Opening statements are set to begin today in the trial of a young man who stabbed his roommate to death. 23-year-old Ian Suazo pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of his roommate Ocie Raines.

If Suazo is found guilty then the jury will have to make the decision weather or not Suazo was insane at the time of the killing. According to Defense Attorney Richard Gates he said that Suazo was showing signs of early stages of schizophrenia when Raines was stabbed to death on September 24, 2008.

Suazo stabbed Raines then used the same knife to cut his wrists in a bathtub. He then ran out of his apartment and ran headfirst into traffic at a near by intersection. Suazo had no recollection of stabbing the victim according to Gates.

But Deputy District Attorney Ana De Santiago thinks otherwise. She will try to prove that Suazo knew exactly what he was doing and that he had known the difference between right and wrong when he murdered Raines. They had been roommates for about three months before the incident happened.

Suazo could be sentenced to 26 years to life if found guilty.

San Diego Criminal Law

A composite sketch was issued on Tuesday by the Sheriffs Department for a man who assaulted a woman in Vista. The man was described as unshaven, heavyset and described as having a foul smell.

The woman was on her porch on Olive Avenue at around 1 p.m. when the suspect started to approach her. He walked up to her and said that she was pretty and demanded entry. The woman scrambled to make it back inside her home but the man opened the screen door and entered her patio. The man grabbed the woman’s arm and told her that he was going to “gut her,” according to the Sheriffs Department.

The woman punched the man several times and screamed for help. The woman’s dogs were barking which helped scare off the attacker.

The suspect is described as white, 6 feet tall, 300 pounds, greasy black collar length hair, a large stomach and a faded tattoo inside his right forearm. During the attack he was wearing a white shirt with an “@” logo on the chest and green sweatpants. Police believe he may be a transient and is wanted for assault with intent to commit rape and residential burglary.

San Diego Criminal Law

A fire that happened in a Encinitas home was so intense that firefighters could not go inside and rescue the two people inside. The fire started around 7:30 p.m. in the 1100 block near Regal Rd.

“The whole residential portion of that first floor was on fire with fire coming out of the roof,” said Encinitas Fire Deputy Chief Scott Henry. Firefighters worked to defend other homes nearby because they were not able to get inside of the house. A neighbor broke out windows to rescue animals but the two people living there didn’t survive.

After a half hour firefighters were able to enter the home. They found one victim in a wheelchair in the bedroom. Overnight another body was discovered.

Police were on the scene investigating. Foul play is not suspected.

San Diego Wrongful Death Lawyers

Amber Dubois was last seen on February 13, 2009. She disappeared around 7 a.m. about a block away from Escondido High School. One year later her remains were found near Pala. In late February of ‘10, Poway teenager Chelsea King went missing around the Lake Hodges area. Police launched an extensive search for the missing girl. Days later her body was found around the southern edge of the lake.

John Garder, a local sex offender, was later charged with rape and murder in Chelsea’s death. Many people wondered if Gardner lead investigators to the Pala location after working out a deal with prosecutors but Escondido police would not answer questions after the major developments occurred on Sunday after finding the remains of Dubois explaining that it was an ongoing investigation.

Ambers parents approached the podium but only her father spoke. He thanked supporters and searchers after the discovery was made on Sunday. Ambers mother was described as “absolutely crushed.” She always had hope that Amber would be found alive.

A vigil is planned for Monday night to remember Amber Dubois at 6:30 pm at Escondido High School.

San Diego Criminal Law

Senator Roy Ashburn was arrested early Wednesday morning on suspicion of driving drunk. Lt. Jay Bart spotted Ashburn driving erratically at about 2:10 a.m. in Sacramento. Ashburn was taken to Sacramento County Jail after taking a sobriety test. He was then given a blood-alcohol test and blew .14 percent. The legal limit is .08.

Ashburn has a history of opposition of gay rights. Before the arrest was made he was seen leaving the bar Faces according to CBS13. Faces is a premier GLBTI nightclub (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex). The clubs manager did not see Ashburn at the club she told Talking Points Blog.

