Garden Grove Journal, July 15, 2013

Page 1

Monday toWednesday

nday

Cloudy 3/66

COMING THURSDAY

THREE-DAY WEATHER

Monday

hance: 10%

Mostly Sunny 83/65

Precip Chance: 5%

Tuesday

Partly Cloudy 84/68

Precip Chance: 10%

in the Garden Grove Journal n A preview of Shakespeare Orange County’s first 2013 play, “Twelfth Night.” n Coverage of the Garden Grove Unified School District’s meeting Tuesday night.

Wednesday

Mostly Cloudy 80/69

Precip Chance: 20%

For latest weather, go to Accu-Weather at ggjournal.com

The Newspaper of Garden Grove n Monday, July 15, 2013 n www.ggjournal.com n Vol. 31, No. 56 n Phone: 714-539-6018 n Fax: 714-539-6079

Mafi’s debut before GG school board

STEPPING OUT

Superintendent meets the public on Tuesday night The first meeting of the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education Tuesday with the new superintendent will be a long one. Gabriela Mafi, who took the job as head of Orange County’s thirdlargest public school system on July 1, will make her board meeting debut for no less that three sessions. At 5 p.m., there will be a closed session on evaluating the superintendent. At 6 p.m., there’s a study session (open the public, but held in an adjacent conference room) at 6 p.m. to consider the district’s mission and vision and bond recommendations. The regular meeting, held in the board room, will commence at 7 p.m.

Topping the agenda will be a presentation by Nick Nakano, assistant superintendent of business services, providing an overview of Measure A general obligation bonds. Measure A was a bond issue passed by GGUSD voters in 2010 for school modernization. Many GGUSD schools are over 50 years old, and some buildings at Garden Grove High School date back to the 1920s. The GGUSD is a K-12 school district which serves most of Garden Grove as well as portions of Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster. The board meets at the Education Center, 10330 Stanford Ave. in Garden Grove,

Man arrested for stabbing woman By Esther Ro Garden Grove Journal

A man who has been accused of attempted murder is now in the Orange County Jail for allegedly stabbing a 41-year-old woman in the neck in Garden Grove. The incident occurred on Sunday, July 7 at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Garden Grove Boulevard. Tai Trieu, 54, was arrested on Tuesday, July 9. According to a press release from Lieutenant Jeff Nightengale of the Garden Grove Police Department, several passing motorists who had witnessed the incident stopped to render aid until emergency personnel arrived and Trieu fled

JOURNAL PHOTO

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life was held Saturday and Sunday at the Garden Grove High School track and stadium. Teams representing different groups and businesses raised money for fighting cancer by walking miles sponsored my friends and associates. The first turn around the track (pictured above) is the survivor’s lap, led by local Girl Scouts, cancer survivors and their caretakers. Additional photos and story in Thursday’s Journal.

Prostitute convicted of sex trafficking An adult prostitute arrested in Garden Grove in March was convicted Thursday of recruiting and sex trafficking a 14-year-old-girl into prostitution in the first Orange County case of human trafficking of a minor under Proposition 35. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, Cierra Melissa Robinson, 28,

faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in state prison at her sentencing, set for Aug. 23 in Santa Ana’s Central Justice Center. Co-defendant Chuncey Tarae Garcia, 33, is charged with one felony count each of human trafficking of a minor by force or fear, pimping a minor and forceable rape. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of

28 years to life in state prison. Authorities allege that Garcia has been a procurer of prostitutes, with Robinson working for him. The 14-year-old Jane Doe in the case was a runaway allegedly “befriended” by Robinson, who brought the girl to Garcia. On March 1, a Garden Grove police officer

pulled over a car driven by Garcia for a routine traffic violation. Robinson was also in the car, along with the victim and another woman. The officer grew suspicious because of the apparent youth of the girl and an investigation began. Garcia and Robinson were arrested and the girl taken into protective custody.

More charges filed vs. rape suspect TAI TRIEU from the scene by bicycle, heading west on Garden Grove Boulevard. The victim, who officers learned is possibly Trieu’s estranged wife, was transported to University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange. She is expected to survive her injuries. Continued on page 4

Even more charges have been filed against a man accused of sex crimes against preteen girls in Garden Grove and Stanton. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, Bryan William Anast, 45, of Corona, was charged Thursday for sexually assaulting a third victim. Last week he was hit with two felony counts of lewd acts against a child under 14 for allegedly molesting the daughter of a family friend. He first was charged with molesting a girl No-

vember 1997 to November 2000. The girl was 11 when the incidents began, say investigators. After a public plea for other possible victims, the second and third females have come forth. Anast allegedly molested the third girl, beginning when she was 7, from 1995 to 2000 at the victim’s home in Laguna Hills. Combined with allegations of possession of child pornography, Anast faces a maximum sentence of 93 years in state prison. He is being held on $1 million bail.

Anast was formerly employed at Disneyland maintaining rides. Investigators are still looking for other possible

victims. Anyone with information about this or related incidents is asked to contact Paul Carvo at (714) 347-8794.

Fire hits GG apartment An apartment fire in Garden Grove last Wednesday was quickly knocked down by firefighters. There were no injuries. According to the Garden Grove Fire Department, the blaze was in the 12000 block of Peacock Court, northwest of Brookhurst Street and Chapman Avenue. The fire was at a two-story apartment building with the blaze on the second level. Seven GGFD units were involved and the fire was contained to the one unit.

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