US Magistrate Judge Alicia Rosenberg denied bail on Tuesday to Alex Sanchez, 37, a former gang leader in the MS-13 gang, saying that his criminal history made it likely that he would seek revenge upon the witnesses who testified against him. Sanchez will remain in custody until the start of his trial, currently scheduled for September 1. Sanchez and other MS-13 gang members were arrested and charged with murder, and drug crimes, as well as conspiracy to commit murder.

Federal prosecutors charge that Sanchez orchestrated the assassination of a gangster in El Salvador who had allegedly threatened gang members in Los Angeles. Federal prosecutors presented evidence obtained from wiretaps that they say shows Sanchez is still active in the MS-13 street gang as a leader.

Sanchez received the support of US Senator Tom Hayden who offered to put his home up as bail., and one hundred letters of support from other community members. Sanchez says that he has left the gang life behind and now spends his time focused on anti-gang activities via his organization, Homies Unidos. Hayden was instrumental in helping Sanchez receive political asylum in 2000, after Sanchez had been deported back to El Salvador following a 1994 violation of parole conviction. If convicted on the charges against him, Sanchez now faces life in prison without parole.

If you’ve been arrested for federal crimes including racketeering, murder, or drug trafficking charges, Robert Michael HelfendLos Angeles federal criminal defense attorney Robert Michael Helfend can help.

Mr. Helfend has 25 years of experience exclusively in criminal defense, and takes cases in both federal and state courts in Southern California. Federal charges are serious; trust your defense only to an experienced federal criminal defense attorney like Robert Michael Helfend. Contact Robert Helfend today for a free consultation on your case.

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Three men were arrested by the Ventura County Sheriff’s office in connection with a cocaine distribution ring. Detectives say that Michael Mullins, 49, of Simi Valley, Mitchell Diamond, 51, of Woodland Hills and Matthew Leotta, 21, of West Hills were arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, after deputies executed a number of Ventura County search warrants. Authorities say they seized about 1 kilogram of cocaine as a result of the searches. Each man is being held in the Ventura County Jail on a $500,000 bond. The Simi Valley Police Department and the Ventura County District Attorney’s office also participated in the arrests.

If you’ve been arrested in Ventura County on drug charges, even for simple possession, you need the assistance of an experienced Ventura criminal defense attorney like Robert Michael Helfend.

Mr. Helfend has 25 years experience exclusively in criminal defense. He takes cases in Ventura County and Los Angeles County, and can put together a skilled defense on your behalf. Mr. Helfend works hard to get the charges against you reduced or dropped. He has established a reputation as an aggressive attorney who fights for his clients’ rights at all times.

Don’t trust your criminal defense to just anyone. Choose an experienced criminal defense attorney like Robert Helfend and put a fighter to work for you.

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Lori Drew, who was convicted of creating messages on the social networking site MySpace and sending them to a 13 year-old girl who later committed suicide, will be sentenced today in Los Angeles for her role in a federal computer crime hoax that allegedly led to the death of Megan Meier. Drew, her13 year-old daughter and a business assistant created a fictitious profile of a boy who sent messages to Meier claiming to be in love with her. Drew and Ashley Gillis, the assistant who testified under a promise of immunity from prosecution, later “dumped” Meier, who committed suicide shortly afterward.

Drew faces up to three years in prison for Internet crimes for what amounts violating the MySpace terms of service agreement. Drew was not charged directly in Meier’s death. The judge in the case, George Wu, has said that he is reluctant to sentence Drew harshly under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act because it may set a dangerous precedent. Drew, who is from Missouri, was tried in Los Angeles because the MySpace servers used in the incident are in the Southern California area.

Federal criminal defense attorney Robert Michael Helfend can assist you if you’ve been arrested on federal charges related to Internet crimes or any other violation of federal law. Mr. Helfend practices criminal defense exclusively and has taken cases in Southern Californa for twenty-five years. Mr. Helfend has significant experience with both the federal district courts in Southern California as well as California’s state courts.

He has established himself with a reputation of defending his clients aggressively but fairly in court. Regardless of what you’ve been charged with, Mr. Helfend will not judge you. Instead, he will help you prepare a solid defense and work to get your charges reduced or dismissed.

Experience counts, which is why you should rely on a federal criminal defense attorney like Robert Helfend. Contact Robert Helfend today for a free consultation on your case.

