CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 20, 2001 | MONTE MORIN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
The city of Santa Ana will pay nearly $100,000 to a white-collar criminal who was beaten and raped by a Nazi-tattooed cellmate just hours after a U.S. District judge had ordered the men separated, officials said Monday. The out-of-court settlement stems from a Feb. 12 attack on a 32-year-old accountant who was awaiting trial on charges of counterfeiting.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
October 5, 2001 | JACK LEONARD and MONTE MORIN, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
A 15-year-old boy accused of kidnapping a man and firing an AK-47 rifle at police officers during a freeway chase was mistakenly released from custody last week and is now the subject of a manhunt, authorities said. The teenager, who was being held at the Santa Ana Jail without bail because of the seriousness of the charges, was set free Sept. 25 from Juvenile Hall in Orange after a mix-up in which Santa Ana jailers erroneously thought that all charges had been dropped.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 23, 2001 | JACK LEONARD, TIMES STAFF WRITER
A Santa Ana jail guard accused of smuggling drugs into the city jail surrendered to authorities Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to drug charges. Michelle V. Rodriguez, 25, faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison if convicted on all five felony counts, which include furnishing drugs to prisoners. Her attorney, Charles E. Frisco Jr., said Tuesday that Rodriguez never took drugs into the jail and that prosecutors are relying on the word of inmates.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 13, 2000 | WILLIAM LOBDELL and ALEX KATZ, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
When the Catholic revival began, most of the 17 inmates stood stoically in their olive prison garb, staring straight ahead. The initial turnout was poor enough that guards sent a last-minute invitation to Spanish-speaking prisoners in other sections in the Santa Ana Jail to participate if they'd like. By Sunday afternoon, nearly 50 smiling prisoners mimicked the dance moves of the gospel singers, eagerly talked about their religious reawakening and shed tears of contrition.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 28, 1999 | SCOTT GOLD, TIMES STAFF WRITER
A 27-year-old Santa Ana man was in jail Saturday after he forced a tense standoff with police by holding a steak knife to his baby daughter's throat and demanding release into Mexico, authorities said. The 2-month-old girl suffered minor scratches on her throat but was not seriously injured, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Steve Colon said. She was released to her mother. At 3 p.m.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
September 14, 1999 | LOUISE ROUG
After leading police on a one-hour car chase through five cities Monday, a 23-year-old parolee ran out of gas and was captured at a service station in Garden Grove, police said. Alfred Mendez, suspected of stealing a white BMW in Irvine, led officers on a pursuit that reached speeds of 100 mph after he ignored a stoplight in Santa Ana at East 1st and North Fairview streets.