San Bernardino County judge lifts bail for Colonies’ defendants
May 1, 2012 by admin
Filed under West Valley Detention News
A San Bernardino Superior Court judge on Friday lifted bail for four defendants in the Colonies Partners corruption scandal, freeing them from having to pay an annual bond premium as the one-year anniversary of their arrest nears.
On behalf of defendant and Colonies’co-managing partner Jeff Burum, attorney Stephen Larson said Burum poses no flight risk and has abided by the terms of his bail since posting bond on the $10 million bail days after his arrest last May.
Larson also spoke on behalf of the other three defendants – former county Supervisor Paul Biane, former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin, and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff for Supervisor Gary Ovitt. Their attorneys joined Larson in his motion.
“We believe it’s appropriate to release them on their own recognizance,” Larson told Judge Michael A. Smith. He said requiring each defendant to continue paying the annual bond premiums would pose financial hardship on them.
Prosecutors did not oppose the move on condition the defendants continued to abide by the travel restrictions previously imposed upon them by the court. They are not allowed to leave the country while their case is being adjudicated and must notify prosecutors if they plan to leave the state.
A criminal grand jury indicted the four last May. Prosecutors allege Burum conspired with the other defendants to secure a $102 million settlement from the county in exchange for a total of $400,000 in bribes. The Board of Supervisors approved the settlement on a 3-2 vote, with board chairman Bill Postmus, Ovitt and Biane approving and supervisors Josie Gonzales and Dennis Hansberger dissenting, on Nov. 28, 2006.
The settlement ended nearly five years of heated legal battle over who was responsible for paying for and building a 67-acre flood control basin at Colonies’ 434-acre residential and commercial development, Colonies at San Antonio and Colonies Crossroads, respectively, in Upland.
Defense attorneys have also been battling it out with prosecutors over transcribed interviews between law enforcement and key witnesses in the case, namely Postmus and former Assistant Assessor Adam Aleman.
The original documents provided by prosecutors were heavily redacted, and defense attorneys filed motions with the court seeking unredacted copies.
Larson said the defense has been able to negotiate a sit-down meeting with prosecutors to go over the redacted portions of the interviews, clarify the nature of the redactions,and possibly dwindle down a significant portion of those redactions.
Judge Smith set the next hearing for May 24. If prosecutors and the defense have worked things out to both parties’ satisfaction, Larson said he will withdraw his motion. If any issues of conflict need to be addressed, they will be addressed at a subsequent hearing on June 8.
Dad pleads not guilty in slaying held on 1 million dollar bail bond
April 13, 2011 by admin
Filed under West Valley Detention News
A San Bernardino man accused of killing his teenage son and attempting to kill his wife and their four other children pleaded not guilty in San Bernardino County Superior Court on Friday morning.
Ian Anthony Roderiquez, 35, remained silent as Judge Ken Barr entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The district attorney’s office charged Roderiquez with murder, attempted murder, four counts of torture and four counts of child abuse.
Earlier while sitting in a prisoner holding area in the court, Roderiquez broke down in tears while talking to his attorney, Celia Torres, a deputy public defender. He kept his head bowed and gazed down most of the time he was in court.A preliminary hearing was set for April 7, although he will be back in court March 30 for a status hearing.
Roderiquez, who is being held without bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, wore an orange jail jumpsuit with the “S/W” written in large in the front, indicating jail staff has him on suicide watch.
He was arrested Wednesday after deputies responded to a 911 call of a man screaming for help at a house in the Del Rosa area near San Bernardino and Highland. They found his 16-year-old son Richard dead inside the house and his wife, Sujal Roderiquez, 35, and their four other children with injuries.
Ian Roderiquez was inside the house when deputies arrived.
His wife, Sujal Roderiquez, 35, suffered severe injuries and was listed in critical condition earlier but her status has improved since then, said Cindy Bachman, sheriff’s spokeswoman.
Two other sons, Jacob, 13, and Gabriel, 12, are also hospitalized with less serious injuries and are expected to recover. Their daughters, Daniella, 10, and Yasmine, 8, were treated for their injuries and released to county Children and Family Services.
Sheriff’s investigators say they’re still investigating the motive behind the attack and are not releasing information on the weapons used, except to say that two different ones were used. They’ve also declined to reveal the nature of the injuries.
Investigators do not want to go into detail until they’ve talked to all the victims, Bachman said.
An early dispatch call described the incident as a stabbing and neighbors said they saw the mother and younger children covered with blood.
The complaint filed in court states in the sections charging him with torture that Roderiquez “did unlawfully and with the intent to cause cruel and extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion and for a sadistic purpose, inflict great bodily harm.”
Neighbors described Ian Rodriquez as an intimidating presence whose erratic behavior, which included frequent yelling, scared others.
By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise
More child abuse charges filed in Mentone case, 350k Bail Bond
March 18, 2011 by admin
Filed under West Valley Detention News
San Bernardino County prosecutors have filed additional child abuse charges against a Mentone couple stemming from what investigators believe were multiple battering incidents against the woman’s two young daughters over a nine-month period.
Jordan Joseph Brommer, 20, and Cheryl Christine Mock, 19, are now charged with six counts each of child abuse resulting in great bodily injury to a child under age 5.
The couple was initially charged with two counts each of child abuse with great bodily injury and pleaded not guilty.
Mock is the mother of the two children, but Brommer is not their father.
Brommer and Mock were in Superior Court on Friday where Judge John Martin granted Deputy District Attorney Melissa Rodriguez’s request that the couple’s bail bond be increased from $100,000 to $350,000 each because of the seriousness of the charges.
Their next court date is set for April 13.
Rodriguez said after court that the additional charges were filed based on medical examinations of the two girls that showed older injuries that were in the process of healing and newer injuries.
Investigators believe there were three separate beating incidents between June 2010 and Feb. 26, when Brommer and Mock were arrested, Rodriguez said.
Paramedics were called to the Mentone apartment where they lived and found the 3-year-old having trouble breathing. The children were put into protective custody and taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center for treatment.
Rodriguez said she did not know the condition of the children and would not reveal where they were.
The amended complaint filed in the case provides more information about the girls who are referred to as Jane Doe with a birth date of March 21, 2007, and Jane Doe with a birth date of March 16, 2009.
According to the complaint, the 3-year-old suffered a skull fracture with brain injury, three fractured ribs on her left hand side and three fractured ribs on her right side.
The 1-year-old suffered three fractured ribs and a lacerated liver, a broken collarbone and a fractured shin bone.
Mock remains in custody at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino, and Brommer is being held at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
By SANDRA STOKLEY
The Press-Enterprise
Candlelight vigil held for slain woman: Suspect in West Valley Detention
February 26, 2011 by admin
Filed under West Valley Detention News
More than 150 friends, family members and coworkers of Tanya Petro cried, hugged and shared memories Friday evening of a young Lake Elsinore mother who touched their lives.
“She was a hard worker and a loving mother,” Buena Park resident Tracy Romo, Petro’s sister, said through her tears just before a candlelight vigil to remember Petro.
Petro, 33, was found dead on Tuesday in a wash in Landers in the San Bernardino County desert. 
Mourners began gathering before 6 p.m. outside the Morro Way apartment complex where Petro had lived with her two children, ages 7 and 8. Near Petro’s apartment, flowers sat near two candles that were burning.
As the vigil began, dozens of people crowded around tables set up near a driveway that held dozens of candles, stuffed animals, balloons, bouquets of flowers and a photo montage of Petro. The crowd grew so large that mourners spilled into the street, some gathering in clusters to reflect on what Petro had meant to them.
Dawna Chilton, of Lake Elsinore, carried a message of thanks from Petro’s mother to those in law enforcement and in the community who searched for her daughter.
The outcome of that search, Chilton said, was “not the way she wanted it.”
The vigil was organized by neighbors Becky Hill and Cynthia Wolbert, who had known Petro for eight and six years, respectively.
“Everybody wanted to be here,” Hill said. “She was our friend.”
Ronald Wayne Paoletto, 41, a registered sex offender, has been charged with murder in connection with Petro’s death.
Petro was last seen leaving her apartment complex Jan. 4 with Paoletto, Riverside County sheriff’s officials have said. The two were supposed to have traveled to Yucca Valley that day to pick up his children.
Paoletto arrived alone and told his family that he and Petro had argued along the way and that he dropped her off somewhere, Riverside County sheriff’s officials said.
Investigators found Paoletto on Monday in Hesperia and arrested him on suspicion of violating his sex offender registration requirements. He was booked into West Valley Detention Center and held without bail.
By GENE GHIOTTO
The Press-Enterprise
How much does it cost to get a DUI conviction?
December 16, 2010 by admin
Filed under West Valley Detention News
Q: Retired Riverside City College professor Cecil Green was surprised to hear someone describe the cost of a DUI ticket as about $1,300 — and somebody else doubt it was that much.
