Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Cop Convicted of Rape Hangs Himself Inside Jail Cell
A former Westminster police officer convicted in June of kidnapping and raping a woman at gunpoint in 2010 took his own life today in his jail cell.32-year-old Anthony Nicholas Orban was found dead in his cell of an apparent hanging, according to a live report on KCAL-9. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department are investigating the incident as a suicide.
Orban's lawyer had put forth unsuccessfully what became known as the "Zoloft Defense" during the trial, alleging his client had a psychotic break from reality and he did not know right from wrong while under the influence of the anti-depressant Zoloft and the sleeping aid Neurontin at the time of the crime. Attorney James Blatt also claimed Orban was under a great deal of stress due to his work as a cop, a struggling marriage, financial problems and combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
The crime was not committed solo, however; Orban's co-defendant Jeff Thomas Jelinek acted as a lookout while Orban kidnapped the victim from the Ontario Mills Mall, then watched as she was raped in Fontana. Jelinek pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon, accessory after the fact and false imprisonment in April.
Orban was seeking a new trial based on allegations of juror misconduct, reports City News Service and "was due in West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga for a 1:30 p.m. hearing" associated with those claims, according to the OC Weekly.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist