Santa Clara County Crime & Justice Digest

A new select committee in the California Assembly dedicated to retail theft will hold its first hearing on Dec. 19. This allows the committee to get to work before the next legislative session on an issue that’s drawn much press for California in recent years.

Hunter Biden, a Malibu resident, is facing nine tax-related charges between the years of 2016 and 2019. It is the second criminal indictment for the son of President Biden, aside from a pending firearms case.

A dog trainer who allegedly attempted to substitute a Palo Alto resident's German shepherd with another dog after failing to return the pet to its owner will face charges, the Palo Alto Police Department has confirmed.

California’s “failure to protect” law allows child welfare agencies to take kids from households scarred by domestic violence. Advocates say the separation can worsen a family’s trauma.

Hackers stole data this week from Blue Shield of California. Historically, this type of data has sometimes wound up for sale on what’s known as the dark web, the part of the internet not typically included in search engine results.

A member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has asked that the county wait until 2025 to implement pending state policy around conservatorships. The policy, which goes into effect Jan. 1, makes people suffering from severe addiction eligible to receive conservatorships.

More than three weeks after a San Jose cop resigned following discovery of his racist text messages, police and city officials have yet to name who he was texting with.

Two people in the Los Angeles area have been arrested for stealing $9.5 million worth of electronics, shoes and other items. This comes on the heels of a successful raid where the CHP recovered $9 million more of stolen merchandise.

Federal agents seized $9 million worth of cryptocurrency linked to a cyber scam organization that has exploited more than 70 victims, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said.

A Palo Alto police officer who slammed a man into a car windshield during a 2018 arrest at Buena Vista Mobile Home Park pleaded guilty to the assault.

Families of people in jail or prison sometimes pay exorbitant amounts to accept phone calls from their incarcerated loved ones. Starting Dec. 1, these calls will be free in Los Angeles County.

Santa Clara County has agreed to a $90,000 settlement with a Muslim woman who said her hijab was inappropriately removed when she was being booked into jail last year.

David DePape had originally targeted Pelosi’s wife, Rep. Nancy Pelosi. He was convicted in federal court on Nov. 16 and still faces state charges.

Ana de Alba, a first-generation Mexican-American who is the daughter of farmworkers, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Alba was confirmed by a 48-43 vote.

A reporter visiting San Francisco from the Czech Republic was held at gunpoint and robbed of $18,000 of equipment. This comes at a time the city has been battling a reputation for being crime-ridden and dangerous.

David DePape admitted during cross-examination both that he attacked Paul Pelosi and that he knew who Pelosi’s wife was, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Center for Food Safety has filed arguments seeking to revoke the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of nationwide permit 56, which authorizes industrial finfish aquaculture structures in ocean waters around the country. CFS represents a coalition of conservation, tribal, and fishing organizations.

Miguel Solorio, 44, has been exonerated for a murder he didn’t commit, with a judge ordering his release from incarceration after 25 years. Solorio worked with attorneys from the Northern California Innocence Project for his freedom.

Some venues in the San Diego area rely on paying workers under the table in cash, for rates that work out below minimum wage, an investigation by Voice of San Diego has found.

An evaluation of 34 adult prisons in California by the Office of the Inspector General found that 11 provided inadequate medical care and 23 provided adequate care. None were deemed proficient, the top designation.

The San Jose Police Department will be getting more military-grade equipment, including projectile launchers that have been at the center of costly lawsuits. But some local community groups are strongly opposed to the purchases.

Santa Clara County now files the second-highest number of gun-violence restraining orders in the state, with cases involving people known to be armed and threatening themselves and others. But an array of court fights could upend the legal foundation for red-flag laws.

One of the few areas the Supreme Court has agreed on in recent years is free speech. Now, the high court will decide if protections extend to a woman who sued after being cited in 2017 for honking 14 times as she drove by a political protest.

A news report digging into police misconduct records found that a Mountain View officer was disciplined for social media posts that the department found discriminatory.

Prison Policy Initiative released a new report that delves into the sheer magnitude of criminalization in the U.S., where reliance on incarceration outpaces most of the globe.

An organized crew hit The RealReal in downtown Palo Alto and stole jewelry and designer handbags worth more than $50,000, police said.

City policymakers launched a new police team to stop retail theft after seeing a 25% spike in the crime from 2021 to 2022.

More than 40 states are suing the social media giant. The legal actions allege that Meta has deceived the public about the harms of Facebook and Instagram, which the attorneys general say “exploit and manipulate” children.

Drawing on violence in the Middle East, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on Saturday doubled down on a promise to bolster public safety by hiring more police, holding repeat offenders accountable and cracking down on drugs during his first formal address.

San Jose’s interim independent police auditor does not want to expand oversight powers to bolster investigations into police misconduct, despite previously saying she was in favor of doing just that.

Stanford police have been hacked, and their network remains down, a university spokesman confirmed.

A pilot program developed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney, county office of pretrial services,  sheriff's department and the San Jose Police Department will amend a form officers use when when booking someone arrested for a crime.