Public Safety

Keeping The Pressure On County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parents

Supervisor Don Knabe announced today that another one of LA County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parents has been arrested and jailed. Fernando Zaldana was arrested last Wednesday by District Attorney Investigators. He appeared in custody last Thursday afternoon in Department 82, adjacent to the Twin Towers jail facility. Superior Court Commissioner John Green remanded Zaldana over to the Sheriff to serve his previously imposed sentence of 180 days in jail.

On October 28, 2008, Zaldana entered a plea of no contest for failing to support his 16 year old son. He was placed on probation for 36 months and was required to make monthly child support payments. Zaldana failed to make the payments required under the terms of his probation. At a hearing, he admitted to violating his probation. The court sentenced him to serve 180 days in jail. He was ordered to surrender on September 29 to begin his sentence, but he failed to do so and a $100,000 warrant was issued for his arrest.

The warrant was turned over to the Child Support Arrest Warrant Project, a joint effort of the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department and the District Attorney’s Office. On the morning of October 7, two Senior Investigators assigned to the Project set up surveillance outside a location believed to be Zaldana’s residence. After approximately one hour a woman arrived at the location. She identified herself to the investigators as Zaldana’s sister. She told investigators she hadn’t seen Zaldana for about six months. She gave her consent to search the residence, indicating that Zaldana was not there. When the investigators conducted a search of the home, they found Zaldana in the bathroom taking a shower. He was arrested without incident and booked at the downtown Inmate Reception Center of the County Jail.

Steven J. Golightly, Director of the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department, praised the work of the Child Support Arrest Warrant Project team. The arrest of this defendant demonstrates once again the professionalism and excellence of everyone associated with the Project, Golightly said. It was for successes just like this that the Project was honored by the Board of Supervisors in September with the prestigious LA County STARS award.

The Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department maintains the Most Wanted Delinquent Parent List. It was developed as an initiative of Supervisor Don Knabe.

Reward Extended For Long Beach Double Murder

A $10,000 reward was extended today by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, at the request of Supervisor Don Knabe, to assist in the investigation of a double murder that claimed the lives of Sarith Em and Vannaly Tim in the City of Long Beach on New Year’s Day.

On January 1, 2009, at 12:39 a.m., Sarith Em, 25, and Vannaly Tim, 24, were both found with multiple fatal gun shot wounds at the 1800 Block of Gardenia Avenue in Long Beach. According to family members, the victims went outside to move a car and did not return.

Long Beach detectives are still investigating the incident, and believe it would be beneficial to extend the reward in the case, which may prompt reluctant witnesses to come forward and provide information to identify the individual(s) responsible for this crime.

It is important for the County of Los Angeles to display its resolve in protecting innocent citizens from appalling crimes, said Supervisor Knabe. In order to bring these suspects to justice, and demonstrate our intolerance to such deplorable crimes, I believe this reward should be extended, hoping someone will come forward so that we can bring these suspects to justice.

Anyone having any information related to this accident is asked to contact Detective Patrick O’Dowd or Detective Russell Moss at the Long Beach Police Department’s Homicide Division at (562) 570-7244.

County Supports Education Law Reforms In ‘Race To The Top’

The Board of Supervisors has unanimously passed a resolution made by Supervisor Don Knabe to state the Board’s strong support of the Governor and California’s Legislature in their efforts to make the necessary changes to state law that would enable California to apply for billions of dollars in new federal education funding.

"Race to the Top" is a $4.35 billion competitive grant program that is a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), designed to support education reform and innovation. A primary focus of this program is to improve education by linking teacher performance to student progress, supporting innovative educational models such as charter schools, and a targeted effort to address the lowest 5% of under-performing schools. Unfortunately, the state laws that govern education in California currently render the state ineligible to apply for this funding. A special legislative session called by the Governor to address this issue began this week.

"There is overwhelming need for reform and change in the approach to education," said Supervisor Knabe, "and no where more so than in the County’s camp schools and community day schools, which serve as the educational home to thousands of young people under jurisdiction of the juvenile court. These are precisely the type of students this federal funding is designed to reach."

