CITY ATTORNEY ENFORCES ORDINANCE ON ILLEGAL SUPERGRAPHICS

Residents and community groups throughout Los Angeles have demanded stricter enforcement of a citywide ordinance prohibiting the installation of new digital billboards and supergraphics. The vinyl images are stretched across the sides of buildings by sign companies that make millions of dollars flouting the law.

In response to such violations, the City Attorney charged a commercial landlord with allowing workers to use bolts and wire to wrap an eight story movie advertisement around the face of a 1929 office building on the northeast corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. The corner is a major tourist destination along Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

The landlord had been warned via letter and e-mail not to post unpermitted supergraphics on the buildings. As a result of the repeated defiance to the City, a warrant was issued and the landlord was arrested at his Pacific Palisades home and ordered held on $1-million bail. The defendant’s bail was later reduced to $100,000 after he agreed to reduce the risk to public safety by immediately removing the illegal sign from his building.

The arrests came less than a week after the City Attorney’s Office filed a separate civil lawsuit involving more than a dozen other unlawful supergraphics scattered throughout the City.

Since the filing, five landlords from a pair of buildings on Hollywood Boulevard have also been charged with allowing illegal supergraphic signs to be erected. According to Deputy City Atty. Spencer Hart, the defendants removed the signs immediately.


Jane Usher and Michael Bostrom are handling ongoing billboard and supergraphic litigation and other matters for the Civil Branch. Chuck Goldenberg, Richard Kraft, David Shepherd, Jose Egurbide, Greg Parham, and Spencer Hart are investigating and prosecuting cases for the Criminal Branch.

CITY ATTORNEY TACKLES L.A. BUDGET ISSUES

EXCERPTS OF THE COMMENTS OF WILLIAM W. CARTER, CHIEF DEPUTY,
SUBMITTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON FEBRUARY 9, 2010

The Office of the City Attorney and its employees clearly recognize and understand the serious and unprecedented financial challenges facing the City. As such, this Office and its employees have worked hard and sacrificed much over the past year to reduce costs and do increasingly more with fewer resources. These are not platitudes or hollow words. Our success to date in bearing our share of the burden and reducing the City’s deficit is proven and easy to measure. We have successfully done our job, while at the same time dramatically cutting costs and reducing staff from the General Fund.

It is without question and beyond dispute that, as required under the City Charter, the Office of the City Attorney performs vital and essential public safety services and provides financial protection to the City and its citizens.

Our attorneys also protect the City Treasury by fighting in court against frivolous lawsuits. In the past six months alone, our attorneys and their support staff have saved the City almost $100 million in potential damages. Without these victories that were hard-fought and won by attorneys within our Office, the City would be at least $100 million more in debt.



Each month, approximately 30 to 40 claims are submitted to the City for payment, the majority of which are thereafter denied and filed as civil lawsuits. This Office suffered an 18% budget reduction from the 2008/09 budget to the current year budget (2009/10). Our employees have worked hard to meet our budget – as you can clearly see by the cases they have won.

This Office has done its part in reducing costs while protecting public safety and the treasury during these very challenging times. In fact, by June 30, we will meet or surpass the goals set for our Office.

NEIGHBORHOOD PROSECUTOR GOES THE EXTRA MILE


 On Monday February 22, 2010, Neighborhood Prosecutor Raffy Astvasadoorian was traveling from the Van Nuys Courthouse to LAPD West Valley Station when he observed an SUV weaving badly from the number one lane into the painted median.

Astvasadoorian pulled up next to the SUV at a red light and looked over to see what could have been causing the driver to weave so badly. Expecting to see the driver eating or talking on a cell phone, he Instead observed the male driver holding a 9mm pistol in his right hand, laid across his chest pointing towards the driver's side door. The driver was having difficulty holding his head up and appeared to be trying to cock the gun.

