california | My Crime Library

Monterey Park Mass Shooting Leaves 9 Dead

Last night near a dance club in Monterey Park California a gunman opened fire killing nine people. According to police reports a male gunman would open fire as people were celebrating at the Monterey Park Lunar New Year festival killing nine people and injuring others. The male gunman was not arrested and police in the California city are still searching for him. It is a sad way to start the Chinese New Year

Other Media resources are reporting that ten people have been killed and over ten more were injured
The suspected shooter was later identified as Huu Can Tran who would commit suicide when surrounded by police

Monterey Park Mass Shooting More News

Nine people have died following a shooting at a business premises in the Californian city of Monterey Park, police said.

The incident happened at about 22:20 local time on Saturday (06:20 GMT on Sunday).

Thousands of people had earlier gathered in the city for the Monterey Park Lunar New Year festival.

Police have not yet said how many people were injured in the shooting, or if they have made any arrests.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said the suspect in the shooting is male.

Videos on social media showed a large police presence in the city, which is located about eight miles (13km) east of Los Angeles.

An eyewitness told the Los Angeles Times that three people ran into his restaurant and told him to lock the door as there was a man with a machine gun in the area.

The annual Lunar New Year festival is a weekend-long event that has previously drawn crowds of more than 100,000 visitors.

Saturday night’s festivities were scheduled to end at 21:00 local time.

Monterey Park has a population of about 60,000 people and is home to a large Asian community.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64364144

Maryanne Cazares and Tyler Jones Charged In Infant Fentanyl Overdose

Maryanne Cazares and Tyler Jones are a couple from Riverbank California who have been charged with murder after an eighteen month old infant died from a Fentanyl overdose. According to police reports 911 was called regarding an infant was nonresponsive. When ambulance attendants arrived at the scene they found the eighteen month old boy not breathing. The child was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Maryanne Cazares and Tyler Jones were brought in for questioning and they admitted to falling asleep while the toddler was crawling around the home. An autopsy would determine the child died from a Fentanyl overdose and Maryanne Cazares and Tyler Jones were charged with murder.

Maryanne Cazares and Tyler Jones More News

A mother and her boyfriend in Riverbank were arrested Thursday in connection with the fentanyl overdose death of the mother’s 18-month-old child, a spokesperson for the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies were called to a trailer park in the 5900 block of Newbrook Circle on Dec. 16 just after 1 p.m. for a call about a boy who wasn’t breathing.

Because of the age of the child and what deputies observed at the scene, the major crimes unit was also called to respond, Sgt. Erich Layton with the sheriff’s office said.

They authorized a search warrant of the home and found narcotics, drug paraphernalia and fentanyl. Authorities believe the drugs were accessible to the child.

The mother, 25-year-old Maryanne Cazares and her 31-year-old boyfriend Tyler Jones were transported to the sheriff’s office for questioning.

During the interview, both admitted to falling asleep while the child was playing on the floor. Jones also admitted that he hid the drugs before law enforcement arrived, according to the sheriff’s office.

An autopsy was performed on the child and the coroner confirmed the 18-month-old died of a fentanyl overdose. He had a lethal amount of it in his blood and gastric contents.

On Thursday, the mother was called to the sheriff’s office and arrested, and the boyfriend was pulled over while riding a bicycle in Oakdale and arrested.

The mother also has a 5-year-old girl who was out of state at the time. The sheriff’s office called local law enforcement there to do a welfare check and found she had drug paraphernalia on her, too. That girl is now in the custody of relatives.

Both the mother and boyfriend were charged with homicide in connection with the 18-month-old and child abuse for the 5-year-old.

It is unknown if the boyfriend was the father of either child.

https://www.kcra.com/article/stanislaus-county-18-month-old-dies-of-a-fentanyl-overdose-riverbank-mother-boyfriend-arrested/42598404

Ron Jeremy To Be Declared Incompetent To Stand Trial For Rape

Ron Jeremy the former porn star is expected to be declared incompetent and unable to go forward to trial on multiple counts of sexual assault. According to police records Ron Jeremy was arrested and charged with more than thirty counts of sexual assault. However his mental competence has been a hindering point to go forward with prosecution and now it is believed that due to severe dementia the former porn star is going to be declared incompetent.

