Blog Topic

Man Mows Down Girlfriend, Uncle in Bizarre Case
January 31, 2008

In a city where it takes a lot to raise eyebrows, this is one incident that has cops baffled. Drunken fights between lovers? A dime a dozen. People being run over by a car? Happens all the time. Fighting, being run over by a car and then being dragged back into the car to join the lunatic driver for a joyride? Not so common, actually. In fact, it's positively bizarre.

Yet, this is what happened in the case of Carlos Gutierrez, an incident that has police officers wonder at the logic behind it all.

After a round of drinks at a club, Carlos Gutierrez picked a fight with his girlfriend and his uncle. They got out of his car and walked away, and he threatened that he would run them down. The 37-year-old woman and Carlos' uncle probably thought he didn't mean it, but they were wrong. Carlos plowed his Honda Prelude into the pair, injuring them severely.

Next he did something that takes this case from just another night in Los Angeles, California to weird territory.

According to the Los Angeles Times, He picked up both his injured victims and sat them back in the car. Yolanda was severely wounded and Carlos' uncle had a shattered leg. He drove with his two victims to a gas station in Pacific Palisades, where he alighted to pump gas. At this point, his uncle managed to force his way out of the car and screamed for help, which is when this bizarre farce was brought to an end.

It was too late for Yolanda, however. She died in the car.

And there's another twist in the tale. According to the cops, neither Gutierrez nor his uncle remember where the running down by the car occurred! How drunk would a person have to be to forget the spot where he managed to mow down his girlfriend?

Like we said at the beginning, it takes a lot to shock anyone in LA, but this incident definitely has potential.

If you have a loved-one who was the victim of a deadly assault or wrongful death, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury law firm. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

Permalink

Woman Sentenced in Parking Attendant Case
January 17, 2008

A woman, who caused the death of a parking attendant by attacking him at a lot, has been sentenced to 120 days of house arrest, and five years of probation.

According the Orange County Register, the woman Hilda Voskanian was eight months pregnant when she refused to pay Pedro Dorado the parking fee, which happened to be the princely sum of $5. In the altercation that followed, Hilda pushed Dorado backward, which caused him to fall and hit his head on the pavement. He was hospitalized with bleeding in the brain and died three weeks later.

Voskanian left the scene without knowing what had happened to the attendant. She was arrested after he died and in November was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

The sentence includes taking an anger management course, performing 2,000 hours of community service, and paying more than $8,500 to Dorado's family, who live in Israel, for his funeral expenses.

The judge made it clear during the sentencing that he was being lenient because of the fact that she is pregnant and has a little child at home. She's also believed to have shown remorse for her actions.

The judge probably had no choice but to show leniency in a case that actually deserves harsher punishment.

If a loved-one has been killed or you have been injured in an attack, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury law firm. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

Permalink

Teenagers Arrested for Battery of Disabled Girl
January 16, 2008

Living in a nice neighborhood and going to a decent school obviously isn't everything when it comes to instilling any sense of a moral structure in children. Two students of Newport Harbor High School attacked a disabled girl in Pinkley Park in Costa Mesa, California, videotaped the entire ghastly incident and then, proceeded to post the clip on their MySpace page.

This is wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to begin. Not only did the girls violently (police say there was a lot of kicking and punching) attack another girl (which in itself is wrong), they chose to pick on a disabled person who couldn't defend herself. Then (and this is the part where you begin to shake your head in disbelief) they decided to boast of their triumph by sharing their feat with friends on their MySpace page. Some people were definitely lacking in parenting skills here.

Not much is known about the background of the incident, and whether the two girls, who have now been arrested on charges of battery and conspiracy to commit battery, knew the victim or had any kind of relationship with her prior to the attack.

For now, according to the Orange County Register, police aren't revealing their identity because the girls are minors. This is almost a pity, because some sort of public humiliation could be the only thing that would seem to work in the light of the cold blooded and brutal way the entire plan was executed.

If you have been the victim of any type of abuse or attack, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

UPDATE:

According to the OC Register, there was a mistake in the police report, and the girl who was attacked was not mentally handicap as previously reported.

Permalink

Los Angeles School Teacher Charged with Battery and Assault
September 20, 2007

A Los Angeles school teacher has been charged with three counts of battery in a scuffle that took place in November last year on Rancho Pensaquitos Boulevard in San Diego, California. The trial centers on the midday brawl that 36 year old John Matthew Monti had with a couple of day laborers at a hiring site. Prosecutors allege that Monti accosted a group of Mexican day laborers under the Highway 56 overpass, and attacked two of them. One of the men Estanislao Gonzalez testified at the trial, describing in detail how Monti punched him, chased him into the street, knocked him to the ground and proceeded to beat him up. Three hate crime charges have also been filed against Monti, based on the allegations that he violated the victims' civil rights. San Diego Deputy City Attorney Scott Pirello alleged in his opening statement that the Los Angeles school teacher made racially based remarks during his alleged assault.

Both sides blame each other for initiating the brawl. Monti's attorney contends that he was there to take photographs of the day laborers when he was attacked from behind because they didn't like him taking their pictures. The laborers allege that Monti was the one to initiate the assault. Pictures taken by the police soon after the incident however show Monti bruised and bloody, his cell phone and camera broken.

The trial is expected to last into next week.

It is downright childish to allow political beliefs to turn into violence. If Monti is found guilty of the crimes charged against him, hopefully the resulting sentence will be a clear message of the tragedy that can result when someone lets their passions get the better of them.

While the criminal courts can be effective in ensuring perpetrators of assault and battery are put behind bars, they do not cover the medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering that may result. To recover compensation, victims must retain an experienced assault and battery lawyer from a respected personal injury law firm. The personal injury lawyers at The Reeves Law Group have years of experience helping people put their lives back together after suffering serious injury, and offer free consultations to victims of assault and battery who may be interested in pursuing a civil claim.

Permalink