Astvasadoorian immediately called 911 from his cell phone to report a possible DUI driver holding a hand gun. He followed the vehicle while relaying information about the car to the 911 operator. Within one minute of the 911 call, five LAPD West Valley Division squad cars pulled the driver over.

The suspect admitted to drinking vodka and the gun that was recovered was a loaded 9mm gun. The District Attorney's Office filed one felony count of Penal Code 12031(a)(1) and the case is set for arraignment.

CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS AGAINST ACCIDENT LAWSUIT DEMANDING $22 MILLION

Deputy City Attorney Victor Schulte and Assistant City Attorney Wilberta Breedy-Richardson

LOS ANGELES –
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury returned a defense verdict in a $22 million lawsuit against the City involving the allegedly dangerous condition at the intersection of 11th Avenue and Slausen, where two students were involved in an accident. The case was successfully defended by Deputy City Attorney Victor Schulte and Assistant City Attorney Wilberta Breedy-Richardson of the City Attorney’s Civil Litigation Branch.

On March 5, 2010, after a two week trial involving approximately eighteen witnesses, the jury, after deliberating for half a day, returned a verdict in favor of the City of Los Angeles.
The City of Los Angeles was sued for approximately $22 million in damages, the plaintiffs alleging that the crosswalk where the accident occurred was maintained in a dangerous condition.

The jury concluded the City had acted reasonably and that the Department of Transportation and traffic engineers had responded to the needs of the community and could not have prevented the accident. The City was found not liable for the accident.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

Pictured: Kimberly Willis, President of the Association of Black City Attorneys with
Earl Thomas, Chief of Criminal & Special Litigation Branch.

In celebration of African American Heritage Month, the Office of the City Attorney, and the Association of Black City Attorneys held a reception on the 8th floor of City Hall East to recognize the appointment of Earl Thomas in recognition of his recent promotion to Chief of the Criminal Branch. Also honored with Earl was Alois Phillips, the Supervising Attorney, San Pedro Branch; James Bell, Bureau of Investigation; Vivian Lackey, Support Staff Supervisor, Metro Branch; Vanessa White, Support Staff Supervisor, Reyes Branch; and Lillian Reed, Legal Secretary III.
The Association presented Mr. Thomas, a founding member of the organization, with a plaque memorializing his achievements in the Office. Over 100 attorneys and staff from the office participated in this tribute to African American heritage and history.

Deputy City Attorney John Carvalho Delivers Huge Win for L.A

Deputy City Attorney John Carvalho Delivers Huge Win for L.A.

Congratulations to Deputy City Attorney John Carvalho of the Business and Complex Litigation Division, for winning a case which resulted in a $4.8 Million payment to the City of Los Angeles.

The case centered around recovering a $2.1 Million grant that the City made in 2001 to the non-profit group, Concerned Citizens of South Los Angeles (CCSCLA).

CCSCLA used the grant money to purchase a three-acre plot of land at Slauson and Main in South Los Angeles for the purpose of building a community center and soccer field sports complex. However, the land remained largely undeveloped through 2008 when LAUSD used eminent domain to purchase the land for $5.4 million in order to build a new elementary school.

Deputy City Attorney Carvalho successfully argued against CCSCLA’s claim for the proceeds from the sale and advocated that the current market value of the land should be paid to the City of Los Angeles, as CCSCLA had breached its contract with the City when it failed to develop the property per the 2001 agreement.
Following a three-day trial, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Coleman A. Swart ruled in favor of the City and awarded a check for $4.8 million to the City of Los Angeles, as well as $132,092 in attorney fees.

Another Big Win!

A Los Angeles Superior Court Jury this week returned a defense verdict in a case involving a City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation worker suing the City for $2 million alleging retaliation and discrimination. The case was successfully defended by Deputy City Attorneys Adena Hadar and Casey Chon of the City Attorney’s Civil Litigation Branch.

On December 30, 2009, after a trial involving approximately twenty witnesses spanning over a four-week period, the jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning a unanimous verdict in favor of the City of Los Angeles and Bureau of Sanitation division manager Richard Myles.