Ashburn released a statement through his senate office:

“I am deeply sorry for my actions and offer no excuse for my poor judgment. I accept complete responsibility for my conduct and am prepared to accept the consequences for what I did. I am also truly sorry for the impact this incident will have on those who support and trust me — my family, my constituents, my friends, and my colleagues in the Senate.”

Ashburn is 55-years-old and represents a district that includes Kern, Tulare, Inyo and San Bernardino counties.

San Diego DUI Attorney

Philong Huynh of City Heights is accused of sexual assault and murder of Orange County resident Dane Williams. Williams was last seen leaving a bar in the Gaslamp on January 2008. Williams was in town for the Action Sports Retailers convention. On January 29, 2009 Williams’ body was found in a rug in City Heights in the north alley of 5200 Landis Street about one block from Huynh’s home.

Huynh apparently had talked openly to his former boss about drugging his sexual partners. Huynh’s former boss testified against him about what he told him.

Huynh would ask men if they would have sex with him. But if the guy said no then he would ask them if they would like something to help them relax. The majority of the guys would take something he said. They would be relaxed and he would have his way with them.

Huynh is also accused of sexually assaulting a second man. A 21-year-old sailor who identified himself as Jeremiah R. testified in court in December because of a pending deployment said that he met Huynh downtown on June 6, 2009. He was complaining about having a headache and Huynh gave a pill what Jeremiah though was Tylenol. Jeremiah blacked out and then woke up the next day on a bus. Tests show that he was sexually assaulted.

Detectives that were working on Jeremiah’s case identified Huynh as the suspect and DNA evidence that was collected in June match evidence that was collected in Williams’ case.

San Diego Criminal Lawyers

Police at San Diego State University are looking into an attempted sexual assault of a woman who lives south of the campus. The attempted assault happened near 55th street and Mary Lane just south of Montezuma Road.

The woman reported that the man broke into her home at 1 am and tried to sexually assault her. She was able to escape from her attacker and called the police. The woman described the attacker as Hispanic 26-30 years old, 5′4″ with a stocky build, wearing a grey sweatshirt, blue jeans and black boots according to police.

San Diego Criminal Law Attorneys

Jurors convicted Detective Thomas John Sadler 49, of felony assault and battery but acquitted him on four other felony charges. Sadler picked up a prostitute in February of 2008 in his unmarked police car on El Cajon Boulevard and drove her to a parking lot in Mission Valley. His intentions were for sex at first but Sadler lost his nerve when he got to the parking lot.

Sadler had reported to be deeply depressed at the time says the defense attorneys. Three women had testified against Sadler in the trial. One woman said that Sadler fondled her against her will. He told her “B**ch I can do whatever I f**king want.” Sadler then told her to take her clothes off so that he could search her for narcotics. The victim said that a female officer must be present. According to the victim, Sadler then began to fondle the her so she jumped out of the vehicle to take a picture of the detectives license plate. As Sadler tried to grab her cell phone from her hand another vehicle pulled up and Sadler took off.

Jurors acquitted Sadler of felony sexual battery but convicted him of felony assault and batter and two misdemeanors. Sadler is currently on unpaid administrative leave from the San Diego County Sherff’s Department.

Sadler will not have to register as a sex offender and because he is law enforcement he will have to be put into protective custody according to his attorney. Sadler also faces up to three years in prison.

San Diego Criminal Law

Early Sunday morning Officer Deputy Ken Collier, 39, died at the hospital after being in a car accident that happened on the freeway between Tierrasanta and Santee.

Collier was heading west on route 52 when he noticed a driver driving on the wrong side of the road. The deputy then turned around to try to overtake the wrong way driver. For concern of the other drivers on the road the deputy contacted dispatch about the driver. While trying to overtake the wrong way driver Collier struck a center median bridge abutment and rolled several hundred of feet and eventually came to a stop in a deep ravine.

