Recent Blog Posts in March 2010

Pop star, Natalie Mejia, of the girl band called Girlicious, was arrested and charged with a felony count of possession of cocaine with intent to sell.  Her driver was pulled over for speeding and after police found that he was driving on a suspended license, they performed a vehicle search which revealed over a dozen plastic bags of cocaine in Mejia's purse. 

Mejia has stated that she did not know the drugs were in her purse and does not know how they got there.  She was released on $30,000.00 bail and is ordered to appear in court on April 15^th.

If convicted, Mejia could receive 3 - 5 years in state prison.  Penalties for possession with intent to sell can be greater if the accused is a repeat offender, was caught selling drugs to a minor, or the transaction occurred in a certain public area such as a school, church, synagogue, daycare, or youth center.

A former teacher at David Starr Jordan Middle School in Burbank who admitted that she had sex with a 14-year-old, pleaded no contest on Thursday to charges of unlawful sex with a minor.

Amy Beck now faces up to two years in state prison as part of her plea deal.  She'll also have to register as a sex offender because of the unlawful sex with a minor conviction. Ms. Beck was originally charged with four counts of unlawful sex with a minor and one count of oral copulation with a minor, yet all but one of these charges were dropped through the plea deal.

The former middle school teacher turned herself into the Burbank Police earlier this month for allegedly having sex with one of her students.  She is expected to return to the Superior Court on May 7 for her sentencing.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a sex crime, contact Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Robert M. Bernstein today.

On March 6, 2009, Santa Monica Firefighters were called to put out a vehicle engulfed in flames on 9 ^th Street.  Once the flames had been extinguished, officers found a gas can in the car and a lighter just a few yards away and concluded the incident to be an act of arson. 

In May of 2009, detectives arrested the vehicle’s owner, Sidney Porter of Santa Monica, due to fingerprints found at the scene and cell phone records revealing he was just leaving Santa Monica at the time the fire.  The cell phone records proved that Porter’s statements regarding his location at the time of the fire were false.  Sidney Porter had set his2006 Dodge Magnum on fire in an attempt to commit insurance fraud.  In January of 2010, Porter was convicted on one count of  arson and sentenced to three years in state prison.

If you, or someone you know has been charged with  Arson or Insurance Fraud,  contact Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Robert M. Bernstein for a free consultation today.