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Month: June 2013

Man Arrested On Felony Battery Charges After Beating In Hollywood

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A Los Angeles man is in custody on suspicion of being one of four men involved in the beating of a transgender woman last month in Hollywood.  LAPD officers served a search warrant on the man’s residence Thursday night, three days after the City of Los Angeles offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.

The victim was employed in an upscale Hollywood restaurant as a barista and was walking down a street in Hollywood after leaving work at 2:15 a.m.  Local surveillance cameras caught footage of a group of men following the victim as she walked down the street and then started attacking and beating her.  Her injuries were reported to be severe and she had to remain in the hospital for seven days.

The alleged suspect is currently being held in custody on $1.05 million bail and facing not only felony assault and battery with severe injuries, but the possibility of this being charged as a hate crime in addition.

If you have been charged with battery, assault, assault with a deadly weapon or assault with means likely to produce great bodily injury, you need, in two words, a lawyer.  You need to remain silent and have your attorney speak on your behalf to law enforcement investigators and prosecutors.  Serious violent crimes are charges that prosecutors don’t take lightly and are convictions that can have major implications on your life and criminal record.

If you are charged with felony assault or battery, you are looking at prison time, fines, restitution and possibly a serious and violent crime on your record for a long time.  If you have been charged with assault and battery in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Los Angeles or Pasadena, contact attorney Ross Erlich as soon as possible.  These charges require a skilled and aggressive defense attorney to advocate for your rights and to tell your side of the story.

Rapper Arrested On Drug Charges At LAX

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Rapper “2 Chainz” was arrested on Tuesday at LAX, according to reports.  In fact, he was actually taken off a plane waiting to depart the airport after a TSA search of checked baggage showed the presence of marijuana and promethazine.

Reports state that the marijuana was less than 1 ounce, a misdemeanor, while the possession of promethazine got Chainz a felony narcotics possession charge.  Promethazine is commonly mixed with codeine and juice or soda to create a very intoxicating drink known as “sizzurp” in the hip-hop community.

2 Chainz will likely be booked and then released on bond and given a date to appear at the Airport Courthouse for the felony and misdemeanor drug possession charges.  While having a felony drug possession charge against you is serious and something that should not be taken lightly, there are favorable ways to resolve these cases which may even involve a dismissal of the charges.

If you have been charged with felony drug possession in California, you are most likely eligible for Deferred Entry of Judgment (DEJ) or what attorneys refer to as PC 1000 (California Penal Code section 1000).  There are certain requirements that must be met before someone is eligible for DEJ.  First of all, the charged violation must be for simple drug possession only and not for possession for sales or transportation and the crime must not involve any violence or threatened violence.  Secondly, you must not have had any prior drug-related convictions, had you parole revoked without successfully completing your terms and conditions, completed DEJ in another case within 5 years of your current charges and you must not have had any felony convictions in the 5 years preceding the current charge.

If all of these elements are met and you are eligible for DEJ, you can enter a plea of guilty to the charges and have your criminal proceedings suspended for, typically, 18 months.  During this 18 month time period, you must enroll and successfully complete a county-approved PC 1000 class, which is typically 20 hours of drug education to be completed within the first 6 months.  After completion of the DEJ class, the court gives you the remaining 12 months to stay out of trouble and not suffer any new arrests, after which time your plea of guilty is withdrawn, a plea of not guilty is entered, and your case is then dismissed.

If you have been charged with drug possession, possession for sales, transportation or manufacturing, you need to speak to an attorney as soon as possible.  A lot of times law enforcement is looking to catch the “bigger fish” and can put unfair pressure on you to talk and make incriminating statements.  Do yourself a favor and tell law enforcement to talk to your lawyer and that you have nothing to say to them.

Attorney Ross Erlich handles drug-related charges in the Airport Court, CCB (Criminal Courts Building), East Los Angeles, Pasadena and all over Southern California.  If you have been arrested on drug charges in Los Angeles, Hollywood, Beverly Hills or LAX, contact our office today.

L.A. County Probation Officer Accused Of Shoplifting With Teen Children

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A veteran Los Angeles County Probation Department officer, assigned specifically to aid the rehab of juvenile offenders, was arrested on May 25 on suspicion of shoplifting and contributing to the delinquency of her own children.  She has also been placed on unpaid leave from the Probation Department.

Ruth Marzan, who has over 20 years working for the Probation Department, was arrested at a Kmart when security personnel allegedly witnessed her shoplift items and coach her two teenage children to shoplift as well.  Marzan allegedly stole two MP3 players, clothes and underwear.