In this case, Plaintiff Joel Zuniga sued the City of Los Angeles for approximately $2 million in damages alleging that he was a victim of race discrimination, race harassment, retaliation, and for failure to prevent race discrimination and/or race harassment in the workplace. The complaint was filed following Zuniga’s termination from the Bureau of Sanitation. The jury concluded the City had acted appropriately in the handling of Zungia’s termination and subsequent appeal through the Civil Service process.

Photo: Nigel Skeet

Trutanich "Man of the Year"

December 30, 2009

Ron Kaye and the folks at OurLA.org voted Carmen 'Nuch' Trutanich is the Man of the Year!

Please take a moment to view the excellent video that OurLA.org have put together:

Read the full article explaining why OurLA.org selected Nuch for this honor by clicking here.

Santa Nuch and Helpers Give Toys and Joy

On Friday, December 18, City Attorney Trutanich and his “Santa’s Helpers” spearheaded a toy and gift collection within the City Attorney’s office to benefit the children of Para Los Niños.


Unique dolls were donated by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and were handcrafted by female inmates at the Century Regional Detention Center. The other toys were purchased in the Toy District downtown, thanks to donations by the City Attorney and his staff.


Para Los Niños was established in 1980 in response to the plight of children living in Skid Row hotels. Today, in its 29th year of operation, Para Los Niños provides integrated educational and family support services to nearly 9,000 economically challenged children, youth and families throughout Southern California.

LACA Roundtable Discussion on Child Abuse

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich hosted a Meet and Greet/Roundtable Discussion with more than 40 representatives from City and County Child Abuse Agencies.




The City Attorney, along with Tracy Webb, Managing Attorney for the Crime Prevention and Youth Protection Division and Director of Child Abuse Policy, Earl Thomas, Chief of the Criminal and Special Operations Branch and Maureen Siegel, Deputy Chief, Criminal and Special Litigation met with a wide variety of city and county child abuse experts to discuss prosecution and prevention issues important to the community and to examine how we can focus more resources on collaborative and partnership efforts to protect children. In attendance for the event were:

Deanne Tilton-Durfee, Edie Schulman and Cathy Walsh from the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect;

Eric Marts, Xiomara Flores-Holguin and Emilio Mendoza from DCFS;

Nancy Hayes and Erin Kelley - UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital;

Vince Neglia and Moses Castillo from LAPD's Abused Child Unit;

Marge Graf, General Counsel from the Los Angeles Archdiocese
and Suzanne Healy, Los Angeles Archdiocese Victim Assistance

Monika McCoy, PhD - Los Angeles Community Child Abuse Councils;

Assistant US Attorney Sally Meloch;

James Owens from the County Counsel's Office;

Bill Dworin, Retired LAPD Detective and coordinator of "It's Not a Secret;"

Sue Spears from LAUSD

Carol Baker, Ruel Nolledo and Mayra Gomez from First 5 LA, Laura Romero and Maria Velez from LA Universal Preschool;

Victoria Adams and Pam Booth from the LA County District Attorney's Office;

Rosemarie Belda, Lead Attorney of the LA County Children's Special Investigation Unit, Attorney Richard Schwab, Michael Pines, PhD, Marie Russell, MD - LAC+USC Hospital and Debi Biederman from the LA City Domestic Violence Council and Mara Abrams from the Remedee Foundation.

Carmen Trutanich, the Grand Marshall

Our Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich was this year's Community Grand Marshall in the 29th Annual Spirit of San Pedro Holiday Parade.

This year's theme was "Celebrating Holidays Around the World".

Carmen and Noreen Trutanich rode in a 1958 Cadillac belonging to Dr. Denis Paglianno.

Cindy Shin Represents LACA in Korea

City Attorney's Office Public Information Officer Cindy Shin recently visited Korea where she visited Sung-Kyun-Kwan University (Seoul) and Catholic University of Daegu (Daegu) to speak to students about the structure and functions of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.



