One of those names was my neighbor's. I had not received my victim notification letter, it's true. So I walked up to the clerk when she was finished with all of that and said, "I'm the victim. I didn't get a letter yet, but I'm the victim. Can the defendant be arraigned today since I'm here?" She said no, I have to get the official letter first. So after waiting for two hours in city court, I have to go back and do it all over again. To be honest, I don't really have to be there, but my neighbor nearly beat up a female client of mine right in front of my business, and I intend to personally introduce myself to the city prosecutor and offer any assistance I can in getting my neighbor jailed. 

See, this guy has a rap sheet a mile long, as they say. My neighbor once beat a man so badly that he was sent to prison for ten years. My wife pointed out to me today that locally, a man was just sentenced to five years in prison for shaking a child so badly that he killed the child. That made us wonder - if you get five years for killing a child, what do you have to do to another human being to get twice that much time in jail? So we're not messing around.

A good friend of mine came in to my business today and asked how court went, and I told him the story. My friend then asked if I remembered the guy who stole a gun and two laptops from my friend's house. Yeah, I remember that. My friend got a 1000-foot restraining order against this guy, just like the one I got against my neighbor. My friend says well, they gave him parole for the theft, even though it included a gun theft and he sold the gun in Mexico, which is small arms trafficking. Then my friend says that this guy moved in NEXT DOOR to him. So my friend called the police and told them he had a restraining order, but they refused to arrest the guy. They said to call the parole officer. Then this guy stole my friend's bike out of his back yard. So my friend called this guy's parole officer, and after going back and forth with the police and the guy's PO a few more times, they finally arrested the guy for breaking parole and locked him up for two and half years.

That's how things go around here. Nobody wants to get involved -- least of all, the po-po. My friend also filed a victim restitution letter and they wrote him back saying that it was a felony to lie. He had claimed $3500 for a gun and two laptops, plus all the programs and music on the laptops. Seems reasonable enough to me, but now my friend has been accused, by the same people who offer services to help the victims of crimes, of committing a crime himself. That's how things go around here.

I will file a victim restitution letter to get back the hundred bucks it cost me to serve two separate Injunctions Against Harassment - one for my wife and one for myself. But I don't expect to get it back. Instead, I will have to muddle through the legal system the old-fashioned way and get all litigious on him. If there were a better court system, a better victim protection system, a better police department, and better judicial oversight over the criminal justice system, people wouldn't have to resort to attorneys so often. We are often criticized for being an overly-litigious society, and I agree. But who is protecting my rights and my safety, if not myself? Seems to me it's just like our broken health-care system: every citizen must step up and become their own case manager if they want results, and even then, the system will fight them every step of the way.

Tuesday I answered my cell phone. My friend's name had popped up on the screen and I was delighted to answer the call.  Immediately, I was teasing him.  I love his laughter. It is deep and raucous and expresses his joyful heart.

You'd spot my friend any where. He sports a smile that emerges from a heart that is devoted to the Lord, his wife, family and friends.  We have had some great times of fellowship together.

His call alerted me.  His normal cheer was not present.  I could tell that this was going to be a serious call.

With a halting voice he told me the sad tale of one of his grown children.  A bad choice of friends had led this young life into clash with the law.  The preliminary trial was Wednesday.  I rearranged my schedule.  For him I wanted to be in court to support a friend.

Walking into the courthouse wasn't a new experience for me.  I have been there before to support friends who were carrying a heavy burden.  It's one of those times where there's more value to being present than to be saying a lot.

This courtroom had that all-too-familiar atmosphere.  There is a detachment between the officials and the hurting people.  It's no one's fault.  There is no malice in this world of the judicial process.  I would imagine that a certain business like sense is the only way a person can keep their sanity as arraignment after arraignment passes before the bench.

Finally, my friend's child's case came up.  Officers escorted this young life into the center of the court.  An attorney spoke first.  He was asking the judge for a reduction of the bond so that the hardworking family could make bail.  His case was compelling. 

Then, the Judge asked for the District Attorney's office to respond.  His case was also compelling.  I could almost hear the judges mind ticking away and processing the law, the evidence and the arguments.  In the end he budged a little but not by much. 

A mother cried.  A father wept.  Friends ached.  A pastor prayed.  It was a sad day.

