Santa Ana

13 Stories

26 Years After Murder, Note to Cops Leads to Arrest

Jade Benning accused of stabbing boyfriend Christopher Harvey in Santa Ana, California

(Newser) - For more than two decades, police in Southern California wondered who killed 22-year-old Christopher Harvey in his own apartment. Then they got a major hint contained in an anonymous note. The letter, submitted to police in January 2020, implicated Harvey's live-in girlfriend Jade Benning, who'd pointed the finger...

Police Blare Disney Tunes, and Neighbors Are Ticked

Officers blared them at night on a city street in Santa Ana to try to discourage filming

(Newser) - Santa Ana city councilman Johnathan Hernandez was at home around 11pm on a recent Monday when he heard the song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” blaring through his residential neighborhood. That was followed by “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and “Reflection.” One thing...

Naked Woman Found Stuck Between 2 Buildings

Firefighters in Santa Ana say it was a 'cautious and technical' rescue operation

(Newser) - Firefighters in California say that after a "cautious and technical" operation, a woman was rescued from a tiny gap between two buildings. The naked woman had somehow become stuck in the space between two businesses in Santa Ana, Fox 11 reports. Max Benett, the owner of Tim's Auto...

'Unchecked Groping' Alleged at Calif. Homeless Shelters

ACLU sues cities, operators of 3 Orange County shelters

(Newser) - In March 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union issued a report that suggested it was better to spend time in jail than in dirty, overcrowded Orange County homeless shelters. Residents at Anaheim's Bridges at Kraemer Place and Santa Ana's Courtyard Transitional Center and SAFEPlace shelters described feces covering...

Cops: He Walked Out of a 7-Eleven, Covered in Blood

Zachary Castaneda allegedly killed 4, injured 2

(Newser) - The suspect in a Southern California stabbing rampage that left four people dead and two injured pleaded not guilty Friday to murder, attempted murder, and other counts. Zachary Castaneda was arraigned in his jail cell instead of court after refusing to leave his jail cell, Orange County District Attorney Todd...

Airborne Car Slams Into 2nd-Floor Office

Driver hit median at high speed, police say

(Newser) - It's 2018, so where are the flying cars? On Sunday, the answer to that question was Santa Ana, Calif., where a white sedan crashed into a dental office on the second floor of a two-story building. Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Capt. Stephen Horner says the vehicle became airborne...

Cops: Discarded Water Bottle Helped Solve 1999 Rape

2 friends accused of 11-year-old's rape, abduction

(Newser) - An 11-year-old girl's kidnapping and rape in Santa Ana, Calif., may be solved after 17 years thanks in part to a discarded water bottle. For years, detectives had few leads apart from a surveillance video from a gas station showing a man in a van covering the girl's...

5 Arrested in Connection With Orange County Jailbreak

But 3 escaped fugitives remain at large

(Newser) - Police have arrested five suspected gang members in connection with the escape of three prisoners last week from the Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana, Calif. The fugitives, however, remain at large. When announcing the arrests Wednesday, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens did not identify the men or say what charges...

Cops Make Arrests in Halloween Hit-and-Run

Neighbors mistook girls for dolls, they flew so far

(Newser) - Police today made multiple arrests in a Halloween hit-and-run that killed three teenage girls and left a California neighborhood reeling, the AP reports. Police in Santa Ana, Calif., gave no details on the arrests but had tracked the black Honda SUV to the registered owner's home. Meanwhile, about 70...

Kidnap Victim Met With Mom Before Police

'He worked hard for me and my daughter ... I didn't want that'

(Newser) - The woman who says she was held captive for 10 years by Isidro Garcia led a seemingly normal life: She went to Zumba classes, the beach, and Disneyland. But despite what she says was a decade of abuse, it wasn't until she got in touch with her mom that...

Woman Held Captive 10 Years Goes to Police

California man charged with kidnapping her as a teen, brainwashing her

(Newser) - It's another tale of a longtime captive gaining freedom, with this one bearing more similarity to the Jaycee Dugard case than the Cleveland kidnappings . An unidentified 25-year-old woman who was reported missing 10 years ago in California found her sister on Facebook and contacted her; police say that the...

30,000 Flee Raging Fires
 30,000 Flee Raging Fires 

Nov 16, 2008 6:05 AM CST

30,000 Flee Raging Fires

Hundreds of homes destroyed by California blazes fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds

(Newser) - Nearly 30,000 people have fled three massive fires scorching thousands of acres from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, reports the Los Angeles Times. Hundreds of homes have been gutted in three days of blazes fueled by raging Santa Ana winds that firefighters are struggling mightily to contain. Major freeways...

Hundreds Flee Malibu Fires
Hundreds Flee Malibu Fires
Oct 21, 2007 4:57 PM CDT

Hundreds Flee Malibu Fires

Hundreds evacuated as 1,000-acre fire rages out of control

(Newser) - Massive brushfires raged through Malibu today, causing hundreds to flee and destroying at least 6 buildings. Officials say that the 1,000-acre fire is out of control despite 500 firefighters on the scene and almost 1,000 en route. Twenty-to-thirty mile-per-hour winds will sustain the fire for days and threaten...

13 Stories