Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/author/tvo/)
Confessed mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai will receive life in prison after Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals Friday blocked him from receiving the death penalty.
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait shut down discussion on two items by City Council members Lucille Kring and Kris Murray during a heated meeting, prompting accusations from the councilwomen that Tait was stifling debate.
In an official response to the Orange County Grand Jury’s June report, which called the jailhouse informant scandal a “myth,” District Attorney Tony Rackauckas agreed with most of the report’s findings, except for those which criticized his department for a lack of training protocols and procedure.
It’s one of several questions Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals is considering before ruling Aug. 18 on whether or not confessed mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai faces the death penalty
Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals will announce Friday if mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai faces the death penalty in a case that upended at least six other criminal convictions, damaged the reputations of both the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office and unveiled the “jailhouse snitch scandal.”
Attorneys gave their final arguments at a hearing Thursday, which addresses allegations by the defense that the failure by prosecutors and the Sheriff’s Department to turn over records in the past – and the potential that they still haven’t turned over everything – suggest Dekraai won’t receive a fair penalty trial and he should be spared the death penalty.
Deputy District Attorney Karen Schatzle, who ran against incumbent Judge Scott Steiner in 2016, has filed an internal claim against the county of Orange alleging District Attorney Tony Rackauckas retaliated against her after she announced her intention to run for office.
A contract dispute between Magellan Healthcare and CalOptima, the county’s health plan for low-income and elderly residents, may have left some of CalOptima’s 710,000 patients without mental health care when, for nine days in July, Magellan refused to process Medi-Cal payment claims.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of OC Catholic Worker and seven homeless plaintiffs, who allege law enforcement have created additional hardship for homeless people by seizing property and issuing citations while people are away from their belongings, going to the bathroom, attending doctor’s appointments and performing other essential tasks.
Several Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine and other city council members and candidates reported robust fundraising for the first six months of 2017, according to the latest campaign finance disclosures.