The Raton Range delivers excellent coverage of Wayne Bent's July 18 arraignment.  The newspaper launches into the story with this lead paragraph:

The attorney for the leader of what many people refer to as a cult that maintains its compound northeast of Des Moines told a judge in Raton Friday that Wayne Bent's practice of lying with naked children is a "religeous healing practice" and has no sexual connotations. -The Raton Range

NEW (July 21): DA: Bent has "50/50" chance of 2008 trial date (includes PODCAST with DA Donald Gallegos)

NEW (July 18 news story) : koat.com *VIDEO* from inside the courtroom:

[wpvideo hpw386jC]

(Update: July 18, 4:15pm PST) Earlier this afternoon, some of you e-mailed me to ask if Wayne Bent was in custody.  In my effort to track down an answer to that question, I ultimately spoke with someone who should know the answer:  Sgt. Bobbie Long of the Clayton Police Department.

Long is very familiar with the city/county holding cells where Bent would be held "if" he were in custody.  In fact, this is the same facility that held Bent in early May.

Based on my conversation with Sgt. Long, it does not appear Bent is in custody.  Long had several interesting things to say. And she allowed me to record our phone conservation for the purpose of the podcast you will find in the following mp3:

I imagine it's possible that new and more precise information about the case has hit the wires & news Web sites since I began working on this podcast earlier this afternoon. Any corrections, clarifications and updates will be provided here after I get a chance to scour the news Web sites.

(Update, July 18, 2:17pm PST) I've attempted to reach Wayne Bent's attorney, Sarah Montoya, for comment on this story.  Montoya's colleague, DJ Martinez, explained that Montoya has left the office due to an urgent family matter.

(Update, July 18, 1:51pm PST) Court Document:  Arraignment Order and Conditions of Release

(Update, July 18,  1:38pm PST) Listen to Union County Court's Deputy Clerk Karen Vieites read Wayne Bent's conditions of release conditions of release.

Still more to come...

(Update, July 18, 1:27pm PST) Bent's bond: $150,000 "unsecured".  I also have the conditions of release...will publish here shortly.  Plus more.

Please stay tuned.

(Update, July 18, 1:11pm PST) Still don't have the "nuts and bolts" concerning what happened at this morning's arraignment.  State's lead investigator on the Bent case, Dave Oliphant, has just told me that any specifics about Wayne Bent's arraignment must come from District Attorney Donald Gallegos.

Person answering phone at Mr. Gallegos's office tells me Mr. Gallegos is out of the office and won't be back until Monday.  I do, however, have a cell number for Mr. Gallegos.  I've left a voice mail on Mr. Gallegos's cell number requesting a return call regarding the Bent arraignment.

Lead investigator Oliphant was able to share with me that Senior Trial Prosecutor Amelio Chavez filled-in this morning for an ailing Assistant District Attorney Thomas Benavitez.

Oliphant also shared that Mr. Bent was represented by public defender Sarah Montoya.

Please stay tuned....
(Update, July 18, 12:21pm PST) Still working to get the details of this morning's arraignment.  I've been in contact with District Courts in Union and Colfax counties.  I'm also waiting to hear back from person with the DA's office.

Employee at clerk's office in Raton (Colfax County) explained that the information is not in their local system and must be forwarded by Judge Gerald E. Baca to Union County Courthouse (Clayton).  Apparently, the judge hasn't done this yet and is presently on the bench hearing other cases. Judge is expected to be on the bench throughout this afternoon.  A very busy Friday for the judge, no doubt.

Deputy Clerk at Union County Courthouse says she has yet to receive word from Raton concerning outcome of today's arraignment.

Hoping to make contact with DA person soon.  He's been en route from Raton to Clayton since the conclusion of this morning's arraignment.

Please stay tuned...

(July 18, 10:22am PST) An employee in the Clerk's Office at the State District Courthouse in Raton, New Mexico confirms that this morning's arraignment of church leader Wayne Bent has concluded.

Employee did not have information concerning the outcome of the arraignment.

Please stay tuned...

: : : : : : : : : : :

(July 17)  If you've spent time following any criminal or civil case, you know it's not uncommon for court dates to change.  But a a check with New Mexico's Union County District Court Clerk this morning confirmed that controversial church leader Wayne Bent (aka Michael Travesser) is still scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow (Friday) at 10:30am in Raton.