Supervisor Knabe’s proposed overhaul of educational opportunities in Los Angeles County’s juvenile camps and halls was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors. The reforms were proposed by Supervisor Knabe after a study revealed students were seriously underserved by the schools designed to teach children incarcerated in the Los Angeles County juvenile justice system. Among the reforms will be the creation of charter schools in the probation system. The reforms will also customize educational opportunities based on the individual needs of the student, including a vocational education path, a college-bound path, and a GED completion path, among others.

"We cannot leave this funding on the table," Knabe continued, "it would be tragic if we let arcane state laws bar us from this significant opportunity to compete for these funds."

Job Creation Program Passes Halfway Mark

There is good news for the local economy – Supervisor Don Knabe, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, announced today that the County is more than halfway towards meeting its goal of employing at least 10,000 people in temporary local jobs.

A total of 5,480 people have been employed as part of the 10,000 Jobs Initiative, so far. Of this number, 75% are young people between the ages of 16 and 24. Nearly 350 businesses across the County have hired employees through the program.

On March 3, 2009, Supervisor Knabe introduced the program, which utilizes almost $200 million in federal stimulus funding to create temporary subsidized employment opportunities in County departments, private sector employers, non-profit organizations, and in cities across Los Angeles County.

We are continuing to move rapidly in getting these jobs created and filled. said Supervisor Knabe. The federal stimulus money we are using expires in September 2010, so we want these temporary workers to have the maximum amount of time in their jobs.

Two resources are available for employers looking to hire workers or for those looking for a job. The first is the County’s telephone hotline, 211.

The second is a dedicated website: www.employmentstimulus.org

County Keeps The Pressure On Most Wanted Delinquent Parents

Supervisor Don Knabe announced today that another one of LA County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parents has been arrested and jailed. Darrick Ellington was sentenced to 135 days in jail by Superior Court Commissioner John Green. Ellington’s arrest follows soon after the arrests of Osvaldo Fernandez and Sergio Diaz earlier this month. All three men were sought on warrants issued when they failed to surrender to serve jail sentences. Each had been in violation of court-ordered probation terms requiring them to make support payments.

Ellington, 46, was first convicted in September 2001 of failing to support his then-11 year old daughter. He pleaded no-contest to a charge of criminal contempt for failing to pay court-ordered child support. He was placed on 36 months probation on the condition that he would make ongoing payments. Ellington owes more than $75,000 in unpaid support.

Since first receiving probation in 2001, Ellington has been in and out of court on child support related charges on multiple occasions. On June 26 of this year, he was sentenced to 90 days in the County Jail. Ellington failed to surrender as ordered and a bench warrant with bail set at $100,000 was issued for his arrest. His photo and identifying information were added to the County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parent website. His case was turned over to investigators assigned to the Child Support Arrest Warrant Project, a joint effort of the Child Support Services Department and the District Attorney’s office.

Steven J. Golightly, Director of the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department, said, Our goal in criminally prosecuting parents is first and foremost to secure compliance with their financial obligations to their children. Sometimes, in cases like those of the three Most Wanted parents arrested this week, nothing short of jail time is enough to demonstrate how serious we are in ensuring that parents cannot avoid their responsibilities without paying a price.

The Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department maintains the Most Wanted Delinquent Parent List. It was developed as an initiative of Supervisor Don Knabe.

Another Most Wanted Delinquent Parent Is Sentenced

Osvaldo Fernandez, one of Los Angeles County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parents, was ordered to serve 90 days in jail recently. He was remanded into Sheriff’s custody one day after being arrested by District Attorney Investigators working in collaboration with the Los Angeles County’s Child Support Services Department.

In April, 2008 Fernandez pleaded no contest to a charge of criminal contempt for failing to support his 8 year old daughter. He was placed on probation for 36 months and ordered to make payments. Despite repeated assurances to the court that he would comply, he made no payments between June 2008 and June 2009. On July 20, Superior Court Commissioner Marshall Rieger found him in violation of probation and ordered him to surrender on July 22 to serve 45 days in the County Jail. Fernandez failed to surrender as ordered and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Fernandez, who owes more than $21,000 in unpaid support, was quickly added to the County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parent website. His case was turned over to investigators assigned to the Child Support Arrest Warrant Project, a joint effort of the Child Support Services Department and the District Attorney’s office. Following up on leads provided by associates and former neighbors, a team of two DA Investigators succeeded in tracking down Fernandez. He peacefully surrendered to them at a downtown location and was transported to the County Jail for booking.