Ryan Debillis was in the car with Collier at the time of the accident and is expected to make a full recovery. Collier radioed dispatch and Debillis contacted Communications Center with his cell phone notifying them that they had crashed and ended up in a ravine. Collier was thrown from the vehicle which is probably why he obtained more serious injuries. It is not clear at the time weather or not they were wearing seatbelts.

Deputy Collier and Debillis were both responsive but seriously injured. Collier was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital and died at 5:30 a.m.

The alleged drunk driver of the other vehicle was 22-year-old Jose Jasso Lopez. He was caught near the scene of the accident and is charged with vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving.

San Diego DUI Lawyers

Early Thursday morning a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with a stabbing that occurred at a nude swingers’ club. Officers were called at around 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday night to Thad’s on E street off 33rd Street.

Witnesses say that the victim who was stabbed was an employee at the club. He was trying to calm down a man who was having a dispute with another person, police said. He was stabbed twice. By the time the police had arrived the victim and the suspect both were gone. The man who got stabbed showed up to Alvarado Hospital later that night.

At around 5:30 a.m. police received a phone call and were called back to the club because the attacker had returned. By the time officers arrived the attacker had barricaded himself inside a bathroom. They believed that he may have taken a gun from the safe, police said. The suspect had no where to go since the police had the house surrounded. Minutes later the man jumped out of a second story window onto a patio awning and took off running. The police caught him shortly and was taken to jail just before 6 a.m.

San Diego Criminal Law

On March 5th it would have been nine years since the shooting at Santana High School occurred. Two students were killed and 13 were wounded. Triston Salladay was one of the students that was wounded that day. Triston never talked about the incident but according to Vanessa Salladay, who was married to Triston but divorced later, said “The guy shot him in his chest and he put his arms up and the guy shot him again and he collapsed to the floor.”

Triston survived the gun shot wounds and was given a second chance at life but unfortunately he would not be given a third chance.

On Valentines day in Sacramento, Triston was an an argument with somebody he had known outside of his house. Triston was stabbed three times and was rushed to the hospital. “At that point I realized he’s gone through so much he’s going to make it, so it’s going to be fine,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa was wrong. Tristons dad called her a half hour later and said that he had died.

The police arrested 20-year-old Jesus Gallegos.

“I wish people would think twice before bringing a weapon around somebody like that, especially the suspect his age, he’s 20 years old he had so much life ahead of him both of them are done now,” Vanessa said.

San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer

Last January a driver crashed into a Carls Jr. restaurant and killed a customer who was dining. He was charged yesterday with gross vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated and could face 15 years to life in prison.

The driver of the vehicle was 74 year old Richard Alfred Daus and was arrested Yesterday by the El Cajon police. Harsher sentences are given to people that have had multiple drunk driving convictions.

Daus was convicted back in 1952 in Cook County, Ill., for reckless homicide. He also had a drunk driving conviction in Kenai, Alaska in 1988.

When Daus got into the accident on January 3rd his blood-alcohol level was 0.22 which is almost 3 times over the legal limit of 0.08 percent. The victim who was killed in the crash was 66 year old Randy Eugene Smith. Smith was eating breakfast in a corner booth when Daus crashed into the restaurant with his Honda SUV. Smith was thrown across the restaurant and died before he could be taken to the hospital.

The incident was caught by a surveillance camera at the Union Bank in the same plaza. When the police arrived at the restaurant, Daus was said to be slurring his speech, there was a strong smell of alcohol, and his eyes were red and watery.

Smith was said to be a former college teacher who was working as a self-employed consultant. He had a background in business strategy and management.

DUI Lawyer

A fatal boat crash that happened in December involving three Rancho Peñasquitos families which killed an 8-year-old boy sued the federal government yesterday for negligence and wrongful death. They hope to change the way the Coast Guard operates the San Diego bay.