In May, a grand jury indicted Bent on two counts of second-degree sexual contact with a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

This case could get even more interesting tomorrow as Bent recently proclaimed his vow of silence. In a July 1 post on his Web site, Bent wrote:

I will write no more, speak no more, or listen to you no more.  Not until the children are released from their prisons will you ever hear from me or us again.

Soon after his vow of silence, Bent and his followers took their Web site (Strongcity.info) off-line. Members of the church also took down their videos and posts that had been on myspace and youtube.

Bent's resolve--as declared in that July 1 post--appeared unwavering:

Go ahead and charge me with contempt.  When you prove yourself not contemptible I will speak with you, but now the God of heaven holds you in contempt, for your deeds are exceedingly evil and grossly perverted.

On this arraignment eve (a hearing that is also scheduled to address Bent's conditions of release), one must wonder if Bent will speak in court tomorrow.  That's assuming he appears.

It could all make for an interesting hearing Friday before Judge Gerald E. Baca.

NO CONFIRMATION THAT STATE RETURNED "HEALED" TO PARENTS

Beyond90Seconds.com has received an unconfirmed report that the State of New Mexico has returned 16-year-old Lakeisha Sayer (aka "Healed") to her parents.  State Police removed the teenager from Bent's "Strong City" church property on April 22.

A source tells me that Lakeisha Sayer was returned to John and Elsa Sayer on Monday, July 14 following a court decision in Raton late last week.

Hoping to confirm the report, I called the Union County Courthouse this morning.  A court employee told me she could not comment about the matter because the case is sequestered.

Finally, I have two additional legal document to share with you.  As many of you know, two judges had been excused from this case.  I'm posting the Notice of Excusals for Judge John M. Paternoster and Judge Sam B. Sanchez below (both are dated May 21):

: : : : : : : : : : :

(At about 12:30pm PST on July 10, Beyond90Seconds.com first reported that an arraignment date had just been set for the Wayne Bent case.  Less than an hour later, the arraignment date had been rescheduled.  This story has been updated to include the new arraignment date.)

At 1:04pm PST Beyond90Seconds.com leaned that the arraignment date for the Wayne Bent case has been changed.

Union County District Court Clerk Karen Vieites reports that the arraignment is now scheduled for Friday,  July 18 at 10:30am in Raton.

Earlier today, the arraignment date had been set for July 14 in Clayton.  Again, the date has been changed to July 18 in Raton.

On May 20, a grand jury indicted Bent on four counts: two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor in the second degree, unclothed. And two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Judge Gerald E. Baca will preside over the July 18 arraignment. The hearing is also scheduled to address Bent's conditions of release.

: : : : : : : : : : :

Dauphin County joins the growing number of court systems in the Commonwealth that have added a Drug Treatment Court Program. Typically Drug Courts provide an alternative to incarceration for select drug and alcohol related non-violent offenders.

"We've talked about this for years, and it's time to get something up and running...

— District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr.

"We will start small and hope to have 50 people in the program within a year", says District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. The new Dauphin County Drug Court will hold its first session on July 24th.

_

PennLive.com Article:  Drug court to create alternative for non-violent offenders

Image courtesy Wikipedia

Communities interested in creating special courts to deal with drunk-driving offenders may apply to participate in training offered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Office of Safety Programs. Applications are now being accepted for the 2009 DWI Court Training initiative, conducted by NHTSA in cooperation with the National Center for DWI Courts, a program of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. Communities accepted into the program will take part in a planning process commencing in March 2009 and ending in October 2009. For more information, contact Brian Chodrow at NHTSA at 202-366-9765 or brian.chodrow@dot.gov.

Article: http://www.jointogether.org

_

• Brief Interventions and Referrals to Treatment (BIRT) for Juvenile Courts and Juvenile Drug Courts, a collaborative initiative between OJJDP and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, seeks to enhance the capacity of juvenile and juvenile drug courts to enhance the availability of BIRT and to establish partnerships between juvenile and juvenile drug courts to ensure that substance abusing juvenile offenders receive effective and appropriate treatment. Applicants are limited to states, state and local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments, acting directly or through agreement with other public or private entities.