On Wednesday, Fernandez appeared in custody before Commissioner John W. Green at the downtown Central Arraignment Court facility. Green found Fernandez guilty of a second probation violation for failing to surrender as ordered. In addition to remanding him to serve the 45 days previously imposed by Commissioner Rieger, Green tacked on 45 more days to the sentence for the additional violation.

Since the inception of the Most Wanted Delinquent Parents website in March of last year, 22 parents have had their photos posted with details of their cases and the warrants for their arrest. 15 of the 22 have been arrested or surrendered to court after their photos and stories were made public.

The Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department maintains the Most Wanted Delinquent Parent List. It was developed as a result of an appropriation by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors on the initiative of Supervisor Don Knabe.

A Most Wanted Delinquent Parent Is Brought To Justice

One of Los Angeles County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parents was jailed today following his arrest on Tuesday morning. Bartolome Salazar had been sought by District Attorney Investigators since June 9, 2009 when he failed to surrender at the county jail to serve a court-ordered jail sentence. Salazar appeared in custody this afternoon in Department 82 at the downtown Central Arraignment Court (CAC). Following a brief hearing, Judge Mildred Escobedo issued an order remanding Salazar to serve a 180-day sentence.
Salazar was jailed almost two years to the day since standing convicted on charges in two separate criminal cases for failing to support his minor son and daughter, owing $82,053.49 On July 24, 2007 Salazar pleaded no contest to separate counts of contempt of court, for failing to abide by court orders to pay support for his two children. At that time, Superior Court Commissioner Marshall H. Rieger placed Salazar on 36 months probation on condition that he make monthly payments toward the children’s support.
On June 2, 2009 following repeated failures to comply with the terms of probation, Salazar found himself back in Commissioner Rieger’s courtroom at the Central Civil West Courthouse. After a hearing, Rieger found Salazar in violation of probation, sentenced him to serve 180 days in the county jail, and ordered him to surrender on June 9 in Department 82 at CAC to serve his sentence. Although Salazar walked into the courtroom on the appointed date, he excused himself to say goodbye to a family member but did not return to surrender himself as ordered. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest with bail set at $100,000.
Salazar’s photo was quickly placed on LA County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parents website. Simultaneously, a team of two District Attorney Investigators was assigned to locate and arrest Salazar. The investigators are members of the County’s Child Support Arrest Warrant Project, a collaborative effort of the Child Support Services Department and the District Attorney’s office.
After pursuing a number of unproductive leads, the Investigators acted on a tip from an informant. They stationed themselves outside the Pasadena home of the mother of Salazar’s current girlfriend with the hope that he might be found there. The informant’s tip paid off. Salazar was taken into custody without incident on Tuesday, July 21 at approximately 11:30 a.m. after he exited the home with his visibly pregnant girlfriend and entered a vehicle parked on the street. At the time of his arrest, Salazar informed the Investigators that he and his girlfriend were on their way to a shower for the unborn baby.
Since the inception of the Most Wanted Delinquent Parents website in March of last year, 22 parents have had their photos posted with details of their cases and the warrants for their arrest. 14 of the 22 have been arrested or surrendered to court after their photos and stories were made public.
The Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department maintains the Most Wanted Delinquent Parent List. It was developed as a result of an appropriation by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors on the initiative of Supervisor Don Knabe.

Local Child Support Evaders Sentenced To Jail Time

Sixteen parents have recently been sentenced to serve time in Los Angeles County jail after failing to meet their child support obligations, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today. The sentences are the result of a stepped up criminal prosecution effort by the Board of Supervisors, the County’s Child Support Services Department (CSSD) and the District Attorney’s office.

The recent arrests and subsequent jail sentences stem from the County’s Arrest Warrant Project and Most Wanted child support evaders list, unveiled in March 2008 by Supervisor Don Knabe, CSSD Director Steven Golightly and District Attorney Steve Cooley. The project is aimed at executing outstanding warrants for parents who have been charged with or convicted of not paying their child support obligations for their children.

Over the past two months, sixteen parents have received jail sentences ranging from 30-180 days for failing to pay court-ordered child support. Collectively, the sixteen defendants owe $752,349.20 in unpaid child support.