“The ticket is bad enough,” Green said, but there are other related, less obvious, costs. “It would do the county and people a service if you’d explain the cost of a drinking-and-driving ticket.”
A: Most of the financial impact from a DUI stems from a conviction, though the arrest will cost even if a case ends in acquittal. It’s nearly impossible to predict the cost of a conviction because many factors — including insurance premiums and attorney’s fees — vary with the individual, location and circumstances.
Here’s an idea of the hit someone’s wallet could take if they’re arrested in the state on a DUI charge.
When arrested, a person’s driver’s license is confiscated, they’re jailed and their vehicle is impounded. The bond to get out of jail before trial costs from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, according to Insurance Information Network of California. If one doesn’t have that, using a bail bondsman generally costs 10 percent of the total bond. To retrieve a car, one must pay the cost of towing it from the arrest site to the local impound lot and pay the storage fee. Together these will cost at least $250, according to the network. To get back a license at the end of the revocation period, one must pay a $125 reissue fee to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Court fees vary by jurisdiction. Legal websites say that hiring an attorney will cost from $500 to $10,000, depending on the case and the attorney.
Those who are convicted must pay a fine ($390 to $1,000), have their license suspended for six months and complete an anti-DUI education program at their expense. The classes cost $240 to $3,400 depending on the program and the number of offenses, according to www.shouse.law’s online guide to California DUI schools.
The DUI conviction won’t please auto insurance companies, which will raise premiums or drop coverage when one’s next renewal period comes up.
“A DUI is visible on your record for 10 years,” said Tim Gaspar, of Gaspar Insurance Services, Encino. It’s a major violation, and in California counts as two points on your driving record, he said.
Auto insurers use points to gauge how safe one’s driving is and how much to charge.
“Although the points fall off your record after three years, insurance companies do not return your good-driver discounts (typically 15 to 20 percent) until the 10 years are up,” said Gaspar, who added that a DUI will make a driver ineligible for some insurers.
Even someone with a previously perfect driving record may see their premium increase by at least 25 percent after a DUI, Gaspar said. If there is more than one vehicle or driver on a policy, the DUI can spike the rate for the whole policy, Gaspar said.
If dropped by an insurer, one must find new insurance, because the DUI conviction will require an SR-22 form, a California Proof of Insurance Certificate, with the DMV (the form costs $15 to $25).
The SR-22 means that if one drops insurance coverage, the DMV will invalidate the license.
DUI sentences vary from 96 hours to six months, depending on the number of convictions. The period of license suspension gets longer with additional convictions. An ignition interlock device could be installed to monitor a driver’s blood-alcohol level and prevent the car from starting if the level registers too high. If required, one must pay for the device’s installation ($50 to $200, according to ignitioninterlockdevice.org), monthly rental ($50 to $100 per month) and maintenance and data downloads.
It’s difficult to pinpoint how much a DUI conviction costs, but it’s likely to be far more than the $1,300 that Green’s acquaintance predicted.
By MAURA AMMENHEUSER
Special to The Press-Enterprise
Bail by Fax
January 15, 2010 by admin
Filed under Get Bail Now
We make bailing out of the West Valley Detention Center very easy.
Please call us toll free at 1-877-279-1999 so we can begin making the proper arrangements and can explain to you all your responsibilities you will have as a co-signer of a bail bond.
To execute a bail bond we will need one of the following bail packages to begin the process. We will let you know which one to use depending on your bail needs.
Fax No. 1-877-227-7710 with completed paperwork
Once you are approved for a bail bond we process the paperwork and will have a bail bonds agent post the bond with in an hour. Occasionally there can be delays in the booking process or failures in the information systems of the jails that can delay the process.
We pride ourselves in making it as quick and painless as possible, as we know how stressful the situation can be.
Payment arrangements can be made in a variety of ways including by all major credit cards, western union, bank transfers, or we can come to you and collect a personal check or cash.
Financing a portion of the bail bond premium is available to those who qualify. We assess every bail bond individually to evaluate the credit worthiness of each case. For more information click on Interest Free Financing.
Once we have received your paperwork and appropriate payment we will then travel to the jail where the defendant is located to post the bail bond. We will let you know how long you may anticipate until your loved one will be released.
In most cases it is best to wait till the defendant gets out and calls you before heading to the jail. There can be significant delays from time to time and jail lobbies are not great places to pass time. This of course is up to you to decide.
Please be advised that we do everything in our power, and use all our connections to make the process go as smoothly as possible for each of our clients. Just understand that their are some things out of our control that can cause small delays.