• The Juvenile Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Program is intended to build the capacity of states, state and local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to develop, maintain, and enhance drug courts for substance-abusing juvenile offenders. Through this solicitation, OJJDP seeks a provider to deliver training and technical assistance to juvenile and family drug courts interested in learning about and implementing BIRT. Applicants are limited to for-profit (commercial) organizations, nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, and institutions of higher learning.

The application deadline for each of these solicitations is July 3, 2008, and applicants should register with Grants.gov as early as possible to prevent delays in submitting their applications by the deadline.

Resources:
For further information about these and other current OJJDP funding opportunities, visit http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/funding/FundingList.asp.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice.
_

The broader legal question here is called “preemption,” and refers to the question of whether federal law preempts state law.

_

• View my other Wyeth v. Levine posts on SWALLOW.
• Read the full Wall Street Journal Health Blog post.
• Drug and Device Law [blog]: Users' Guide To Defense Amicus Briefs - Wyeth v. Levine

Story: http://www.wnep.com

_

From the best-sleep-you-ever-got-with-a-cold-medicine department comes a not-such-a-surprise ending to this charming little story—just in time for Father’s Day. Local Dad Richard Bowen had a bit of a problem—it seems the fact that his young daughter was conscious was interfering with his love life. Interfering with his love affair to be more specific. Enter NyQuil!

Author’s note: NyQuil contains rather significant amounts of alcohol, as well as a little ingredient called Dextromethorphan, which is a hallucinogenic drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier.

Is my little pumpkin ready for beddy-bye yet?

Mr. Bowen “…signed a statement indicating that he had given his one daughter Nyquil on multiple occasions." That little bed-time story has earned him 16 to 42 months in state prison.

_

*Above image from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Webster gives us several relevant meanings for the transitive verb form of scale. For example, to reach the highest point; or to pattern, make, regulate, set, or estimate according to some rate or standard. Let’s examine these for a moment.

To reach the highest point. Seems straight-forward enough. In context, what is being stated here is that the drug treatment court approach works and we should take it as far as we can. I couldn’t agree more. Name your metric—crime, tax spending, recidivism, prison overcrowding—and you’ll find studies showing that, dollar-for-dollar, drug courts are highly effective.

To pattern, make, regulate, set, or estimate according to some rate or standard. Similar, but let’s look at this one a bit closer: pattern… or estimate according to some rate… There are plenty of rates that could be used to estimate the need for additional and expanded treatment court programs.

How about crime rate, incarceration rate, recidivism rate… or tax rate, unemployment rate, divorce rate… or even, rate of return, rate of change, or suicide rate? Many, if not all of these, could be useful in estimating the need for adding and expanding drug court programs on the local, state, and national level.

Another worthy mention from the conference is this question posed by former U.S. Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey: Do we believe our [own] rhetoric, when we claim as a nation that we want to end drug dependency and all the damage that it causes? Basically… do we put our money where our mouth is? On the contrary (at least here in Pennsylvania), more often than not, we put our money where our prisons are.

Do we really want to impact the scourge of drug dependency, or do we just want to make ourselves feel better by pretending that we do? Or is simply putting M.A.D.D. and D.A.R.E. stickers on our automobiles enough?

Hopefully, the message coming out of this 14^th Annual Conference is that drug courts work. That they should be implemented widely until they become the rule rather than the exception. And that if we really want to impact drug dependency and related societal ills, we need to get serious at looking at what works and what doesn’t work. There is no time to waste; we should do these things now.

The tragedy is that until we do, many deserving addicts will be lost to the system—never getting the opportunity that drug courts provide—to recover, and return to a productive role within family and community.

_
Article: Rhetoric and reality
http://www.stltoday.com

Definitions courtesy of the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

*Above image from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Well, after several years of legal wrangling, Mohammed is finally coming up for prosecution in a U.S. Military courtroom at the base in Guantanamo Bay. He has already stated to the judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, that he wants the death penalty so that he can be martyred for Allah (that can SO be arranged). The only question that remains is this: will the U.S. Military finally be able to proceed with prosecution of Mohammed and 75 or so other "freedom fighters" detained at GITMO OR will the incessant whimpering of moonbats over such interrogation tactics as waterboarding drown out any attempts to bring them to justice?

