Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Published on: April 25, 2012

Los Angeles Petty Theft — Literally! — Someone Stole Tom Petty’s Guitars!

The vast majority of stories about Los Angeles petty theft have nothing to do with the famous singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Tom Petty. But on April 12, someone allegedly stole five of Petty’s guitars! Technically, the crime is not considered Los Angeles petty theft. After all, the value of the five guitars no doubt way exceeds the $400 mark that caps the boundary between petty theft and more serious theft charges.

That being said, we have to at least acknowledge the wordplay.

The guitars stolen from the Culver Studios served as the heart and soul of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ operation for years. They include:

Published on: April 23, 2012

Massive Lewd Conduct Arrest in Manhattan Beach – Los Angeles Lewd Conduct Law Firm Reports

by Michael Kraut

Eighteen men were arrested last week on Los Angeles lewd conduct charges, after officers cracked down on activity going on in a Manhattan Beach restroom.

Local lifeguards had noticed men entering the bathroom and remaining inside for a long amount of time. They alerted police that they suspected the public restroom might be a meeting place for sexual activity. According to a Daily News report, men sometimes stayed in the restroom for longer than an hour, and the same people would return often. Lifeguards also found graphic sexual images on restroom walls and holes drilled through stall partitions.

The Manhattan Beach Police Department conducted surveillance of the bathroom and began to make arrests. They also used the web to survey what was being said about the bathroom online. Six police officers went undercover, pretending to be men looking for sexual activity. The sting ultimately resulted in the arrests of 18 suspects, who were slapped a battery of charges including:

Published on: April 20, 2012

Alert Parents: Is Los Angeles Petty Theft a “Gateway Crime”?

by Michael Kraut

If you are a parent of a teenager or young man or woman who was recently arrested on charges of Los Angeles petty theft crime, you are probably sad, depressed, and anxious about your child’s future.

What caring parent wouldn’t be?

The state of California considers both petty theft and shoplifting to be serious crimes. Individuals convicted on two separate occasions for petty theft can be actually slapped with a felony charge and compelled to spend over a year behind bars!

Published on: April 18, 2012

Will You Ever Practice Again After Your Los Angeles Medical Fraud Charges?

by Michael Kraut

The Obama Administration is “on the hunt” for doctors, chiropractors, dentists, and other providers who violate Los Angeles Medicare fraud laws.

If you or someone you care about recently got swept up into that dragnet – or if you have come under investigation – you are obviously panicked about your potential punishments:

• The lifestyle changes that you inevitably will have to make;

Published on: April 16, 2012

Arrested for Lewd Conduct in Los Angeles… and Everyone Thinks You “Did It”

by Michael Kraut

Getting arrested for lewd conduct in Los Angeles can be a harrowing experience.

Yes, getting arrested for any crime in Southern California is scary. You face the specter of jail time, massive fees and fines, insurance related problems, professional reputation issues, logistical headaches, and on and on.

But lewd conduct charges are particularly vexing! Defendants are often “prejudged” by friends, family members, peers, and the community at large. For some reason, getting a lewd conduct charge often feels like being tarred and feathered. First of all, if you are convicted, you may be saddled with the “sex offender” label for decades, if not for a lifetime. You do not need to be reminded about what this negative label can do in terms of restricting where you can live, wreaking havoc on your personal and professional life, and potentially destroying your self-esteem – not to mention teeing you up for massive trouble if you ever break the law again.

Published on: April 13, 2012

Life After Southern California Medicare Fraud – Start Planning Now

by Michael Kraut

If you are a physician who has recently been arrested for Los Angeles Medicare fraud due to double billing or overbilling — or as an accomplice to a larger and more sophisticated scheme that spanned several years — you’re probably terrified. How will the arrest (and potential conviction) impact your career, your freedom (jail time or not?), your finances, your relationships with the people closest to you, and your professional reputation (or what’s left of it)?

Odds are, in fact, that you are overwhelmingly focused on the potential negatives of the situation. In some ways, this makes sense. Now is a good time for reflection and sober strategic thinking, particularly if you did commit criminal activity. A Southern California Medicare or Medi-Cal fraud lawyer can help you devise and execute an intelligent response to the charges against you. And you should certainly introspect and analyze how you got into the situation in the first place. But you might also find it extremely resourceful to focus on potential positive outcomes.

