News & Editorials from Merlin

Hell’s Angels member Joseph P. McGuire pleaded no contest in the assault of an off duty Seattle police officer during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and receives a suspended sentence.

According to reports Seattle police detective Ron Smith was involved in a barroom fight in which he pulled out a gun and shot McGuire. Smith stated McGuire and other members of the Hell’s Angels had jumped him inside the bar Loud American Roadhouse. He feels he was targeted due to testifying in a high profile case for federal racketeering and murder in the city of Seattle in 2007.By the way if you need a competent Washington criminal lawyer take a look at this site.

The judge in the case sentenced McGuire for the simple assault charge to one year in prison and suspended the sentence as long as McGuire does not break any laws, where he would be remanded to the Meade County Jail.

Detective Smith of the Seattle Police Department had also been charged in the incident after the shooting for carrying a concealed weapon, aggravated assault and perjury. The charges against detective Smith were later dropped

February 25, 2009

According to reports by car accident lawyers in Los Angeles, Morgan Freeman is being sued after an August accident by a woman who was a passenger in his vehicle identified as Demaris Meyer.

Meyer is being represented by Gloria Allred and in a Los Angeles news conference Meyer stated that she had met Freeman along with other friends for dinner at the country club the night of the crash and their had been no long relationship between them.

The lawsuit against Freeman for injuries sustained during the August crash was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi Delta Division. They stated the crash occurred on August 3, 2008 near the vicinity of Freeman’s ranch in Charleston Mississippi, when they were driving in his Nissan Maxima. Freeman lost control of the vehicle and it struck a ditch and rolled over.

A spokesman for Freeman Ken Sunshine, stated that they are convinced this suit can be resolved and that was the only comment they had. Freeman was also injured in the August 3rd accident and hospitalized for four days, his injuries included a broken arm and elbow.

Meyers and her attorney Gloria Allred stated one of the reasons to bring this to the media in Los Angeles is because Meyer had been portrayed in the media as having an affair with Freeman that broke his marriage up.

February 21, 2009 (by Otto Smyth)

According to reports by rollover accident attorneys in California, and the Los Angeles Fire Department two people were injured in a rollover accident on a mountain highway.

The Los Angeles Fire Department stated that an accident was reported at approximately 6:30 a.m. in the vicinity of the Angeles Forest Highway and Big Tujunga Canyon Road of an overturned vehicle.

According to California Highway Patrol Officer Francisco Villalobos two people were rescued after their vehicle rollover on the edge of a mountain highway. It took the rescue crews approximately forty minutes to pull the rollover victims to safety Officer Villalobos stated.

It has been reported by a county fire dispatcher that the two people were checked out at the scene of the overturned vehicle they were transported to the hospital with what appeared to be minor injuries.

January 10, 2009

According to reports by the California Highway Patrol while highway accidents have risen the amount of deaths have decreased in the State of California.

According to Officer Gary Fernandez of the California Highway Patrol’s information office the California Highway Patrol investigated 1,119 accidents during 2008, which amounted to an 8 percent increase over the amount 1,036 accidents investigated in 2007. Fernandez also stated the amount of accidents while driving under the influence rose in 2008 over the amount in 2007. During 2008 the California Highway Patrol investigated 127 accidents where drivers were suspected of driving under the influence, which equals approximately 11.2 percent. In 2007 of the 1,036 accidents investigated there were 113 accidents involving alleged driving under the influence or approximately 10.9 percent.

During 2008 there were fewer mountain accidents involving fatalities which the California Highway patrol contributes to their slow down campaign. Even with the fewer fatalities on mountain roads the amount of motorcycle fatalities, both in 2007 with 19 motorcycle fatalities on mountain highways and 10 fatalities during 2008 according to the statistics.