From USA Today:

His [Mohammed's] long-awaited arraignment could begin to answer fundamental questions about the United States' handling of justice in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks: Will the military commission system, which President Bush created to prosecute accused terrorists, ever hold one of them accountable for the tragedy? Or will the federal government's efforts to secure guilty verdicts crumble amid mounting concerns about the evidence, fairness to the defendants and treatment of the accused while in custody? And if guilty verdicts ultimately are rendered for Mohammed, four alleged co-conspirators and about 75 other Gitmo detainees facing prosecution, will those verdicts be widely viewed as valid?

Here are the answers, USA Today: YES, NO and YES.

Down comes the gavel, all rise for the honorable Col. Kohlmann, let's get this party started.

Full story here:

Alleged 9/11 mastermind goes to court

Some 3,000 judges, prosecutors, treatment providers, law enforcement officials, and probation and parole officers descended on downtown St. Louis last Wednesday for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals' 14th annual training conference—which not-coincidentally wrapped up National Drug Court Month.

Note: This blogger believes several members of the Lackawanna County Treatment Court (Scranton, PA) were in attendance. Is this a secret?

Article: http://www.bizjournals.com

• FOX News, "Jamiel's Law" targets illegal immigrant gang members, April 8

• MyFoxla.com, Jamiel Shaw's parents meet with city leaders, April 8

• Los Angeles Times, Grieving father feels failed by 18-year plan, April 8

• The Daily Collegian (Penn State University) Cities bleed with 'death by percentages, April 8

• FinalCall.com, Fear of a Black-Brown race war in Los Angeles, April 3

• Independent Weekly (North Carolina), For Eve and Jamiel, and everyone else (commentary), April 2

• mayorsam.blogspot.com, Family of Jamiel Shaw to voice support for "Jamiel's Law" on Doug McIntyre tomorrow morning (posted April 1) *note: Doug McIntyre is a radio host on KABC (Los Angeles). You can listen to his program here.
• Having just surfed YouTube's collection of Jamiel Shaw, Jr. videos, I learned that The O'Reilly Factor recently obtained this same mug shot. You can see the report here.

***

Beyond90Seconds.com has obtained a mug shot and a jail booking sheet for a man named Pedro Espinoza who was arrested by the Culver City Police Department November 18, 2007.

Beyond90Seconds.com formally submitted a written request for this information with the city of Culver City on March 17. This request was made because Beyond90Seconds.com had learned from a source within law enforcement that the suspect in the Jamiel Shaw Jr. case had been previously arrested in Culver City. The Los Angeles Times had also reported that Shaw's accused killer had served time for a November 18, 2007 arrest in which he was charged with exhibiting a firearm and resisting arrest.

According to a Los Angeles County Booking and Property Record obtained by Beyond90Seconds.com, Pedro Espinoza was initially charged with assault with a firearm when booked on November 18, 2007 at 3pm. His bail was set at $50,000.

According to the November booking sheet, Espinoza stands five-feet-5-inches tall and weighs 130-pounds. The booking sheet also states that Espinoza "declined" to provide the name of a person to contact in the event of an emergency.

At the time of his November arrest in Culver City, Espinoza was 18. However, his date of birth is redacted on the copy of the booking sheet provided to Beyond90Seconds.com.

Please continue to follow this blog for the latest information on the Jamiel Shaw, Jr. murder case.

• Los Angeles Times, LAPD chief vows to clarify policy on immigrants, April 17

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton said Wednesday that the department's controversial policy on dealing with illegal immigrants was widely misunderstood by the public and some of his own officers, and he would clarify the rule in the next couple of weeks. -Los Angeles Times

• Los Angeles Times, Zine wants to amend LAPD policy on immigrants, April 11

• mayorsam.blogspot.com, Jamiel's Dad talks with Mayor Sam, April 10

• KNBC, 19-year-old pleads not guilty in Jamiel Shaw, Jr. homicide case, April 9

• Houston Chronicle (AP), Alleged gang member pleads not guilty in slaying, April 9

• Los Angeles Times, Explaining Special Order 40 (opinion), April 9

• Los Angeles Times, Ask and deport, family urges, April 9

• cbs2.com, Shaw's family proposes law to help curb violence (VIDEO), April 8

• FOX News, "Jamiel's Law" targets illegal immigrant gang members, April 8

• MyFoxla.com, Jamiel Shaw's parents meet with city leaders, April 8

• Los Angeles Times, Grieving father feels failed by 18-year plan, April 8

• The Daily Collegian (Penn State University) Cities bleed with 'death by percentages, April 8

