Navy officer who’d been jailed in Japan over deadly crash now released from US custody, family says

• January 13, 2024

By ERIC TUCKER

The Associated Press

A Navy officer who had been jailed in Japan over a car crash that killed two Japanese citizens was released from U.S. custody on Friday, one month after he was returned to the United States and placed in a federal prison, his family said.

Lt. Ridge Alkonis was ordered released by the U.S. Parole Commission, according to the Justice Department and a family statement that described the extra detention in a Los Angeles detention facility as “unnecessary.” In total, he spent 537 days locked up either in Japan or the U.S.

“He is now back home with his family, where he belongs. We will have more to say in time, but for now, we are focused on welcoming Ridge home and respectfully ask for privacy,” the statement said. Alkonis’s family is from Dana Point.

The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed in a separate statement that he had been released.

Alkonis was released from Japanese custody last month while serving a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the negligent driving deaths of a woman and her son-in-law in May 2021. Alkonis’ family has said the crash was an accident that was caused when he lost consciousness while on a trip to Mount Fuji. Japanese prosecutors maintained that he fell asleep while drowsy and shirked a duty to pull over as he became fatigued.

He was transferred in December into the custody of the Bureau of Prisons through a Justice Department program that permits the relocation of prisoners convicted in another country back to their home nation. The program stipulates that the sentence cannot be longer than the one imposed by the foreign government.

His family said no prison time was appropriate and protested the detention in Los Angeles.

The Parole Commission, which determines the release dates in the case of returning Americans, said that it had concluded that Alkonis was lawfully convicted in Japan of negligent driving causing death or injury and that the conviction was most similar in the U.S. criminal code to involuntary manslaughter.

But though U.S. sentencing guidelines recommended that a sentence of 10 to 16 months be served if Alkonis had been convicted of the same crime in the U.S., the Parole Commission also determined that the amount of time he had already been jailed would have exceeded the applicable guideline range.

“Thus, as of Jan. 12, 2024, the commission ordered that he be immediately released from custody based on the time he had already served,” the Parole Commission said in a statement.

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​ Orange County Register 

Biden administration asks Supreme Court to tell Texas to stop blocking US border agents from patrols

• January 13, 2024

By VALERIE GONZALEZ

McALLEN, Texas — The Justice Department on Friday asked the Supreme Court to order Texas to stop blocking Border Patrol agents from a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border where large numbers of migrants have crossed in recent months, setting up another showdown between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over immigration enforcement.

The request comes after Texas put up fencing to take control of a nearly 50-acre public park along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, which was a crossing point for thousands of migrants entering from Mexico last year. Although a similar power struggle played out in the same region more than a year ago, the area Texas closed off this week prevents federal agents from accessing a larger and more visible crossing spot.

Along one stretch, armed Texas National Guard members and their vehicles are preventing Border Patrol agents from accessing the river, the Justice Department said in court filing. The Texas National Guard also allegedly used a military Humvee to keep Border Patrol agents off an access road.

“Because Border Patrol can no longer access or view this stretch of the border, Texas has effectively prevented Border Patrol from monitoring the border,” the Justice Department wrote in a filing.

FILE – Texas troopers stand near a “No Trespassing” sign and concertina wire along the banks of the Rio Grande at Shelby Park, Aug. 1, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. The mayor of Eagle Pass, a Texas border city that’s at the center of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s aggressive measures to curb migrant crossings, accused the state Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, of a new escalation, saying state troopers closed Shelby Park without asking permission. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Abbott told reporters that Texas has the authority to control access to any geographic location in the state.

“That authority is being asserted,” Abbott said.

The closure of Shelby Park was an escalation of the governor’s border enforcement efforts known as Operation Lone Star. The state and federal government are involved in multiple legal disputes over actions Texas has taken since 2023, including the use of buoys in the middle of the international river, the installment of razor wire, and an upcoming law that will allow police to arrest migrants.

Abbott defended closing off the park as he faced backlash from Democrats for telling conservative radio host Dana Loesch last week that Texas has done everything to curb illegal crossings short of shooting people. Loesch had asked Abbott how far Texas could go on the border before someone might arrest him.

“The only thing that we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border because of course the Biden administration would charge us with murder,” he said as he discussed a New York City lawsuit against charter bus companies that he has used to transport migrants from Texas.

Mexico’s foreign relations secretary denounced Abbott’s comments, saying they could lead to violence and are dehumanizing to migrants.

FILE – Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas, left, listens to Kayak outfitter Jessie Fuentes, right, during a city council meeting in Eagle Pass, Texas, July 6, 2023. The mayor of Eagle Pass, a Texas border city that’s at the center of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s aggressive measures to curb migrant crossings, accused the state Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, of a new escalation, saying state troopers closed a large public park along the Rio Grande without asking permission. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

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On Friday, Abbott said he was making a distinction of what Texas can and cannot do on the border. “I was asked to point out where the line is drawn about what would be illegal and I pointed out something that is obviously illegal,” he said.

Texas notified the Eagle Pass government on Wednesday that the Department of Public Safety would be closing public access to Shelby Park.

Concern grew when Border Patrol noted it, too, lost access to the park, which agents use to launch boats into the Rio Grande. The area also served as a staging area where federal officers would take migrants into custody and process them. The Border Patrol’s access to the site for surveillance was similarly curtailed.

The Justice Department’s emergency request to the Supreme Court says agents no longer have access to a 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) stretch of the border in the region. The filing was made as part of the U.S. government’s lawsuit over the concertina wire the state installed along roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) near Eagle Pass.

The union for Border Patrol agents, the National Border Patrol Council, praised the state’s move.