However if Ron Jeremy mental health improves in the future prosecutors can return to charge him with the multiple counts of sexual assault. The accusations range back to the mid nineties with the age of victims ranging from 15 to 51 years old at the time of the crimes. Ron Jeremy pleaded not guilty in 2021.

Ron Jeremy More News

Ron Jeremy will reportedly be declared incompetent to stand trial for more than 30 counts of rape.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the retired adult film star, 69, whose legal name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt, is suffering from “severe dementia” and will be declared unfit for trial on Jan. 17 and likely be placed in a state-run hospital, following allegations from at least 20 women since June 2020.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and an attorney for Hyatt (Ron Jeremy) did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

In an email obtained by The Times, L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson said that mental health experts enlisted by both the prosecutors and Hyatt’s legal team determined his condition, of which there was no evidence he was faking.

“As a result of the agreement of the experts, the defendant will be declared incompetent to stand trial … his prognosis for improvement is not good,” Thompson wrote.

“If he does not improve, we will not be able to try him for his crimes,” he continued. “Because criminal proceedings are suspended as long as he is incompetent, we also cannot get a guilty plea from him or discuss other measures to get justice for the victims in this case.”

Hyatt can still be declared fit for trial in the future if his condition improves.

Some of Hyatt’s relatives reportedly suspected that he suffered from dementia before his arrest in 2020, according to the email. Experts reached their conclusion based on medical documents, as well as interviews with Hyatt, his relatives and L.A. County sheriff’s deputies who interacted with him during his incarceration.

Lianne Young, a former British adult film star and one of Hyatt’s accusers, told The Times she was “kind of numb” after hearing of the decision, noting that his indictment sparked a necessary conversation about consent in the adult film industry.

“It’s going to come down to public opinion now, and public opinion has looked at Ron like a god,” Young said. “It could be an indication to other predators or viewers of pornography that they can get away with such crimes.”

In August 2021, Hyatt was indicted on more than 30 counts of sexual assault, with accusations dating back to 1996 and victims ranging from ages 15 to 51. He pleaded not guilty and has maintained his innocence.

Hyatt was initially charged with a dozen counts of forcible rape, seven counts of forcible oral copulation, six counts of sexual battery by restraint, four counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious or asleep person and one count of committing a lewd act on a minor.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/former-pornstar-ron-jeremy-to-be-declared-incompetent-to-stand-trial-for-rape-due-to-severe-dementia/ar-AA166lpU?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=6f86a6f02558450b928697be7dd3c3f8

Jade Janks Guilty Of Stepfathers Murder Over Nude Photos

Jade Janks has been found guilty of the murder of her stepfather which was apparently over nude photos she found on his computer. According to court documents Jade Janks was looking at her stepfather Thomas Merriman computer when she saw nude photos of herself as the main screensaver. Jade Janks would then plan his murder. Jade Janks would drug Thomas Merriman before she would strangle him and bury his body under a bunch of boxes in the driveway. Apparently there was hundreds of photos of Janks on Thomas Merriman computer which he allegedly took starting when she was just sixteen years old. Jade Janks will be sentenced early in 2023 where she faces twenty five years to life in prison.

Jade Janks More News

After a little over one day of deliberations, a jury in North County found Jade Janks, 39, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her stepdad after finding nude photos of her on the stepfather’s computer.

The verdict is the end of a week-plus murder trial of interior designer Jade Janks, 39, who prosecutors say drugged her stepfather, Tom Merriman, and strangled him on December 31, 2020.

Merriman was a prominent North County businessman who was the co-founder of Butterfly Farms in Encinitas.

During the week-long trial, prosecutors argued that Janks planned the murder of her stepfather after she found hundreds of nude photos of her on his computer. The photos were, according to Janks’ attorney, organized by body part and were taken while Janks was in the shower and during other instances, dating back when Janks was as young as 16 years old.