The Los Angeles County Probation Department has been plagued with personnel problems for many years, despite the Department’s efforts to reduced this number.

Getting caught for shoplifting in Los Angeles, Hollywood, Beverly Hills or Santa Monica can be a serious crime.  The severity of the charges usually depend on the total value of the items taken, whether the items were recovered, whether the items were damaged at all and whether or not this was a first offense or if there are issues of probation.  Generally, if the value of item(s) taken was over $950, a felony grand theft charge would follow.  If the value of the items are lower then that, most of the time the charges are either petty theft or misdemeanor commercial burglary.

As mentioned in other blogs and on the website, there are many valuable resources available to resolve theft cases before they become a conviction on your record.  Depending on the facts of your case, a civil compromise or some other form of deferred sentence can keep a conviction off your record so long as you are able to make the victim whole and pay for any loss and out of pocket expenses.

If you have been arrested or cited for shoplifting or theft in Hollywood, North Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Santa Monica, or any other city in Los Angeles County, contact an attorney before your court date to find out of something can be done before charges are even filed against you!  It might be the smartest call you make.

Criminal Assault Charges Dropped Against A Kardashian

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Rob Kardashian has settled a civil suit brought against him by a paparazzo he, allegedly, assaulted in March after the camerawoman took pictures of Kardashian while he was shirtless at the gym.  Rob allegedly hit the paparazzo in the face and took the memory card from her camera when he was caught changing after a workout.

On Thursday of this week, misdemeanor assault charges were dropped after Rob agreed to pay the camerawoman the value of her equipment and after she agreed not to pursue the case.

What most likely happened in this case was some form of informal deferred sentence, plea or civil compromise was entered into between the victim and Mr. Kardashian.  For more information on a civil compromise, click here to read previous blogs about this valuable resource.  In short, a civil compromise allows you, the defendant, to compensate the victim for their time, inconvenience and out of pocket expenses in exchange for them agreeing to not object to having the criminal charges against you dismissed and permanently suspended.  A civil compromise is a valuable tool for cases involving theft, assault and hit-and-run.

If you have been arrested or given a citation for assault, battery, hit-and-run or theft/shoplifting, contact attorney Ross Erlich as soon as possible.  As you can see from the outcome of Mr. Kardashian’s case, getting attorney representation early in the process may provide a better chance for a civil compromise and dismissal of your misdemeanor criminal charges.  Ross Erlich handles all theft, assault, battery, hit-and-run and petty theft cases in the Metropolitan Court, Criminal Courts Building (CCB), Airport Court, Pasadena Court and all over Southern California.

Woman Acquitted In Aspiring Model’s Murder

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After more than a week of deliberations, jurors acquitted Kelly Soo Park of murder in the death of aspiring model Juliana Redding.  The reading of the verdict sparked emotional and vocal outbursts by Redding’s family and supporters who were inside of the courtroom.

The reason this verdict was so surprising was that Park’s DNA was all over the crime scene where Redding lay strangled and dead.  Specifically, Park’s DNA was on the victim’s clothing and inside of the locked door of her apartment.  It was also on the victim’s cell phone, the knob of the stove that was left on and even found on the victim’s neck, seemingly overwhelming evidence for a conviction.

Jurors were not interviewed and thus, there is no explanation for their verdict of not guilty.  Experts and reporters believe that the case was solely based on DNA evidence and that the District Attorney’s office was never able to explain why a person with no record of violence would commit this type of crime.

There were also many pre-trial issues that the jury was never able to hear about.  For example, in a pre-trial hearing, the judge ruled that the prosecution could not argue that Park worked as “hired muscle” for a doctor who was angry with the victim’s father over a business deal gone wrong.  Additionally, the defense was not allowed to introduce testimony that Redding’s boyfriend could possibly be the killer due to a pattern of jealous and violent behavior leading up to the time of the murder.

This case just goes to show that you are truly innocent until proven guilty.  Even with DNA evidence against you, that still may not be enough for a conviction if you have a smart and aggressive attorney.  If you have been charged with murder, manslaughter or any other violent crime, it is important to contact attorney Ross Erlich right from the start.  Having representation right when the investigation gets underway can prevent incriminating statements and other damaging items of evidence from ever materializing.

Attorney Ross Erlich handles serious and violent crimes in Downtown Los Angeles, CCB, Metropolitan Court, Hollywood, Central Los Angeles, Pasadena, Beverly Hills and all of Los Angeles County.