Five days before Christmas, Anthony Cole DeWeese and his family were on their 24-foot Sea Ray along with 12 other people were out on the bay enjoying the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights when a 33-foot Coast Guard vessel crashed into their boat. The Coast Guard hit the DeWeeses’ boat when they were on their way to rescue a grounded boater.

About an hour after the accident Anthony Cole DeWeese died at the UCSD Medical Center of blunt-force injuries. Five other people who were involved in the accident were also injured including two young children. The Stannards, who were also on the boat during the accident, their 4-year-old son suffered skull fractures while their 8-year-old daughter, who was a classmate of Anthony’s, suffered a head cut and shoulder and elbow injuries. The father, Jason Stannard suffered a 7-inch head wound but has since returned to work.

The Coast Guard vessel was said to be going 35 to 40 mph when it should be going 5 mph since the bay was filled with hundreds of spectator boats due to the parade.

The family knows that the lawsuit will not bring back Anthony but they hope that this accident doesn’t happen to anyone else. Since the accident boaters have complained about the frequent “hot rodding” by the agencies crews.

San Diego Personal Injury Attorney

“What do I have to do to put you in this car today.” Many people have heard this saying along with other witty sales quips when going into the dealership to purchasing a new or used vehicle. With Toyota in the headlines about their series of recalls, savvy shoppers could discover new bargaining power.

Toyotas problems grew this week when they announced a major global recall of 437,000 hybrid vehicles — including its flagship Prius model — to fix braking problems. Toyotas brand for cars, trucks and SUV’s use to be known for being durable and long lasting. Since October Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million defective vehicles.

Many Toyota lots are filled with vehicles as their value drops. According to the Kelley Blue Book, bargain hunters who are looking to buy a Prius can negotiate down to the dealer invoice price which would be about $1,500 less than the retailed price. Used Toyotas could depreciate about 4-5 percent on average when this whole recall issue de-escalates according to Kelley.

If you’re looking to trade in a model that competes directly with one of Toyota’s recalled brands — like the Honda Accord or Chevrolet Malibu vs. the Toyota Camry, or the Honda Civic or Chevy Cobalt vs. the Toyota Corolla — your vehicle has likely gained value, Kelley projects. James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book says, “My sense is that the situation has emboldened non-Toyota dealers to make deals that support and benefit their own brands. In the case of Ford and GM dealers, that also means additional incentive funding to help conquest current Toyota owners. I think the balance of power has shifted.”

Toyota Litigation

James Arthur Ray pleaded not guilty to the charges with causing three deaths at an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony he led. He owns a local business by the name of James Ray International which is located in Carlsbad. Ray is a self-help superstar who teaches people about financial and spiritual wealth uses free seminars to recruit followers to more expensive events.

The Sweat Lodge was built in 2009 and has been used numerous times without incident. People started vomiting and passing out. They were hosed off to cool them down. During the incident three people never regained consciousness and died at the hospital. Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y.; James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; and Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn. 18 others were hospitalized.

Rays attorneys said that he took all safety precautions and was not aware of the medical conditions until the ceremony was over.

Ray is currently being held at the Yavapai County jail on $5 million bond and faces a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 12½ years on each count. They wanted to keep Ray in Yavapai County, because that’s where the alleged crime occurred.

Luis Li who is one of Ray’s attorney told reporters “This was a terrible, terrible accident. This wasn’t a crime. Mr. Ray looks forward to his day in court.”

San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer

Kerry Steigerwalt has often been seen on TV commercials urging people to contact his law office if they encounter any legal problems. He serves as a legal commentator on both local and national news programs. Kerry Steigerwalt may be the most known criminal defense attorney in San Diego.

Steigerwalt grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and came to California to attend San Diego’s Thomas Jefferson Law School. He wanted to practice law back home but fell in love with San Diego and decided to stay. Kerry passed the state bar exam in 1984 on his first try and was hired by Defenders Inc. to represent indigent clients for $18,000 a year. “I loved it. I learned how to represent the underdog,” he says. He later moved to the county Public Defenders office before entering private practice in 1990.