On June 25, Scott Saulsberry of Perris was sentenced to 90 days in jail for failing to make payments on $103,000 in unpaid child support. On June 2, Bartolome Salazar of Reseda was sentenced to 180 days in jail, owing more than $82,000 in child support. Salazar failed to surrender to serve his sentence. A warrant, with bail set at $100,000, has been issued for his arrest. On June 19, Mark Sandoval of Pasadena, who owes over $28,000 in child support arrears, was sentenced to 90 days in jail. On June 22, Gardena resident Marco Smith was sentenced to 90 days in jail, owing over $90,000 in child support arrears.

On a motion of Supervisor Knabe, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors have approved an annual appropriation of $500,000, to be combined with $1 million in federal matching funds, to underwrite the costs of a team of District Attorney Investigators to aid a stepped up prosecution effort.

The County works with thousands of parents who are doing the right thing by paying their child support obligations. Unfortunately, there are a few people out there, like these sixteen individuals, who have left their children without financial support, going to great lengths to evade paying what they owe, said Supervisor Knabe. The message here is clear. If you evade your child support payments, the County will use every legal recourse we have available, including jail time.

Over the past six years in California, the child support system has entered a new era of working cooperatively with parents to address their child support obligations, said CSSD Director Steven Golightly. Our goal is always to secure regular payment of support in keeping with a parent’s ability to pay. However, some parents willfully ignore their obligations despite having the means to provide. They must be held accountable. I applaud the work of the DA, our Criminal Prosecution Division and the Courts for bringing these parents to justice.

To support the criminal prosecution effort, the County posts a Most Wanted list at www.cssd.lacounty.gov

It provides pictures and case information on individuals who face warrants because of non-payment of their child support obligations. The public can call CSSD’s Criminal Prosecution Division at 213-351-8696 if they have information on Most Wanted individuals.

Knabe Offers $10,000 Reward For Information Related To The Rape And Robbery Of An Elderly Blind Woman

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors once again unanimously approved a $50,000 reward today for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Emigdio Preciado, the primary suspect in the shooting of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Schaap. The Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau requested that the Board re-establish the $50,000 reward to prompt individuals to come forward and provide information as to the whereabouts of the suspect.

On September 5, 2000, Deputy Schaap was shot and injured while on routine patrol in Whittier with his partner, Deputy David Timberlake. While attempting to stop a van for a vehicle code violation, the alleged assailants opened fire with an assault rifle from inside the van. Multiple rounds were fired, one of which struck Schaap in the head. The bullet fragments were removed at St. Francis Medical Center, and Schaap was released and home with his family by Thanksgiving Day. A first suspect has already been apprehended, but the second suspect, Emigdio Preciado, is still at large and wanted for attempted murder. Preciado is an adult male Hispanic presumed to be in Mexico and considered armed and dangerous.

By again renewing this $50,000 reward, this Board intends to send a clear message that we support our deputies 100 percent and that this sort of egregious assault will not be tolerated, said Supervisor Knabe. If this reward serves to bring Deputy Schaap’s attacker to justice, I consider it money well spent.

Information on the whereabouts of Preciado or any other information related to this case should be directed to any local law enforcement office or to the Homicide Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, at (323) 890-5500.

Anti-Gang Program Will Continue In The Cities Of Bellflower And Paramount

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe announced today that the Board of Supervisors has authorized two separate one-year agreements between the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the Cities of Bellflower and Paramount for the continuance of a successful gang abatement program in the two cities.

The Strategies Against Gang Environments (SAGE) Program decreases street gang violence and narcotics-related activities by utilizing civil injunctions and other procedures to enhance a city’s efforts to reduce gang violence and graffiti problems. The program also aims to divert potentially dangerous gang activity into more constructive behavior within the community.

Under the terms of the agreements, one full-time Deputy District Attorney will be maintained within each of the cities. The assigned Deputy District Attorneys will also pursue civil nuisance abatement actions, and will advise and work with city law enforcement officers, community leaders, and other officials to develop a multifaceted strategy for improving public safety.

The SAGE program is an outstanding program that has really benefited cities throughout the County, said Supervisor Knabe. I am proud that, once again, the District Attorney’s Office is partnering together with our cities to combat gang violence. We have lost too many residents to senseless violence, and I am pleased that our cities are using this program to take back our streets.