Cindy's presentations were made to a class called, Understanding English Speaking Countries and which is taught at both universities (led by Professor Hyun-Gook Shin, Ph.D.).

Cindy presented an overview of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office which included information regarding how it serves the City of Los Angeles, and the efforts of the City Attorney to improve the quality of life and public safety for its citizenry.

Students also learned about the Office's Public Information Office and its daily tasks and functions as well as efforts in the Asian American Community.



Professor Shin said the students were delighted with the presentation and gained a new perspective and insight into this government entity. He added that they were very happy to learn not only about the City Attorney's Office and working for the government but also the lifestyle in Los Angeles and studying abroad in the US.

Cindy also visited the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of Korea (SPO), which is, as the headquarters for a multitude of prosecutorial activities, responsible for directing, supervising and supporting all prosecutors' offices around the nation. During her visit, she toured the facility and met with the leading spokesperson, supervising prosecutors and city beat news reporters.

Dress-A-Bear/Dog for the Holidays!

The Los Angeles City Attorney Police Litigation Unit is once again participating in the Dress-A-Bear/Dog holiday program for the Salvation Army. The bears/pups come "naked" and are lovingly named and dressed by our generous City Attorney employees (PLU). The bears/dogs are dressed to accommodate both boy and girls preferences. Our bears/dogs come in many varieties from precious ice princesses, cheerleader, Ursula and surfer for a girl to Jedi, fireman, pirate and Viking for a boy!

The program benefits families in need who are registered with the Salvation Army in Whittier, CA. The families receive food baskets for the holidays and parents are allowed to pick a bear/dog for their children.

This is the second year the Police Litigation Unit has participated in this worthwhile program.


- Sonia L. Garcia

Wilmington Play Ground Dedication

Wilmington Vest Park Play Ground - Dedication

October 26, Wilmington, corner of Watson and "O" Street.



The Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney participated alongside Councilwoman Janice Hahn and other public officials from the Department of Recreation and Parks, the Mayor’s Office, LAPD, LAFD, and others, in the dedication of the new Wilmington Vest Park play ground.

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office was represented by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, Senior Assistant City Attorney, Deputy Chief, Mary Clare Molidor, Neighborhood Prosecutor, South Bureau Assistant Supervisor, Sonja Dawson, Neighborhood Prosecutor, Harbor Area, Justin Houterman, Deputy City Attorney, Gang Unit, Harbor Area, Panagiotis Panagiotou, and Gang Specialist, CNAP, Jule Bishop.

Carmen Trutanich introduced the team to the attendees and spoke on the importance of taking back our neighborhoods from gangs and highlighted the great accomplishment achieved with the completion of this particular play ground.


This neighborhood was the target of a July, 2007 “takedown” by 500 LAPD officers and ATF agents, resulting in the arrest of 40 gang members and drug dealers, and the filing of 10 lawsuits against property owners by our Office and U.S. Attorney for narcotic and gang offences.

Since that time, the City Attorney’s Neighborhood Prosecutor program has worked with the Cruces (name of the local neighborhood) community (formerly referred to as Ghost Town) to create a viable community group and improve the area. One of the neighborhood goals was to improve the local park (the Wilmington Vest Park) and this event is the celebration of the community successfully obtaining brand new play ground equipment.

Carmen Trutanich participated in the ribbon-cutting with Janice Hahn and then tested the playground himself with the help of a couple dozen children from the neighborhood, who were obviously the happiest of all who were there.

ICAN NEXUS XIV Training Conference

ICAN NEXUS XIV Training Conference

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - Sheraton Universal Hotel


ICAN NEXUS recently held its 14th annual conference at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has been an active participant all 14 years including presenting workshops for the past 5 years. The focus of the conference this year was Violence within the home and its effects on children. This is of the utmost importance to us as prosecutors as Child abuse, neglect, cyber crime and child exploitation continue to be an epidemic throughout Los Angeles with the potential for dangerous threats against children growing every day. For those children who survive, the personal and societal effects are staggering. It is our duty as prosecutors to intervene at the earliest possible stage with awareness and prevention programs and partnerships so that we can stem the tide of violence against our children.