San Diego County district attorney Wendy Patrick says, “He really gets along with everyone.” Superior Court Judge Frank Brown who is a 21-year-old veteran of the bench as well as a former prosecutor and police officer says, “He’s one of the premier defense attorneys in San Diego clearly, in my opinion. I try cases. I see lots of lawyers and he’s one of the best. He is always prepared and he’s tenacious. Whenever he walks through the door into my courtroom, I’m happy to see him because I know that he knows what he’s doing.” Story here.

One of his first cases in private practice was defending a North Park jazz musician by the name of Billy Elias. He was charged with stabbing a female hitchhiker to death. Police found the bloody knife in Elias’ car and bloodstains on his hands and pants when he was arrested. In Steigerwalt’s opening statement he told the jury “I am going to prove to you that Billy Elias is innocent,” according to a newspaper account of the trial. Steigerwalt argued that the true killer was a man who had been hitchhiking with the victim. The jury acquitted Elias and he walked out of the courtroom a free man. This case got a lot of publicity and the phones started ringing.

Since taking over, Kerry has replaced all but one of the firm’s criminal attorneys and has instituted policies to ensure complaints are handled properly. Right now he is in the process of hiring someone to monitor the quality of the firms customer satisfaction. He is currently in the process of installing new software where clients can track their cases online.

“I’m awfully proud of being a lawyer, I think it’s one of the most honorable professions you can have,” he says. “I’d like every client knowing when they leave here they’d refer their brother or sister to us,” says Kerry.

San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer

Chang was taken into custody at his Los Angeles home and brought back to San Diego and booked in the Vista Detention Facility. On Wednesday January 27, a K-9 unit was sent to the crime scene. It was unaware of what they were searching for but a lot of time was spent searching the area of Chang’s residence. Investigators found blood in Brians’ ear and under his fingernails and toenails. Brian Chang pleaded not guilty on Friday January 29.

Deputy District Attorney Rachel Solov said that a possible motive for the killing was a dispute over money. Sherry Chang had been supporting her son Brian financially who had been out of work for several months.

Solov revealed some disturbing details about the murder. She said that one of Chang’s arms and bits of her skull was found in the refrigerator. She also revealed that the cause of her death was a blunt force trauma from a weapon similar to a claw hammer. The murder weapon has not been found yet.

Brian took a cab to Los Angeles at 2 a.m. on Monday morning and attempted to use his mothers credit card. He had tried to use her card numerous times. Judge Joan Weber set bail at $5 million due to what she called the “viciousness” of the crime.

Chang was a wealthy yet frugal woman. She was scheduled to fly to Taiwan to visit her mother and other family members next week.

Pacific Law Center San Diego criminal defense attorneys are here to help.

Our leading Pacific Law Center bankruptcy lawyers Mr. Larry Fieselman and Mr. David Weil ranked 6 and 7 out of 35,000 bankruptcy lawyers in the nation in 2009!

At Pacific Law Center we can help you with any type of bankruptcy case including Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

Find out more about out leading San Diego Bankruptcy Lawyers today.

At one point she planed on killing everyone on in the house including her sister and her sisters boyfriend according to the documents. She later decided to kill the first person who woke up in her Scrips Ranch home.

James D’Aoust has insisted since the day his daughter has been in court that she was not “evil” but suffered mental problems which were inherited likely from her parents. James D’Aoust said that Heather’s actions caused the family “incredible loss” but that she is now “moving in the right direction” and he would continue to support her. Her grandfather had different feelings. “I just can’t forgive her said Richard McGrath, who described his daughter Rebecca as a loving, doting mother.

Heather cried softly when her father and grandfather spoke. When it was her turn Heather apologized to her sisters and said that she loved them. One sister said that she loved her too and the other sister just turned away. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I wasn’t able to stop myself.” Heather told her family.

Personal injury lawyer