Prosecutors said they found text messages that Janks sent to friends on the day that Merriman died. Among the texts read in court included one sent on the day of Merriman’s death, “I just dosed the hell our of him,” while another read “it’s pretty much done.”

However, Janks’ defense attorneys argued that Janks sent the text messages days after she discovered the cache of nude photos on his computer while she was cleaning his house.

“It was the most violating, awful, gut-wrenching feeling ever. I felt sick, I felt I couldn’t… even touch my own skin. I don’t know if there [are] words, not even in a movie have I seen something so sick,” testified Janks during the trial.

Janks’ attorneys also argued that Merriman was an alcoholic who would often mix liquor with sleeping pills.

Janks faces 25 years to life in state prison when she is sentenced, which is currently set for an April 3 hearing.

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/verdict-in-murder-trial-of-solana-beach-woman-accused-of-killing-her-stepfather/509-63bdebe5-2e5b-45e3-b7e6-e810189da55d

Jonathan Kassi Charged In Sextortion Of Ryan Last

Jonathan Kassi has been arrested and charged in the Sextortion of Ryan Last that led to the seventeen year old from California to commit suicide. According to police reports Jonathan Kassi allegedly started contacting Ryan Last online convincing the seventeen year old that he was a teenage girl. Soon the conversations would turn intimate and Jonathan Kassi convinced Ryan Last to send him nude photos. When Jonathan Kassi received the photos he demanded $5000 or else he was going to post the photos online. Ryan Last would end up taking his own life. Jonathan Kassi has so far been charged with extortion and attempted disorderly conduct – posting of a photograph or recording without consent.

Jonathan Kassi More News

Police in California have arrested a suspect in connection with an alleged online scam authorities said led to the suicide death of a 17-year-old boy in February.

Jonathan Kassi, 25, was arrested Thursday by Los Angeles police officers on an arrest warrant, the San Jose Police Department announced Monday.

The warrant was obtained by the San Jose Crimes Against Children Task Force, which was investigating a West African financial extortion scheme, authorities said.

Kassi was transferred from Los Angeles to Northern California and “booked for extortion and attempted disorderly conduct – posting of a photograph or recording without consent,” San Jose police said.

CNN is attempting to determine if Kassi has an attorney.

Earlier this year, CNN reported on the suicide death of Ryan Last, who police said was the target of an online scam known as “sextortion.”

Ryan’s mother, Pauline Stuart, said police determined her son was contacted online by someone purporting to be a girl, who engaged in an online conversation which quickly turned intimate in nature.

According to authorities, the online perpetrator sent Ryan a romantic picture of a young female and asked for one of him in return. Immediately after Ryan shared an intimate photo of his own, the cybercriminal demanded $5,000, threatening to make the photo public and send it to Ryan’s family and friends, investigators said. Hours later, police said, a panicked Ryan took his own life.

Although San Jose police withheld Ryan’s name as the minor victim in the case in its announcement of the arrest Monday, Stuart confirmed to CNN the arrest was in connection with her son’s death.

“I am truly disgusted that there are people that can do this to kids, but I am also grateful for all the work that law enforcement has done on this case,” she told CNN Monday evening. “They truly care what happens and have worked hard investigating. I believe that to continue to fight these type of scams we need to educate parents and kids alike.”

According to San Jose police, Kassi allegedly exploited children online through using various social media platforms.

“Detectives believe there could be additional victims due to the suspect’s criminal pattern and use of social media to target minors,” police said, urging anyone with information about the scams to call investigators. Authorities did not provide further details on potential co-conspirators.

Authorities announced the suspect’s arrest on the same day the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a public safety alert warning parents about the dangers of sextortion schemes.

There have been more than 7,000 reports related to online financial sextortion of minors, resulting in at least 3,000 victims, mostly boys, and more than a dozen suicides, the alert said.

“As many children enter winter break this holiday season, the FBI and our partners implore parents and caregivers to engage with their kids about financial sextortion schemes so we can prevent them in the first place,” the FBI said Monday.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/us/california-ryan-last-sextortion-scam-arrest