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich joined District Attorney Steve Cooley, Sheriff Lee Baca, Supervisor Michael Antonovich and a host of other Public Officials at the commencement of this conference.


Executive Director of ICAN, Deanne Tilton Durfee, welcomed Carmen Trutanich as the “new kid on the block” within the group of public officials who make fighting and preventing child abuse within Los Angeles a priority.

Carmen Trutanich spoke on the devastating life-long effects that violence in the home has on children, and that the single most important thing to remember is to call the police at the onset of any violence on a child.

The Inter Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect was established in 1977 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors as the official county agency to coordinate the development of services for the prevention, identification and treatment of child abuse and neglect. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has been actively involved in every aspect of the Council since its inception.

Tracy Webb, Managing Attorney of the Crime Prevention & Youth Protection Division in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, has contributed to all 14 Training Conferences and is responsible for building the bridge between ICAN and the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

The specific ICAN committees that the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office are involved with include their Operations and Policy committee and others that address a host of critical issues such as: review of child fatalities, including child and adolescent suicides; children and families exposed to family violence; Cyber Crime, development of systems designed to promote better communication and collaboration among agencies; prenatally substance affected infants; pregnant and parenting adolescents; abducted children; and grief and loss issues for children in foster care and siblings of children who are victims of fatal child abuse.

City Attorney Explains Medical Marijuana Issue on NBC

Saturday, October 10, 2009


Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich was invited on NBC’s “Today in LA” show on Saturday morning to give his side of the hot-button Medical Marijuana issue. The show was live at 7:00 at the NBC studios in Burbank and reporter Ted Chen did the questioning.

In the couple minutes allotted, Mr. Trutanich made it very clear that from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s point of view, this is a public health and safety issue, and that the Los Angeles City Attorney will NOT prevent the legitimate and legal cultivation, distribution and use of Medical Marijuana within the city of Los Angeles.

Mr. Trutanich made the case that the users of Medical Marijuana don’t really know what is in the medicine that they are using, and that if this truly is medicine, it should be tested and examined with the same FDA scrutiny as for example Tylenol. They have a right to know what they are ingesting.


As City Attorney Trutanich explained, this position follows on the heels of three M.M. samples purchased covertly by the City Attorney’s office in CD 9 and 14, being screened for their contents by the FDA in Irvine. Two of the samples that came back had extraordinarily high levels of the insecticide Bifenthrin. One sample was found to have 1600 times the legal digestible limit of Bifenthrin, the other just over 85 times. The City Attorney used the analogy of spraying the ant-killing Raid on your salad and then eating it and that if this is indeed medicine, that these kind of ingredients pose a real health and safety risk to those patients taking the medical marijuana.

This automatically led to the on-air discussion of not really knowing the origin of the Marijuana being ingested, as Bifenthrin in those quantities would definitely NOT be used anywhere NEAR California. Prop 215 on which the cultivation, distribution and use of Medical Marijuana within the city of Los Angeles is based, clearly states that the Marijuana is to be cultivated in a collective.

Reporter Ted Chen was fair and to the point.

The issue marches on.

Posted by: Nigel Skeet
Photos by: Nigel Skeet

City Attorney's Office Hosts Domestic Violence Meet 'n Greet

October 7, 2009

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich hosted a Meet and Greet/Roundtable Discussion with more than 30 representatives from Domestic Violence Agencies throughout the area.


