The Department of Justice's federal investigation into the use of jailhouse informants in Orange County, the latest on former Sheriff Baca's trial, driving safely in the rain.
How a mass murder case unraveled the Orange County jail informants scandal
In October 2011, Scott Dekraai walked into Salon Meritage in Seal Beach and opened fire, killing eight people, including his ex-wife, before police arrested him a few blocks away. He admitted to the shooting and later pleaded guilty to eight counts of murder.
Five years later, his case has languished because of a scandal that has rocked the Orange County justice system. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a federal civil rights investigation into the Orange County Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's Office. Allegations include prosecutors and sheriff's deputies withheld information and evidence from defense attorneys and used informants within the county's jails to obtain confessions and other information illegally.
Experts have said this violates an inmate's rights under the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees the right to a fair trial, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees due process of law.
“You can’t send an agent of the police to try to get information out of someone who has already invoked their privilege not to speak and [has] obtained a lawyer,” said Tony Saavedra, investigative reporter for the Orange County Register, who has covered this story for years.
But informants were placed in adjacent cells to prompt information and confessions from other inmates, which were recorded and sent to the District Attorney's Office.
"Some of them were at the jail almost making a living informing on cases," Saavedra told Take Two. "These were like pros."
Some were given special privileges like Del Taco, birthday cakes, Xbox games, and some were paid thousands of dollars for being an informant, Saavedra said.
One informant, Fernando Perez, was used in a number of cases, including Scott Dekraai's.
Dekraai's lawyer, assistant public defender Scott Sanders, recognized Perez's name from some of his other cases and was able to connect the dots that Perez was regularly being used as an informant.
“He started digging and the more he dug, the more he found," Saavedra said.
Sanders later discovered that, at times, defense attorneys would receive hundreds of pages of discovery from the informants; other times, just 10 pages. Sanders began to bring this to light in court, and in March 2015, Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals removed the Orange County District Attorney's Office from the case, sending it the state Attorney General's office.
"[Sanders] pulled on that loose thread and the whole sweater fell apart," Saavedra said.
Because of this, the Dekraai case has hung in limbo in the penalty phase.
Last week, some of the families of Dekraai's victims held a news conference calling for a life sentence for Dekraai instead of pursuing the death penalty — a cause Orange County District Attorney Rackauckas championed.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
Now, for the defense. The trial of former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca
He was once the most popular elected official in LA County, and the head of its largest law enforcement agency.
Now, former Sheriff Lee Baca is on trial, charged with obstructing justice. The case grows out of a scheme to thwart a federal investigation into brutality in the county jails that began in 2011.
Nine former Sheriff's officials have been convicted or entered guilty pleas, including Baca's number two, former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka.
Prosecutors have argued that Baca was fully aware of efforts to frustrate the federal investigation. Now his defense counsel will attempt to convince the jury in the federal trial that Baca did not know about wrong-doing by his deputies, and that his key concern was the safety and security of the jails.
Click on the blue bar above to listen to the full interview with KPCC's Frank Stoltze, who's been covering the trial.
3 reminders for defensive driving during storms
It's raining, it's pouring and man, people do not know how to drive in this weather! A headline in this morning's L.A. Times stated the rain "triples traffic crashes on L.A. area freeways."
Wet weather is such a rare occurrence here, many drivers seem to forget what to do. To serve as a reminder, Alex Cohen spoke to the corporate communications manager of the Auto Club of Southern California, Jeffrey Spring.
Here are three tips on how to drive defensively in the rain:
1. Make sure your car is prepared for the rain.
JEFFREY SPRING: Check your tires to make sure they're in good condition, both with the recommended inflation level and tread. Also, check your windshield wipers, which can dry out in warm weather. Lastly, it may sound counter-intuitive, but check your windshield washer fluid too. Oils can build up on the road because of infrequent rain storms. That oil can kick-up onto the windshield in a storm and create a sheen, so use that fluid every now and then when driving.
2. If hydroplaning occurs, don't slam on the brakes.
SPRING: The last thing you wanna do is hit your brakes really hard. Many cars are equipped with automatic braking systems, or ABS, and you really should know what kind of braking system your car has. If it has ABS, apply steady pressure to the brakes and the ABS will kick-in. If you don't have that, you want to lightly pump your brakes until you have control. Maintain a straight direction for the vehicle and allow it to slow down until you gain contact with the pavement.
3. Slow down if you run into flooding on the freeway.
SPRING: If you approach flooding on the freeway, you have to slow down so you can drive through it safely. When you get out of the flooded water. You want to test the brakes a couple of times to make sure they're still working since they could have gotten wet.
