Category: Santa Ana

OC Streetcar Construction Delayed, Frustrating Business Owners

The OC Streetcar is expected to start running about a year later than originally planned due to project delays, officials announced July 25—frustrating small business owners who continue to lose customers and revenue because of the construction. The $509 million project—a modern streetcar line that will run through Santa Ana and Garden Grove—was originally set…


Santa Ana May Allow Illegal Immigrants to Vote in Local Elections

Santa Ana voters may decide in November to allow illegal immigrants to vote in local city elections, after the city council discussed July 19 placing the issue on the General Election ballot. “These are people who pay taxes. These are people who live in our community,” City Councilman Ryan Hernandez, who introduced the item, said…


Santa Ana Founder William Spurgeon’s Fascinating History

The story of William H. Spurgeon—the founder of the city of Santa Ana and one of Orange County’s first supervisors—is a microcosm of the county’s dramatic early history. Spurgeon, known as Uncle Billy, was born on Oct. 10, 1829, in Henry County, Kentucky, In 1830, his parents moved with him to Indiana, and then to…


DNA Helps Orange County Authorities Solve 2 Murders

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Orange County authorities Monday announced that advances in DNA technology helped solve two murders dating back to 1987 and 1989. The suspect in the killings was identified as Reuben J. Smith, who was 39 when he took his own life with a gun in Las Vegas in 1999, according to Garden Grove police…


Trial Begins for Man Accused of Killing Father, Father’s Girlfriend

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 30-year-old man allegedly walked downstairs, racked a gun, fatally shot his father and his father’s girlfriend, and wounded two other roommates in their Aliso Viejo home, a prosecutor told jurors July 19. But the defendant’s attorney suggested evidence will show that someone else fired the shots. Luke William Ferguson is charged with…


Murder Charges Announced 7-Eleven Shooting Suspect

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Prosecutors plan to charge a Los Angeles man in connection with three murders across Southern California as part of a deadly crime spree at a half-dozen 7-Elevens and a doughnut shop. Law enforcement accused Malik Patt, 20, of Los Angeles, of the July 11 deaths of a 7-Eleven clerk in Brea and a…


Murder Charges Announced for 7-Eleven Shooting Suspect

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Prosecutors plan to charge a Los Angeles man in connection with three murders across Southern California as part of a deadly crime spree at a half-dozen 7-Elevens and a doughnut shop. Law enforcement accused Malik Patt, 20, of Los Angeles, of the July 11 deaths of a 7-Eleven clerk in Brea and a…


California Tax Preparer Defrauds $50 Million for Clients: Judge

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A Buena Park tax preparer has been ordered by a federal judge to stop assisting anyone in submitting tax returns after it was determined he helped clients claim more than $50 million in bogus refunds, according to the judge’s ruling, which was made public Wednesday. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter enjoined Jose…


7-Eleven Asks LA-Area Stores to Close as Police Continue to Search for Gunman

LOS ANGELES—Officials at 7-Eleven’s corporate office encouraged all Los Angeles-area stores to close again on Tuesday night as police continue to search for suspects involved in robberies at six Southern California 7-Eleven stores Monday. Two victims in Orange County—a store clerk in Brea and a 24-year-old man in Santa Ana—were fatally shot July 11 during…


7-Eleven Asks LA-Area Stores to Close as Police Search for Gunman

LOS ANGELES—Officials at 7-Eleven’s corporate office encouraged all Los Angeles-area stores to close again on Tuesday night as police continue to search for suspects involved in robberies at six Southern California 7-Eleven stores Monday. Two victims in Orange County—a store clerk in Brea and a 24-year-old man in Santa Ana—were fatally shot July 11 during…