According to Officer Fernandez the California Highway Patrol believes one of the reasons for the decrease in fatal accidents during 2008 is their number of arrests for drivers allegedly driving under the influence. During 2008 there was a 16 percent raise in arrests for suspected drivers under the influence with 364 arrests of drivers with a .08 or higher blood alcohol level. In the year 2007 there were 307 similar arrests made by the California Highway Patrol. The arrests made during the period from Christmas through New Years were higher in 2008 as compared to 2007. This means car accident lawyers in Los Angeles are unable to stay as busy as before.

December 28, 2008 (by Otto Smyth)

According to reports by car accident lawyers Los Angeles, that have been released by the California Highway Patrol during the time of 6:00 p.m. Christmas Eve and 10:00 a.m. Saturday there were 16 fatal accidents on California highways where the California Highway Patrol has authority.

They have stated this is two less people that were victims of fatal accidents than in 2007 during the same time period. Three of these 16 fatalities are being investigated by city police and of the 13 that are under California Highway Patrol jurisdiction 8 of the fatally injured victims were not wearing seatbelts at the times of the collisions.

The arrests during this time period was also lower than during last year during the same time period with 824 drivers being arrested for driving under the influence this Christmas. Last year during this same time period there were 1,303 driving under the influence arrests according to the California Highway Patrol.

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December 27, 2008 (by Otto Smyth)

I found a really cool news story about the recent Highway 80 fatal motorcycle crash. It was written by a law firm, so I figured it offered a good perspective. Enjoy.

According to reports by motorcycle injury lawyers Los Angeles, a fatal motorcycle crash is being investigated as a possible hit and run motorcycle accident.

The motorcycle crash occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Highway 80 according to the California Highway Patrol in unincorporated Solano County in the vicinity of Vallejo.

The California Highway Patrol stated the motorcyclist had collided with the center divider or with another vehicle on the eastbound side of Highway 80 west of American Canyon Road.

They also reported the motorcyclist was transported from the scene of the crash to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The name of the deceased rider has not been released pending notification of his next of kin.

December 9, 2008 (by Otto Smyth)

According to reports by San Diego aviation accident attorneys, an F-18 flown by a Marine pilot crashed Monday into a San Diego neighborhood.

The Marines have released a statement that the pilot had ejected safely from the F-18 prior to the crash in which three people were killed and three homes set on fire. While the three victims have been identified by Reverend Kevin Lee of the Korean United Methodist Church there are cadaver dogs searching for a forth body in the aftermath. The victims have been identified as Young Mi Yoon, her mother Suk Im Kim, who was visiting from Korea and her 2-month-old daughter Rachel. The cadaver dogs are searching for Yoon’s 15-month-old daughter Grace in the rubble.

The F-18 crashed when both engines failed during its decent to land at Miramar’s Camp Kerney, which is where the Navy’s Top Gun fighter pilot school was once conducted, causing the jet to crash in the neighborhood of University City.

The Navy has stated that it is too early in the investigation to determine what caused the crash. According to Marine Corporal Francis Goch the F/A-18 D Hornet was returning after training and the pilot radioed the air traffic control to report a problem. The pilot then ejected from the plane. Goch also stated that it is to early for the cause to be known for the crash and it is possible the answer will be found in the wreckage.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor stated the plane crashed in the vicinity of the 805 Interstate approximately two miles from the base where it was scheduled to land.

Spokesman Maurice Luque of the Fire Department stated three homes were destroyed and firefighters were attended the crash site, hosing down the smoking debris approximately 3½ hours after the crash.

A statement by Mayor Jerry Sanders stated that there were approximately twenty homes which were evacuated near the crash site and was unsure when the residents would be permitted to return to their homes. If you are curious about potential lawsuits, please contact airplane accident lawyers at 888-400-9721.

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According to reports the Culver City Police fatally shot a man after he allegedly did not follow their orders and appeared to be reaching for his waistband. The shooting took place in near Los Angeles in Venice after police stopped the man, because his vehicle matched a vehicle that was seen leaving a crime scene. it was obviously an understandable accident and I doubt that the officer will require a lawyer on this one.

