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Phil Willon

Ex-detective accused of rape blames attack on antidepressant

Last updated Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - 9:33am

LOS ANGELES -- Attorneys for a former Westminster, Calif., police detective will try to convince a jury that he was under the influence of the antidepressant Zoloft and not responsible for the kidnap and rape of a woman in 2010.

Detective Anthony Nicholas Orban was so overwhelmed by the prescription drug that he was mentally "unconscious" and "totally unaware of his actions," attorney James Blatt said outside a Rancho Cucamonga courtroom where his client's trial began Monday.

Crime, National, Rape Read more Comments

This bleeding horse that was rejected by Mike's Auction before the start of horses auction in Mira Loma, California, November 13, 2011. This horse was later bought by Butch Williams on a side deal directly from the owner. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Horses, once prized, are paying for the dire economy

Phil Willon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - 12:18pm

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Black as night and 18 hands high, Clemente trotted up and down the pen as the auctioneer at Mike's Livestock rattled off bids machine-gun style.

The barnyard scents of alfalfa, leather and sweat wafted through the cavernous auction hall just outside Riverside, Calif., where Clemente and dozens of other horses paraded before bleachers overflowing with bargain-seekers, sellers and gawkers on a cold weekend night.

There were whispers of a "killer buyer" lurking outside, buying up swaybacks and broken-down mares to be shipped off for slaughter. A trio of amateur Mexican-style rodeo riders eyed horses suitable for hogtying and tail twisting.

Features, Auction, Economy, Horse slaughter, Horses, Livestock, Livestock show Read more Comments

Professor Stephen Kinzey, of Cal State San Bernardino, ducks out of the San Bernardino Superior court room where he plead not guilty to the charge of running a local motorcycle gang and meth ring, September 16, 2011. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

The 'biker professor' lived two lives

Phil Willon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - 12:49pm

LOS ANGELES -- Stephen Kinzey used his experience riding his Harley-Davidson to teach about motion and physiology. He researched the effects of video games on the health of children. And he chatted with his students about being a father and a devoted Catholic.

That was Stephen Kinzey, tenured kinesiology professor at Cal State San Bernardino.

But police said they know of another Stephen Kinzey, one who calls himself Skinz.

Features, Crime, Biker Gangs, Drug distribution, Professor Read more Comments

(Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press) Andrew Lozano, a member of the Vagos motorcycle gang, talks to a Fontana police officer after he was arrested in an early morning raid in Fontana, Calif., on Thursday.

Raid targets Vagos motrocycle gang; 10 arrested

Phil Willon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Friday, October 7, 2011 - 6:30am

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Attempting to behead the leadership of the notorious Vagos motorcycle gang, authorities arrested 10 members suspected of drug-trafficking and a rash of violence -- including the recent murder of a rival Hells Angel member in a Nevada casino -- in a series of law enforcement raids Thursday throughout Southern California.

Crime, Biker Gangs, Motorcycles, Vagos, Featured, Gangs, National Read more Comments

IRFAN KHAN/Los Angeles Times
Amyah Grimm, 8, stands by a mural done by Dan Louden at Burger Hut, on West Broadway and D Street in Needles, Calif.

A touch of paint brings a desert town to life

Phil Willon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Sunday, September 18, 2011 - 12:04pm

NEEDLES, Calif. -- Along old U.S.

Features, Travel Read more Comments

Professor accused of leading biker gang says he's not guilty

Phil Willon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Friday, September 16, 2011 - 1:36pm

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- A California professor accused of leading a motorcycle gang pleaded not guilty Friday.

Crime, Biker Gangs, Motorcycles, Professor, National Read more Comments

3-year-old girl slain in apparent retaliation for good deed

Phil Willon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - 9:18am

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- Fourteen-year-old Destiny Hull spent Tuesday morning mopping up dried blood from her grandmother's front porch, stains from an evening that began with an act of kindness and ended with an apparent act of vengeance that left a small girl dead and a pregnant woman and her young daughter seriously wounded.

The series of events in San Bernardino began Monday evening when a Good Samaritan who lived in the house -- police won't say who for fear of tainting possible eyewitness accounts -- saw a man beating a woman down the street, charged in and broke up the fight, allowing the woman to escape.