*This interview has been edited for clarity
Click the blue player above to hear the full interview
New U.S.ambassador to Israel could signal changes in familiar overseas relations
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a lawyer to be the next US ambassador to Israel.
He's David Friedman - who served as an advisor to Trump's presidential campaign.
To gauge reaction, especially within LA's Jewish community, Take Two's Sanden Totten spoke with David Myers, Professor of Jewish history at UCLA.
On what we know about David Friedman
Well, David Friedman is a New York bankruptcy lawyer who has worked with Donald Trump and the Trump organization on some of the Trump organization's bankruptcy cases in Atlantic City. He is also described by the President-elect as a long time friend. And has served as an advisor on matters relating to Israel during the campaign. We also know that he's an orthodox Jew, an observant Jew, who maintains a residence in Jerusalem. In his first statement, Mr. Friedman has said that he looks forward to working from Israel's eternal capitol, Jerusalem. Which is not the current site of the United States Embassy.
On why it's such a big deal for him to work from Jerusalem
It's very unusual for an Ambassador-designate to get out in front of everybody and calling for a shift in policy. The history is this: In 1995 the United States congress passed a law that drew from the embassy bill which called for the embassy to be relocated from Telaviv to Jerusalem. No president has acted on that for a couple of reasons. 1: There was a belief by the subsequent presidents that this was an intervention by the congressional or legislative realm and an executive decision. And 2 and more importantly: It was felt that making Jerusalem the home of the U.S. embassy would be disposing, deciding the matter of Israel's capitol when negotiations were underway between the Israelis and Palestinians over the status of Jerusalem. So every president has acted with a great prudence and not in fact implemented the congressional resolution
On how the Jewish community in LA and nation-wide feels about the President-elect
College and friends of mine are deeply concerned. We should remember that 71 percent of American Jews. 24 percent voted for Donald Trump. A large majority of American Jews were supportive of Hillary Clinton. I'd say the policies associated with Mrs. Clinton in support of a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians, a large majority of Americans support that approach... Donald Trump's recent statements and now the appointment of Mr. Friedman suggest a very significant departure from that set of policies. People in the jewish community that I'm speaking to are very concerned.
To hear the full conversation click the blue player above.
Answers have been edited for clarity.
OC fire captain's death highlights troubling firefighter suicide rate
Eric Weuve was an Orange County firefighter and a father of two. Pictures of him on Facebook show him at the movies with his daughter and boasting with pride about his son's first driving lesson.
Eric Weuve took his own life on Tuesday. The 41-year-old fire captain jumped from an overpass onto the 5 Freeway.
His death highlights a disturbing reality.
Last year, 132 U.S. firefighters committed suicide — that's more than the number who died from job-related injuries or illnesses.
Jeff Dill, a retired fire captain who founded the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance and tracks firefighter suicides, joined Take Two to discuss the problem and possible solutions.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
HighQ: What are the best marijuana stocks to invest in?
Since marijuana was legalized in California, we've been inundated with questions from listeners about what it means for them. So, each week we answer those questions and bring to you stories from the world of weed in our regular segment HighQ.
Since anyone 21 and older can legally grow up to six plants, can that person give away, or sell, their surplus to friends and/or family?
I'm not sure if you're rushing around trying to find holiday gifts, but the answer is yes, you can gift 28.5 grams of marijuana as long as it's to anyone over 21 years old. That's according to Section 11362.1 in Proposition 64. However, it's against the law to sell it without a special license.
If you're on probation in California, can you now smoke recreational marijuana?
To answer this one, I reached out to Eric Shevin, an attorney who specializes in marijuana-related law in California, as well as Jolene Forman, a staff attorney at the Drug Policy Alliance.
The whole point of probation is that you're under supervision for good behavior, so the question is: does marijuana fall under bad behavior? The answer is: it depends.
If you're on probation, you're not automatically prohibited from using cannabis. The terms of your probation are set by a judge. And that can include restrictions on whether you can consume marijuana and alcohol.
So, if you're on probation and you want to know what rules you have to follow, consult your lawyer and/or your probation officer.
What are the best marijuana stocks to invest in?
There are publicly listed companies that grow weed, make pot products and invest in marijuana-related properties. To make sense of this world, I reached out to investor Alan Brochstein, who runs 420 Investor, a service where he gives advice on investing in marijuana-related stocks.
If you want to survey the landscape, there are three places to look for cannabis-related stocks.
There are marijuana-related companies on exchanges in Canada, some of which grow and process weed.
In the United States, there's GW Pharmaceuticals on the NASDAQ. They're a pharmaceutical company out of the U.K. that manufactures cannabis-derived medicine.
And then, according to Alan, there are plenty of marijuana penny stocks, which he largely recommends that people stay away from.