Deputy Derrick Thompson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stated that the shooting took place at approximately midnight in the vicinity of California Avenue and Frederic Street. Police pulled the vehicle over that matched the description of a vehicle that had been at a crime scene where a person had been assaulted with a deadly weapon. By the way if you happen to live in Los Angeles and reuire a good accident lawyer Los Angeles then I recommend the Law Offices of Steven Sweat. He is a superb accident lawyer Los Angeles and can help with a variety of cases.

Deputy Thompson stated that a male passenger got out of the vehicle after it was pulled over and would not obey the officer’s instructions. When the man appeared to be making a movement that caused the officer involved in the shooting to fear for his life. This is when the accident occured and the man was shot and fatally injured.

In an inspection of the vehicle a gun was found and two other people in the vehicle were arrested. Deputy Thompson did not comment on how many shots were fired or how many Culver City Police officers were involved. He also stated there is an internal investigation ongoing into the accident.

In various reports coming out of Denver News sources, an individuals who has been finered as oneGiblbertos Arellano has been detained when employees of the Greeley Water Division called the authorities. They stated that the individuals was riding on his bike with a semiautomatic rifle attached to the handlebars and making various threats.

All in all, the incident in question happened near 7th Street and 12th Avenue, when an employee of the water division told authorities that the suspect approached them and stated that one of the employees there had insulted him the day prior. The employee said this is when the suspect on the bike pointed to a gun case that was on the handle bars of the bike and claimed it was a weapon and that he would indeed use it. Incidentially if you happen to live in Denver and you need a superlative Denver Family Law Attorney then certainly take a look at the Law offices of Ellman PC. This firm can provide you with a top-drawer Denver Family Law Attorney both in Denver as well as nearby communities such as Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Boulder, Ourey, Castle Rock and Summit County, among others. Alright now back to the story:
When the authorities arrived at the crime location, they discovered that the suspect had a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle and a total of 5 loaded magazines, plus some 128 rounds of ammunition.
He later told them that he was very upset and enraged with the employees there since because one of them had called him ay, apparently. He is currently in the Weld County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bond and he is under investigation for felony menacing. It is not clear yet if his family is trying to raise his bond or if his Law Lawyer is working on his case at this particular time.

I recently returned from the San Francisco area and thought I would include a bizarre law story coming out of the southeastern part of the country. The self proclaimed art thief and lawful citizen of France Bernard Jean Ternus has been sentenced in a District Court in Dade County, Florida. According to the various reports, the US District Attorney for the Southern District, Alexander Acosta was the prosecutor in this particular case where presiding District Judge Patricia A. Seitz sentenced the defendent to a grand total of sixty-two months behind bars plus three years of supervised release. In addition to this, there was also an order for restitution placed on the defendent in question. At first glance this may seem like a relatively stiff punishment for a crime where no personal injury was actually involved but it should be noted that this was in fact an armed robbery. It is not clear as of yet if his personal attorney will appeal this decision or on what grounds, but i for one expect an appeal.

Al of this stems from the art theft that the defendent plead guilty to a year ago, the armed robbery at the Musee des Beaux-Arts in southern France, at a Museum of fine art. During this armed robbery he took four very valuable original paintings including the Cliffs Near Dieppe, by Claude Monet and the Allegory of Earth and Allegory of Water by Jan Breughel Sr. it is not clear if these were his personal taste.
After this crime the defendent and his cohorts met a number of different times with undercover FBI agents in an attempt to sell the paintings. They were eventually shown different pieces of the art work at a meeting in Spain. Incidentially if you happen to reside in San Francisco and require a superb San Francisco Personal Injury Attorney then I highly suggest the Law Offices of Steven Brady. He is a top notch Personal Injury Attorney and he covers not just San Francisco but also other nearby areas such as Oakland, Mountain View, San Rafael, San Jose and even Los Angeles.
He covers everything from burn injury to avaiation accidents and he is a true trial attorney.

After the arrest of Ternus the four pieces of pricelss artwork was found in a van in Marseilles in southern France. He went in front of U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia A. Altonaga in Miami as his attorney was not able to get him released.