• FinalCall.com, Fear of a Black-Brown race war in Los Angeles, April 3

• Independent Weekly (North Carolina), For Eve and Jamiel, and everyone else (commentary), April 2

• mayorsam.blogspot.com, Family of Jamiel Shaw to voice support for "Jamiel's Law" on Doug McIntyre tomorrow morning (posted April 1) *note: Doug McIntyre is a radio host on KABC (Los Angeles). You can listen to his program here.
• Pedro Espinoza mug shot and booking sheet
  

• Daily News (Los Angeles), Barbarians are within the gate, March 30:
  

  The latest atrocity was the slaughter of 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr., a star footballer who caught the eye of top college recruiters. Tragically, he also caught the eye of an illegal-alien gangbanger who gunned him down while Jamiel's mother served in Iraq.

  You can't make this up. The irony of fighting a war against terrorism half a world away while a generation of Angelenos is shot to pieces by local terrorists, while your own son is cut down at home.... Wow.

• CNN, Dad faces son's alleged killer; sees 'normal' youngster, March 26
  

• Times Record News (Wichita Falls, Texas), "A horrible waste," March 25
  

  Jamiel Shaw Jr., a teenager on the verge of living out an American dream, was gunned down by someone who authorities believe had no business still living in America. -Times Record News

• MyFoxLA, Arraigment postponed in Jamiel Shaw case, March 25

• KABC-TV, Man accused of killing teen heads to court, March 25

• Suspect in Jamiel Shaw Jr. murder case may be in US illegally, March 22

If the number of visitors finding this blog after entering "Jamiel Shaw Jr." into their favorite search engine is any indication, there is a sustained--if not growing--interest in the case of the well-liked teenager.

Having read some of your comments about a perceived lack of national news coverage on this story, the increase in traffic to this site should be encouraging as this story is reaching--and touching--people here and in new content emerging elsewhere on the Web.

I'm writing to let you know this blog hasn't forgotten about Jamiel Shaw Jr. I continue to search for updates and will post any relevant new information here when I find it.

Although there doesn't appear to have been any significant development since the arrest of 19-year-old Pedro Espinoza, I can pass along a bit of information that might be new to you.

First off, since its first mention of Espinoza's arrest, the Los Angeles Police Department's Web site has published an expanded account of this case.

Secondly, because I've yet to see a booking photo or "mug shot" of Espinoza in any media reports, I contacted a representative of the LAPD's Media Relations Section today. I was told that LAPD doesn't commonly release mug shots. Exceptions, I was told, include court orders and efforts to locate people no longer in custody.

More on mug shots in a future post...

Certainly it bears mentioning here that police are looking for a second suspect. Anyone with any information about this case can call:

• Wilshire Area Homicide Detectives: (213) 473-0446

• Toll free number for off-hours and weekends: 1-877-LAWFULL (529-3855)

As previously reported, Espinoza was released from jail just 28-hours prior to the murder of Jamiel Shaw Jr. According to a March 12, 2008 article about the arrest in the Los Angeles Times:

"While incarcerated, he (Espinoza) was sentenced Jan. 22 to 180 days in jail with credit for time served, records show."

According to the LA Times, Espinoza had been in jail since November 18, 2007, serving time for exhibiting a firearm and resisting arrest.

On March 11, less than an hour after the story appeared on the Internet that Espinoza had been arrested for the murder of Jamiel Shaw Jr., I searched the Los Angeles Superior Court Web site's data base for "Pedro Espinoza."

Not surprisingly, the fairly common name yielded a lengthy list of cases. Because results from the court's Web site don't include dates of birth or other personal identifiers (outside of a case number), it was not possible to determine from these results alone which--if any--results were for the same Pedro Espinoza arrested in the Shaw case.

However, given the convictions related to Espinoza's November arrest mentioned in the LA Times article and the mention of the January 22 sentencing date in that same article, I do have one result that appears to be for the same Pedro Espinoza.

According to the LAPD's Web site, Espinoza is now charged with:

-one count of murder
-one count of using a firearm in the commission of a crime
-one count gang enhancement
-one count of being involved in a street gang murder

The arraignment date for Pedro Espinoza remains March 25.

 http://www.badgirlscrimeblog.com/?p=21