Couple sentenced to probation for squatting in Newport Coast mansion

An Orange County couple accused of “fairly sophisticated squatting” at an ocean-view mansion in Newport Coast was sentenced to three years of probation Wednesday in Santa Ana.

Chris Wayne Duncan, 43, and Robin Ann Duncan, 37, both of Newport Beach, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit trespass and one misdemeanor count of trespass, the Orange County district attorney’s office said.

“This crime is an example of people taking advantage of the current real estate environment,” said Pete Pierce, the prosecutor who originally asked for the Duncans to be charged with a felony.

– Dalina Castellanos, Los Angeles Times

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Newport Beach Restaurant Week starts

Bryon Freeze, Five Crowns Chief de Cuisine, prepares Salmon Tar Tar, made with Skuna Bay Salmon from British Columbia, Vancouver Island, for guests during a media launch event for the upcoming Newport Beach Restaurant Week at Five Crowns restaurant. (KEVIN CHANG, Daily Pilot / January 18, 2012)

Several local restaurants will be showing off their most popular dishes during Newport Beach Restaurant Week, which kicks off Friday.

Area eateries will tempt diners with special prix-fixe, multicourse menus that range from $10 to $20 for lunch and $20 to $40 for dinner.

Chef Deborah Schneider of SOL Cocina at 251 E. Coast Hwy. said she sees the event as a way to give back to the community that has welcomed her since her restaurant’s launch in 2009.

“We appreciate all their support over the years; Newport Beach really made us welcome,” Schneider said. “We’ve gotten great community support here, both in summer and in the off-season.”

Schneider said SOL is a coastal Mexican concept evocative of Baja California, where seafood reigns. The menu is friendly to vegans and vegetarians as well as to those with food allergies and intolerances, and food is grilled rather than fried.

– Candice Baker, @TheDailyPilot, Daily Pilot

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Santa Ana intern convicted of taping men in City Hall restroom

A city intern in Santa Ana was convicted Thursday of surreptitiously videotaping men in the restroom at City Hall using a cellphone, Orange County prosecutors said.

Miguel Ruiz Fabian, 24, pleaded guilty Thursday to eight counts of misdemeanor disorderly conduct by unlawful viewing and has been sentenced to six months in jail in addition to three years probation.

Fabian, who was a engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona and interning in the city Public Works Department, recorded men using the restroom in Santa Ana City Hall and the City Hall Annex 64 times over 23 days between Dec. 28, 2010, and May 31, 2011.

–Rick Rojas, Los Angeles Times

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Howie Kendrick says that staying with Angels was top priority

Howie Kendrick said he was fully aware of what effect an impressive season could make on his value as a free agent before 2013, but remaining an Angel trumped taking on the speculative venture.

“It’s special to be around this organization where I grew up, to stay home,” Kendrick said Tuesday in a news conference at an Anaheim restaurant to formally announce the four-year, $33.5-million contract extension he signed with the team. “I can’t explain how happy I am to stay in Anaheim.”

Kendrick said the team’s winter acquisitions of free-agent slugger Albert Pujols, former Texas Rangers ace C.J. Wilson, veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins and catcher Chris Iannetta only emboldened his view that “you can’t find a better place to play than here.”

– Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

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Police arrest suspect in $14,000 bank scam

Officers escort an alleged identity theft suspect, connected with stealing more than $14,000 from several victims bank accounts throughout Southern California, into the Glendale Police Department on Thursday, December 15, 2011. (Roger Wilson, Glendale News-Press)

Police arrested a 48-year-old Whittier woman Thursday who was suspected of stealing $14,000 from at least two dozen personal bank accounts.

Natalie Diamond was taken into custody at a neighbor’s home in Whittier after detectives went to her home to issue court-ordered arrest and search warrants, but noticed she wasn’t there, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Detectives went door-to-door throughout the neighborhood until they found her, he added.

Police released surveillance photographs of Diamond last week, asking for the public’s help in finding her.

“Since her pictures were first released… we have been receiving nonstop calls here on her whereabouts,” Lorenz said.

Tipsters who knew Diamond provided police with her name and address, he said.

– Veronica Rocha, @VeronicaRochaLA, Glendale News-Press

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Pug needs new home

A female pug found in La Habra needs a new home.  To adopt her, email jamie.rowe@latimes.com.

Abandonded dog needs home

Tthis dog was left behind after the owners moved from the Club Laguna complex on El Toro.  He needs someone to give him foster home until he finds his forever home.

He appears to be some sort of terrier, and in clean and good condition.  He weighs about 10 pounds.

To adopt or foster him, contact Gina of the Animal Crackers Pet Rescue at (949) 499-1988.

Former stockbroker convicted of murdering Denver radio host

A former stockbroker was convicted of murder for financial gain in the 2006 shooting death of a popular Denver radio host whose body was found in the waters off Santa Catalina Island, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Steven Bailey Williams, who in the early 1980s was a popular drive-time radio host, was handling his deceased father’s estate when he met Harvey Morrow, who introduced himself as an investment banker from New York who knew his father.

Williams asked Morrow to set up a trust fund for the sale proceeds of the father’s Corona del Mar home, which was valued at more than $1 million and part of an estate worth $2.4 million.

It was that money that led Morrow to slowly bilk Williams and then to kill him, prosecutors said.

– Andrew Blankstein, @anblanx, Los Angeles Times

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Photo: Early morning flight on Balboa

Attorney Gene Dorney submitted this photo that he took after his early morning workout on the Balboa Peninsula.

Family split over father’s support of killer

Family members of a 17-year-old Crescenta Valley High School student shot to death in 1991 say they disagree with her father’s support of a state decision to grant parole to her killer.

Mark Cosman wrote in support of granting parole to his daughter’s killer, Paul Crowder, a blessing that factored heavily in the decision of the state parole board’s recommendation. But other family members of the slain girl, Berlyn Cosman, say they were never consulted and have initiated a letter-writing campaign to the governor in an effort to stop Crowder’s release.

Crowder was convicted to 15 years to life, plus four years, for shooting Berlyn Cosman in the head on June 1, 1991 as she slept in her room after a prom night party at the Sterling Crown Suites Hotel in Anaheim.

– Veronica Rocha, Glendale News-Press

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