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An Oak Park man was arrested last month in connection with a string of vehicle burglaries in Thousand Oaks. David Carter was arrested after police in Thousand Oaks received a call reporting another vehicle burglary. Carter, 25, was found in the area and is charged with taking items from unlocked vehicles. He was released from the Ventura County Jail and ordered to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on July 8.

If you’ve been arrested for burglary, robbery, theft or auto theft, Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Robert Michael Helfend can help. Mr. Helfend practices criminal defense exclusively and takes cases in Los Angeles County and Ventura County.

Mr. Helfend’s experience and skill has enabled him to create an impressive case history of successful defenses for people from all walks of life who have been charged with major and minor criminal offenses. In his 25 years of practice, Mr. Helfend has established a reputation as a criminal defense attorney who will fight aggressively for his clients’ rights throughout the judicial process.

Mr. Helfend always works to get the charges against his clients reduced or dismissed. That’s not always a possibility and no attorney can guarantee that the charges against you will be dropped or reduced, but you can be certain that Mr. Helfend will always work toward the best possible outcome for you when he represents you in court.

Put the value of Robert Helfend’s experience to work for you. Contact Robert Helfend today for a free consultation on your case.

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A Federal jury in Los Angeles announced a guilty verdict for a physician’s assistant charged with participating in a $7.7 million Los Angeles Medicare fraud scheme. Ronald Luis Bradshaw, 59, was found guilty on all charges, which included conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Bradshaw was accused of prescribing unnecessary durable medical equipment, including motorized wheelchairs and custom-fitted orthotics and hundreds of diagnostic tests while working at the Glenmountain Medical Group. The doctor whose identity Bradshaw used, testified that he had never worked for the Glenmountain Medical Group.

Other participants in the fraud testified that they were recruited to be examined at the clinic and that certain participants were paid cash for bringing new patients in, and bonuses based upon what the recruit was prescribed. Several persons who had been seen at the clinic testified that they had received a motorized wheelchair, even though they had not complained of walking difficulties or showed evidence that such a chair was medically necessary. Star Medical Supply, which also participated in the fraud, paid the Glenmountain clinic $1,200 for each chair prescribed.

Federal criminal defense attorney Robert Michael Helfend can assist you if you’ve been charged with fraud, embezzlement or other related federal crimes in Los Angeles. Mr. Helfend has 25 years of experience and can take federal cases in any federal district court in the nation.

Mr. Helfend will defend your rights aggressively and work to get your charges reduced or dismissed. He has established a reputation as a fair yet aggressive federal criminal defense attorney and will fight for your rights. Contact Robert Helfend for a free consultation on your case today.

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Ventura police arrested three people in conjunction with a robbery and auto theft in Ventura on Monday. Two teenage victims, both from Iowa, reported to police that they had been lured to a Motel 6 on Harbor Road by two juvenile girls. The girls were working with a third person, David Lumas, 20, of Ventura, who threatened the victims and implied that he had a weapon. He ordered the victims to give him money and the keys to their car, which they did.

The victims then called police, who located the vehicle in Thousand Oaks, where California Highway Patrol officers stopped the vehicle and found Lumas and the two juveniles inside. The trio was arrested on charges of armed robbery, auto theft and criminal conspiracy.

If you find yourself arrested on similar charges, Ventura criminal defense attorney Robert Michael Helfend can help. Robert Helfend has practiced criminal defense exclusively in Southern California for 25 years. He takes criminal defense cases in Ventura County and fights aggressively for your rights.

Mr. Helfend will work to get the charges against you reduced or dropped, and will fight against overly aggressive prosecutors to make sure that they meet the stiff burden of proof for each charge they bring against you.

Don’t wait! Rely on an experienced Ventura criminal defense attorney. Contact Robert Helfend today for a free consultation on your case.

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A former Upland strip-club manager who was arrested as the result of an undercover sting operation in Colorado now faces an extradition hearing following his release from jail. Ward Welty was arrested in Fremont County, CO after traveling to that state to have sex with a 9-year-old girl. Welty thought he was making arrangements with the girl’s mother when in reality, he was chatting over the Internet with an undercover police detective.

Fremont County officials notified the San Bernardino Sheriff’s department of Welty’s arrest. The San Bernardino authorities requested and received a search warrant for Welty’s apartment, where deputies found $60,000 in steroid that Welty appeared to be selling, along with images of child pornography on Welty’s computer.

