-Wilshire area, most of whom were sexually assaulted as they arrived home from school. Under the plea arrangement in Los Angeles Municipal Court, the prosecution agreed that Ronald Nelson Melvin Jr. would not be sentenced to more than 65 years, making him eligible for parole in 32 1/2 years. Deputy Dist. Atty.

It made for a wild tale three years ago when a Santa Monica sushi restaurant abruptly closed after it was disclosed that the hipster hangout was selling illegal whale meat. The chef and the parent company of the Hump at the Santa Monica Airport initially were charged with misdemeanors after a sting operation was captured by a documentary crew. But now the stakes have been raised. A federal grand jury has indicted the owners of the parent company and two of its onetime chefs, charging them with felonies that carry lengthy prison terms.

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife will face trial on 23 felony counts of perjury and voter fraud after a judge Tuesday found "more than substantial" evidence that the couple lied about where they were living so he could run for office. Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar de Longoria, citing "compelling and quite telling" photographs of the Alarcons' home at 14451 Nordhoff St. in Panorama City, found that the residence was not livable and didn't show major repairs "that were reportedly done over an extensive period of time.

A Los Angeles County probation officer was arrested Tuesday for allegedly filing nine fraudulent workers' compensation claims over the last three years. Rochelle Williams of Inglewood, a six-year Probation Department employee who placed youths in foster homes and other facilities, was taken into custody at the agency's Downey headquarters by probation employees and California Department of Insurance investigators. Williams, 35, is accused in 27 felony counts of forging departmental as well as medical documents, including signatures, to support her claims.

A Roman Catholic priest who worked at a Long Beach church pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he sexually groped a 14-year-old girl and two women in incidents that started two years ago. Father Luis Jose Cuevas, 67, a pastor of St. Athanasius Church on Linden Avenue, faces eight misdemeanor charges of sexual assault and one felony count involving lewd acts with a child, according to a complaint filed by the L.A. County district attorney's office....

The Orange County public works director who supervised embattled former executive Carlos Bustamante has been fired, the first ranking official to be terminated in the wake of the politician's arrest on suspicion of sexual assault. Public Works Director Jess Carbajal, 56, received a phone call informing him of his dismissal Tuesday morning and a letter later in the day, said his attorney, Wylie Aitken. The move comes a week after Bustamante was charged with 12 felony counts in connection with the alleged sexual battery and false imprisonment of more than seven women over eight years.

A Hollywood manager who specialized in representing young actors pleaded no contest Friday to two counts of child molestation and was released from county jail that afternoon. Martin Weiss, 47, faced eight felony counts of molesting an aspiring singer and musician he once represented. He entered a no-contest plea to two counts of committing lewd acts on a child under the age of 14, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Leslie Dunn sentenced Weiss to one year in county jail and five years of probation.

EIP Microwave has settled a federal lawsuit that accused the Newport Beach firm of illegal overseas sales of high-technology equipment. Under the terms of the settlement, the U.S. Justice Department agreed to drop all three felony counts pending against EIP. The company agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation, which carries a $1,000 fine, and to pay $28,000 to cover the costs of the government's investigation. The settlement comes at a critical time for EIP.

Former Glendale Bar Assn. president Eugene M. Giometti was charged last week with 25 felony counts of grand theft, embezzlement and forgery as a result of a police investigation into allegations that he misappropriated more than $150,000 of his clients' money for personal use. The criminal complaint filed in Pasadena Municipal Court charges that Giometti, 39, forged checks over a two-year period in order to embezzle sums ranging from $400 to $67,000 from nine clients.

Scott Schenter, the former Los Angeles County appraiser who was charged with falsifying records and unlawfully lowering property values by $172 million, was arraigned Friday afternoon. Schenter, 49, pleaded not guilty to all 60 felony counts as he stood with his back to reporters, cameras and photographers in an attempt to avoid being photographed. Prosecutors say Schenter slashed values of multimillion-dollar homes and businesses in Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades.

Simione Vehikite, a reserve linebacker for USC, was arrested last month and faces felony charges related to an incident that occurred in July 2011, law enforcement records show. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department website, Vehikite, 21, was arrested Feb. 6 in Inglewood. A court date to schedule a preliminary hearing is set for March 19, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. According to the felony complaint, on or about July 16, 2011, Vehikite was allegedly the driver of a vehicle involved in an incident that resulted in him facing four counts: leaving the scene of an accident; driving under the influence and causing injury; driving with a .08% blood alcohol level and causing injury; and identity theft.