The brain works in mysterious ways. Since the 1950s, neurologists have studied an activity center in the brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). This is a region of our brain that helps to manage and process attention and focus. Obviously, the neurology of the RAS is too complicated for this blog to address, but the takeaway is pretty profound. Science suggests that how and when and where we hold our focus can color not only our perceptions of our experiences but also our strategies for dealing with crises.

Published on: April 11, 2012

Los Angeles Lewd Conduct Update: Teacher in Photo Scandal Denied Bail Reduction

by Michael Kraut

It’s been called one of the most disturbing and high profile cases of Los Angeles lewd conduct in history: 61-year-old Mark Berndt allegedly blindfolded children and then “spoon-fed his semen to them” at his elementary school classroom in Miramonte.

Last month, Berndt pled not guilty to 23 counts of Los Angeles lewd conduct, but the justice system does not seem to be in the mood to give him much leniency. His initial bail – $23 million – remained intact last Wednesday, when a judge denied his request for a reduction. The former teacher was arrested at the end of January following a long investigation (over a year). Investigators discovered 40 photos of children blindfolded with their mouths taped. Some pictures showed cockroaches on these children’s faces. Others showed other remarkably disturbing images.

One of Berndt’s co-workers, 49-year-old Martin Springer, has also been accused of a sexual crime – molesting a female student. In the wake of the revelations about Berndt and Springer, the district fired the entire workforce at the elementary school. Many of teachers’ victims have said that the abuse gave them nightmares.

Published on: April 9, 2012

Petty Thefts in Los Angeles: Thefts of Tide Detergent Linked to Drug Habits

by Michael Kraut

If you’ve recently been arrested for the crime of petty theft in Los Angeles – i.e. stealing money or property worth $400 or less — you can be hit with a misdemeanor charge and forced to spend half a year of your life behind bars – as well as to pay serious court fines and restitution, attend counseling and probation, perform community service, and so on.

Petty theft and shoplifting, in other words, can lead to not so petty consequences!

That being side, some would-be thieves will not be deterred. A nationwide string of Tide laundry detergent thefts has storeowners miffed and law enforcement agents baffled. No one really knows why laundry detergent has become such a hot black market commodity. But some people who’ve investigated believe that the thefts may be linked to drug trafficking. In California, 55-year-old Roland Ledesma got hit with a $1 million bail after he stole nine bottles of laundry detergent and crashed his car near the scene. Ledesma reportedly had multiple priors, and police apparently had reason to believe that he was under the influence of methamphetamines or alcohol during the theft/car crash.

Published on: April 6, 2012

Lewd Conduct in Los Angeles – Understanding 647(a) Charges and How to Defend Yourself

by Michael Kraut

If you’ve been arrested for lewd conduct in Los Angeles – either for engaging in an alleged act or soliciting someone else to engage in sexual conduct, you are probably pretty scared, confused, and fearful about the charges. There are two basic laws that cover lewd conduct: California Penal Code Section 314 and California Penal Code Section 647(a). Let’s take a look at these two laws.

314

This section of the CA Penal Code says that if someone knowingly exposes themselves in public to offend or annoy other people, he or she can be hit with a misdemeanor charge and face up to a full year behind bars.

Published on: April 4, 2012

Los Angeles Petty Theft – Not So Petty Consequences

by Michael Kraut

Los Angeles petty theft is a crime in which someone takes money or property that’s worth $400 or less. Both shoplifting and petty theft are charged according to California Penal Code Section 484 PC.

If you’re convicted of this misdemeanor, life can quickly become quite unpleasant. Depending on what you stole, you could face huge fines, forced restitution to the person you stole from, half a year in jail, community service, probation, counseling, and more. But that’s not the beginning of your woes – or even close. In fact, if you have a prior conviction for Los Angeles petty theft, prosecutors can leverage another law, Penal Code Section 666, to elevate misdemeanor theft into a felony. In other words, say you get convicted of petty theft for shoplifting some shoes. Then, years later, you commit a second petty theft — swiping lottery tickets, let’s say. The prosecutor can try to hit you with a felony charge the second time around. If he or she succeeds, not only will you face the same penalties we discussed above (just writ larger), but you could also face up to three full years behind bars!

And it’s not just a second theft arrest that you need to worry about. If you ever get arrested again for other crimes – even crimes having nothing to do with theft, fraud, larceny, etc. – you may face stiffer penalties thanks to your criminal history.