He recommends that people look at companies that go beyond the plant. And that's because marijuana's still federally illegal in the U.S.
"There's always the risk — especially if you're investing in a company that actually grows, processes or sells cannabis — the assets of that company can be seized, technically. It's not super likely, but if that were to happen, you would lose your investment, but you're not going to jail and you're not going to be fined or anything like that, but you could lose your investment, so that's the risk."
So, I asked him, if you had to point people towards one sort of company that might be a good marijuana investment, what criteria would it meet?
"If you go back to the 1860s, the Gold Rush, who made the money? The people that were paying to dig the mines or the people that were digging the mines and selling the blue jeans from Levis? The picks and shovels play is what people call them."
That could include companies selling specialized fertilizers, greenhouses, or buying up real estate for marijuana operations. And it goes without saying, nothing's a sure bet. So, exercise caution.
If you don't want to invest in stocks or own your own marijuana operation but want to invest money, there are private companies taking cash.
Right now, it's difficult for marijuana businesses to raise money through banks, so they're turning to private capital.
I reached out to one investment firm here in L.A. called MedMen to see what how they were doing business. Chris Ganan, a partner and chief strategy officer at the company, said investors need at least $500,000 to work with them and that they largely invest in real estate opportunities related to marijuana. The company also has a management arm that assists people in setting up and running marijuana operations.
I would feel remiss if I didn't add this one caveat: people are always ready to take your money. There are a lot of unknowns in this industry, especially since marijuana is still illegal under federal law. So be careful.
If you've got a question that you'd like me to answer you can tweet at me or leave me a message at (929) 344-1948.
Series: High-Q: Your California pot questions answered
This story is part of Take Two's look at the burgeoning, multi-billion dollar marijuana industry in California, with audience Q&As, explorations of personal narratives and an examination of how the industry is changing the world around our audience.
Read more in this series and call or text us your questions at (929) 344-1948 or
Abuse-deterrent formulation drugs: can they impede the opioid crisis?
Since 2000, opioid pain medications have been involved in the deaths of more than 165,000 Americans.
There are no easy answers when it comes to dealing with this crisis, but some drug companies believe that new versions of these drugs could play a big part.
Now they're trying to spread that message to regulators and lawmakers.
Associated Press reporter Geoff Mulvihill and Liz Essley Whyte of the Center for Public Integrity have spent most of this year poring over hundreds of documents and lobbying data spanning the last decade. They spoke to Alex Cohen for more.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
Volunteers comb deserts along the border for missing migrants
Every year, thousands of people attempt to enter the United States illegally through the deserts of California, Arizona and Texas.
It's a hazardous journey, and it's only getting more deadly.
Heat and dehydration, scorpions and snakes — and border security, like fences and walls — force migrants and drug smugglers to share the same paths north.
There's another group on those paths too. They're called the Aguilas Del Desierto, or Eagles of the Desert.
It's a group of volunteers who search for missing migrants, or help families recover the bodies of their loved ones. Many of them started volunteering after a friend or family member went missing.
The Aguilas often start their search with tips that are passed along from coyotes, or human smugglers.
Jean Guerrero, Fronteras reporter for KPBS in San Diego, joined the Aguilas as they searched for a young man who went missing in the Arizona desert. They followed the directions in a text apparently sent by a drug smuggler using the man's phone. She produced a four-part series on the Aguilas and spoke with Sanden Totten about shadowing the team on a 100-degree day in Arizona, in search of the missing man.
Immigration groups estimate as many as 10,000 people have died in the years since border security was ramped up in 1994 under Operation Gatekeeper.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
Dreaming of a white Christmas? Winter Fest 2016 has you covered
If you want a little snow, but don't want to worry about putting chains on your car, here's another idea: Winter Fest 2016 in Orange County, which starts today.
The festival, which will last until New Year's Day is at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa. There's food, rides, reindeer and yes, real snow.
Kim Coutts, an organizer with Mirage Entertainment, which puts on the event spoke to Sanden Totten today about what patrons can expect from the festival this year.
Click the blue player above to hear the interview
Increasing computer efficiency
This week the California Energy Commission approved the nation’s first computer related energy standards.
The new rules are aimed to reduce the energy used by laptops and desktops ... a somewhat surprising energy waster.
We’ll talk about it with Pierre Delforge, Director of High Tech Sector Energy Efficiency, Energy & Transportation with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County exhibit features rarest colorful diamonds
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opens a new special exhibit today.
Diamonds: Rare Brilliance features the world's rarest colorful diamonds and explores the science behind the exceptional, million-year-old gems.
Museum visitors can see the exhibit with the price of a general admission ticket until March 19, 2017.
Take Two's Alex Cohen spoke with Aaron Celestian, Associate Curator of Mineralogy at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.