The City Attorney, along with Eve Sheedy, Director of Domestic Violence Policy, Earl Thomas, Chief of the Criminal and Special Operations Branch and Maureen Siegel, Deputy Chief, Criminal and Special Litigation met with Executive Directors;
Patti Giggans, from Peace Over Violence,
Sara Berdine, from Haven Hills,
Karen Rosenthal from Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles,
TuLynn Smylie, from WomenShelter of Long Beach,
Bernita Walker from Project Peacemakers and
Judith Gordon, from Women’s and Children’s Crisis Shelter.

Also present were;
Marci Fukuroda from Rainbow Services,
Gerrie Rosen from the African Community Resource Center,
LaDawn Best from the LA Gay and Lesbian Center,
Gail Pincus from the Domestic Abuse Center,
TC Kim from the Asian Pacific Women’s Center,
Adriana Molina from Children’s Institute,
Ana Storey from Los Angeles Legal Aid,
Sandra Schooley from Seraphim Manor,
Ellen Sanchez from the Violence Intervention Program,
Kim Goldberg-Roth from Valley Trauma Center,
Kathy Adams from the Child Abuse Trauma Center,
Hamid Khan from South Asian Network,
Michelle Wall from Angel Step Inn and
representatives from Village Family Services.


The City Attorney shared his experience as a Prosecutor of Domestic Violence crimes and his plans to address this serious problem as City Attorney, including introduction of a Bureau of Investigators to provide both trial and victim support and Mentorship programs to prevent and guide youth away from violence.

Participants asked questions covering areas from Restraining Order enforcement to School based programs. The City Attorney confirmed both his personal commitment and the commitment of the City Attorney’s Office to address Domestic Violence both in the courtroom and in the community. The City Attorney clearly recognizes the contribution that Domestic Violence Agencies make to public safety and thanks them for their continued hard work, particularly in these economically challenging times.

Above (left to right) Maureen Siegel, Carmen Trutanich, Eve Sheedy, and Earl Thomas

Posted by: Eve Sheedy
Photos by: David Berger

Trutanich Takes Community Advice

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The newly formed City Attorney Community Advisory Group held its inaugural meeting on Thursday night organized by Marcia Selz, one of the group's founders and ardent campaigner for transparency in local government.

The group is comprised of representatives from Los Angeles' Neighborhood Councils and Home Owners Associations who not only have a wealth of information and advice for the City Attorney, but who also will provide vital feedback to the City Attorney on how the Office is responding to their needs.

Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich arrived at the meeting keen to hear from the group and received a warm welcome before fielding questions on hot button issues including; Medical Marijuana, Graffiti, Billboard Blight, Ethics and Crime.

There were hard questions for the City Attorney, and hard answers for the Group, many of whom were frustrated by the often overly obscured machinations of lobbyists, developers and planners.

Trutanich's Senior Assistant Jane Usher was on hand to assist the City Attorney some of the questions, along with West LA Neighborhood Prosecutors Dena Carreyn and Gita O'Neill and Sheryl Smith, Director of Public Affiairs.

Promising rapid and responsive solutions to issues in the community, Trutanich urged the group to contact their Neighborhood Prosecutors at the earliest stage to make sure the community gets the service it deserves from the City Attorney's Office. Click here to find out more about the Neighborhood Prosecutor Program.

The first meeting of the City Attorney Community Advisory Group wrapped up its business at around 10:30pm with a promise to meet again in 3 months at the City Attorney's Office, and with a commitment from Trutanich that any 'hot button' issues don't have to wait "Call your Neighborhood Prosecutor, call Jane Usher, call David Berger, or call me." said Trutanich.

Posted By: David Berger
Photos By: David Berger

Thanks to Sheryl Smith, Director of Public Affairs and Chief Public Information Officer John Franklin for logistical support.

City Attorney's Workers' Compensation Program Saves City $6.5M

October 1, 2009

The City of Los Angeles said a big "Thank You!" to the City Attorney's Office Personnel Department today;

Thank you for saving the City of Los Angeles $6.5M last year, with

Workers' Compensation Claims down by 36%, and

IOD (Injured On Duty) payments down by 32%.

That's the biggest saving of any City Department and it earned the City Attorney's Office Personnel Department an engraved crystal award for their hard work in running an effective program for the 1,000 plus City Attorney employees.

City Attorney Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich congratulated Personnel Director Rosemary Fisher-Anaya and her staff of Christina Sarabia, Kristina De La Vega, Wanda Hudson, Kelly Tran, Irene Quan, Alma Zavaleta and John DiGrazia for their hard work in saving the City more money than any other City Department in these difficult times.

When asked how the Personnel Department was able to achieve such dramatic savings, Director Rosemary Fisher-Anaya said that she believed it was due the their policy of having a more personal "Hands on" approach to handling claims. Giving claimants quick answers to their questions, finding solutions for them and most important of all, "keeping in touch and making it personal."

Posted by: David Berger
Photos by: David Berger

Edgemont Grabber Convicted By Deputy City Attorney Dikran Sassounian

September 29, 2009


On September 21, 2009, defendant Moises Nunogomez (above) was convicted after a four day Jury Trial in case number 9CA04601.

22 year-old Nunogomez (DOB 11/30/1986) was found guilty of committing four counts of Sexual Battery in violation of Penal Code Section 243.4(e)(1).

The prosecution was handled by Deputy City Attorney Dikran Sassounian of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office Special Trials Unit and was tried in Department 55 of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center before Judge Terry Bork and a jury of eight women and four men.

Evidence presented during trial showed that, for a six month period between September 2008 and February 2009, the man who was only known as the "Edgemont Grabber," approached women from behind and grabbed their buttocks and genital area.

The crimes all occurred in the area of Edgemont and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Four women who testified at the trial had reported the attacks to the police. The "Edgemont Grabber" was finally identified and arrested on February 13, 2009 by Detectives
Johneen Jones and Hovenessian and Officers Tojong and Lear of the Northeast Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The break in the case leading to the Defendant’s arrest came when officers Tojong and Lear responded to the last attack on February 13, 2009. The victim reported the crime from her child’s pre-school. While the officers were showing her a photograph of the suspect, the school handyman recognized him and told officers where he lived. The officers responded to the Defendant’s apartment, where he was taken into custody without incident.

The trial itself was not without problems; three of the victims were unable to identify the defendant, his attacks being sudden, from behind, and momentary. Additionally, although defendant had made admissions to the police regarding his identity, those admissions were not recorded and the defense claimed the admissions could not be trusted.

The defendant also called Antonio Manzo, his live-in boyfriend, as a witness to testify that Nunogomez was gay. The defense used that fact to argue that the defendant's grabbing of the victims' buttocks and genital area could not have been motivated by a "sexual motivation or purpose" (an element of the crime).

Thanks to DCA Sassounian's careful preparation and skillful presentation of evidence, video tape evidence proved the defendant to be the attacker on one occasion, and the defendant's Modus Operandi was sufficiently unique to convince the jury that he was the attacker on the other occasions, with the Jury returning "Guilty" verdicts on all four counts of Sexual Battery.

The still images from the surveillance camera (below) are chilling. They capture Nonogomez's last attack in broad daylight against an innocent and defenseless victim.. His actions, the expression on his face, and his aggressive behavior towards the victim leave no doubt in anyone's mind as to the intentions of the defendant.



After the verdict, DCA Sassounian thanked the Jury for their deliberations and especially thanked LAPD Detectives Jones and Hovhanessian for conducting a thorough and extensive investigation leading to the identification and arrest of the defendant. Sassounian noted that although only four women reported their attacks to the police, the number of victims is likely to be much higher.

Nunogomez remained in custody after the verdict, and he will be back in Department 55 on October 5, 2009 for sentencing. He faces a maximum sentence of Four Years in County Jail and Compulsory Lifetime Registration as a Sex Offender under Penal Code Section 290, popularly known as 'Megan's Law.'

Posted by: David Berger