Crime, Murder, Shooting, National Read more Comments

College professor allegedly led motorcycle gang, drug ring

Phil Willon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Thursday, September 1, 2011 - 2:31pm

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- A professor at California State University, San Bernardino, who allegedly led a chapter of the Devils Disciples motorcycle gang was charged Thursday with heading up a methamphetamine drug ring that involved several other dealers.

Crime, Meth, Motorcycles, Professor, College, Gangs, National Read more Comments

NASA sting leads to arrest of woman trying to sell moon rock

Los Angeles Times, Phil Willon

Last updated Friday, May 20, 2011 - 1:51pm

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A woman claiming to sell a moon rock was arrested in Lake Elsinore in Riverside County on Thursday morning as part of an undercover sting by NASA investigators aided by local police.

The investigation, which spanned several months, led to a covert meeting in a Lake Elsinore restaurant where undercover officials from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration agreed to buy the rock for $1.7 million, according to a report by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Crime, Moon, NASA, National Read more Comments

Stepmother of boy accused of killing neo-Nazi father charged with child endangerment

Los Angeles Times, Phil Willon

Last updated Wednesday, May 18, 2011 - 10:42am

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- The stepmother of a 10-year-old Riverside boy charged with shooting his father, a local neo-Nazi activist, was charged Tuesday with child endangerment and failure to properly store a firearm.

Crime, Murder, Child Abuse, Neo-Nazi, National Read more Comments

Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT
"The sting was an egregious case of entrapment, a technique that has been used by law enforcement against gay people for decades," said Robert Stone, co-founder of the Warm Sands neighborhood association and one of the most vocal critics of undercover operation in Palm Springs, California. "Gays move to Palm Springs to get away from that."

Tensions over sex sting simmer in 'gay mecca'

Los Angeles Times, Phil Willon

Last updated Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - 12:30pm

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Shirtless and squeezed into tight jeans, a hunky undercover Palm Springs police officer hovered in a shadowy parking lot and lured men cruising the Warm Sands neighborhood.

The June 2009 gay sex sting netted 19 public indecent exposure arrests, and disbelief and outrage have festered in this desert haven ever since.

This is Palm Springs, "the gayest city in America," a gay tourist destination governed by an openly gay mayor and home to the sexually charged White Party, a dance and music festival that attracts tens of thousands of gay men every year.

Crime, Gays, National Read more Comments

Sen. Boxer urges stricter gun laws after Giffords shooting

Los Angeles Times, Phil Willon

Last updated Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - 5:08pm

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., on Tuesday called for tougher federal gun laws, including banning large ammunition clips and federal regulations on concealed weapons permits, in the wake of the shooting rampage in Tucson that killed six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., gravely wounded.

Boxer, appearing at a news conference in Riverside, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation also should keep track of seriously mentally ill people with a history of violence to ensure they cannot secure gun permits. The shooting suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, has a history of mental disturbance, authorities and acquaintances said.

Congress, Congresswoman shot, Politics, National Read more Comments

BLM failed to properly monitor off-road race that killed 8, report says

Los Angeles Times, Phil Willon

Last updated Friday, November 19, 2010 - 4:46pm

RIVERSIDE, Calif.

Crash, Off-road racing, Fatality, National Read more Comments

Officer may have been killed with own gun

Los Angeles Times, Phil Willon

Last updated Wednesday, November 10, 2010 - 9:27am

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- The Riverside police officer killed Sunday night may have been shot with his own gun after he chased down the driver of a stolen big rig and fought with him in a city park, authorities said Tuesday.

Witnesses told detectives they saw the officer and driver in an altercation in Fairmount Park seconds before shots were fired. The man fled the scene in the semi-truck, escaping about a minute before other officers arrived to find Officer Ryan P. Bonaminio lying mortally wounded on the grass.

Bonaminio's gun was not recovered, and investigators said it was unclear if he fired his weapon. Detective Ron Sanfilippo said it's "very possible" that the suspect was able to get Bonaminio's gun and shot him with it.

Crime, Murder, National Read more Comments