Welty was bailed out of jail in Colorado and returned to California, where he was charged with three counts related to the sale of steroids, and possession of child pornography, and solicitation. Welty pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 270 days in jail, five years’ probation and is required to register for life as a sex offender. Welty completed 100 days of his sentence and was released to complete the remainder of his time on weekends or through home confinement. Officials in Fremont County want to extradite Welty back to the state to face additional charges related to the incident. Prior to his release from jail, Welty was required to post a $50,000 bond.

Navigating inter-state law is complex and requires the assistance of an experienced criminal defense attorney like Robert Michael Helfend.
Cases involving sex offenses against children are especially offensive to some members of society, but Mr. Helfend will not judge you for what you’ve been accused of. As a criminal defense attorney, his job is to defend you in court.

Robert Helfend has established a reputation as an aggressive criminal defense attorney who fights for his clients in court. He is not intimidated by prosecutors and is respected by peers and colleagues for his knowledge and skill. If you’ve been arrested for a sex crime, or crimes committed over the Internet, contact Robert Helfend today for a free consultation on your case.

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The Los Angeles Police Department has made an arrest in the murders of two teenage boys in Highland Park in March. Alejandro Garcia, 16, and Carlos Hernandez, 15, were confronted by a group of gang members as they walked home from school. After a brief argument, the boys were shot and later died of their injuries. The City Council offered a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.

Felix Gomez, Jr., 18, was arraigned on two murder charges with the special circumstances of multiple murders in the incident. Gomez will not face the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the incident.

If you’ve been charged with murder, you need the assistance of an experienced criminal defense attorney like Robert Michael Helfend. Mr. Helfend practices criminal defense exclusively and takes cases in Southern California in Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County and Ventura County.
Murder charges in California can lead to the death penalty, or life in prison with or without parole. In addition, murder is a three strikes offense, which can lead to lifetime incarceration on combined convictions.

Mr. Helfend is known as an aggressive defense attorney who works hard to get charges against his clients reduced or dropped. He has established a significant case history of providing effective defense for his clients.

If you’ve been charged with a crime, whether it is a major or minor offense, you need the assistance of a skilled criminal defense attorney like Robert Helfend. Contact Robert Helfend today for a free consultation on your case.

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The California Highway Patrol executed a traffic stop last week on a suspected search and seizure laws may be used to defend your rights in court or have your case thrown out altogether.

The discovery and collection of evidence is carefully regulated, and when the rules aren’t followed exactly, an experienced criminal defense attorney like Robert Michael Helfend can use this to limit how evidence can be used against you.

Robert Helfend has practiced criminal defense in California for 25 years and takes cases in Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County and Ventura County. He also handles federal crimes in any federal jurisdiction.

The rules of evidence can’t help you if you or your attorney don’t know how to use them to your advantage. Contact Robert Helfend today for a free consultation on your case.

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Murder charges have been filed against a Torrance man in connection with the strangulation death of a Canadian nurse nearly 30 years ago. Douglas Bradford, 57, was arrested and charged in the murder of Lynne Knight, then 28. Knight had dated Bradford but was not involved with him at the time of her death.

Bradford was an engineering student at California State Long Beach and has long been considered a suspect, but police said that they lacked the evidence to charge Bradford with Knight’s murder. Knight was found dead in her apartment, having been stabbed more than 15 times and strangled with a garrote, which was left behind at the murder scene. She was working as a neonatal intensive care nurse and a nurse recruiter at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance when she was killed. Bradford is being held on a $1 million bond and faces life in prison if convicted.

If you’ve been arrested for murder, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney like Robert Michael Helfend to defend your rights in court. In very old cases, the quality of the evidence is critical. You need a defense attorney who can pull together the legal resources you need to challenge old evidence which may or may not have been properly stored, and fading memories of witnesses to the crime.

Murder in California can result in the death penalty or in life in prison, with or without parole. It is also a three strikes offense, which can effectively turn a conviction into a life sentence.

Robert Helfend has 25 years’ experience in criminal defense and takes cases in Southern California, in Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County and Ventura County. Don’t go into court with a criminal defense attorney that does not have specific experience in murder defense. Contact Robert Helfend today for a consultation on your case.

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