“By taking control of an area where so many illegal aliens are simply surrendering, he’s freeing up BP agents to patrol areas with high numbers of illegal aliens who attempt to escape arrest,” the union said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In 2022, a Texas pecan farm got caught in a similar dispute between Abbott and the Biden administration when the Texas Department of Public Safety moved in without the landowner’s consent and revoked a lease between the landowner and Border Patrol.

The state’s policies have been called into question not only by outside critics but internally when a trooper’s account over denying water and urgent medical care made headlines in July.

Associated Press reporter Acacia Coronado contributed from Austin, Texas.

​ Orange County Register 

Celebrating OC’s inaugural Hall of Fame class

• January 13, 2024

Before Gwen Stefani entertained the world, she was just a girl in an Anaheim ska band; before Greg Louganis started collecting gold medals, he was diving into the Santa Ana College pool; and before Amanda Beard broke a world record in the Olympics she spent long days in an Irvine pool.

For the achievements these three and seven other Orange County greats went on to make, they were inducted Friday as the inaugural class of the OC Hall of Fame in a ceremony hosted by the OC Board of Supervisors. Friends and family gathered with county leaders for the celebrations as they accepted their plaques and posed for pictures, including country star Blake Shelton, Stefani’s husband.

“I grew up on a cul de sac in westside Anaheim, across the street from a strawberry field and Tom’s Farm’s market. My entire world was between Euclid Street and Harvard Boulevard,” Stefani said in her acceptance speech before the audience gathered in a hearing room usually used for government meetings.

“Orange County is where my dreams were born and the foundation that shaped my life. Anaheim, California is my roots,” she said. “It’s my culture, and I’ve never left Anaheim behind. It’s always been with me. I’ve been able to share it with the world through my songs, through my style, and I’ve always had such pride and gratitude from where I’ve come from.”

Orange County is known for many things including its universities, sports teams, beaches and a thriving business community, Third District Supervisor Don Wagner said, all of which has been made possible by innovative leaders in the community.

“Orange County has been home to renowned scientists, actors, musicians, philanthropists, engineers, builders, athletes, soldiers, civic leaders, educators, innovators and so many more,” Wagner said during his opening remarks Friday. “They are decorated individuals, and the Orange County Hall of Fame was established to honor the world-changing contributions from those leaders across five categories of achievement: music, arts and entertainment, sports, indigenous, philanthropy, and civics.”

Beard, Louganis and Stefani attended the ceremony Friday along with fellow inductee Frank Jao, a developer and owner of Asian Garden Mall and leader in the Little Saigon community. Bill Medley, who rose to fame as one-half of The Righteous Brothers, recorded a video for the ceremony.

Also inducted were the late LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant,  professional golfer Tiger Woods, Walt Disney, Gen. William Lyon, an Air Force major general who became a leading housing developer in the county, and Henry Segerstrom, developer of South Coast Plaza and a local philanthropist.

Family members of Disney, Lyon and Segerstrom accepted the honor on behalf of their loved one.

“A quick thing about my father is – he wouldn’t have said it about himself, but I’m going to – he would describe certain people as doers and he was definitely a doer,” Bill H. Lyon said. “He had many careers, enough for several lifetimes. He loved getting involved. Loved making things happen. I think that’s what this whole thing was about. Very proud of him and very thankful for the honor.”

Louganis said he was reminded of messages he hears from young people who look up to him, thinking of the people who share they are bullied for the color of their skin or sexual or gender identity, as well as those who have shared they are HIV positive.

“They point to me and say, ‘You’re my hero.’ My response to them is, ‘Be your own hero,’” Louganis said. “Use me as a benchmark to inspire you, but go beyond me. I want to see my records broken.”

From here on out, a Hall of Fame Ad Hoc Committee will be created each year by the Board of Supervisors to choose the next 10 inductees. Supervisors will nominate five individuals or businesses that have a minimum of 10 years as a resident or business owner in the county and had one major life experience or won a big award in Orange County or have been a civic leader.

“The Orange County Hall of Fame serves as a reminder that Orange County’s trailblazers shape our nation’s history, culture, and economy,” Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley said. “I look forward to sharing the stories of more great leaders with roots in our extraordinary communities.”

The Hall of Fame plaques will be installed in the lobby of the county administration offices for the community’s viewing. Wagner also invited the public to share the names of folks they would like to be considered for next year’s induction.

“I ask all of Orange County, let us know who comes next. Email, call,” Wagner said. “We do look forward to next year, and I hope all of you do, too.”

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​ Orange County Register 

UCLA football hires new quarterbacks and defensive line coaches

• January 12, 2024

UCLA coach Chip Kelly announced the hiring of Billy Fessler and Tony Washington Jr. to his staff Friday.

Fessler was named as UCLA’s new quarterbacks coach after serving as Akron’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Joe Moorehead’s staff in 2023.

Akron’s offense averaged 18.5 points and 287.2 yards per game in 2023. Fessler joined the Akron program in 2022 after spending two seasons on the Ohio State coaching staff in 2020 and 2022 as an offensive graduate assistant on Ryan Day’s staff.

Fessler is no stranger to the Big Ten Conference, having played quarterback at Penn State from 2014-18. He replaces Ryan Gunderson, who left Westwood to become Oregon State’s offensive coordinator.

Washington is the new outside linebackers and defensive line coach. He was most recently an assistant coach working with the outside linebackers at Oregon for the past year. He’s also worked as a assistant defensive line coach and the director of player development at his alma mater.

Washington starred at Los Osos High in Rancho Cucamonga before playing for the Ducks from 2010-2015. He was named the Rose Bowl Game defensive MVP in 2015.

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After college, he played for the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans. He started his coaching career at Nebraska as a graduate assistant.

Ikaika Malloe was previously the defensive line and outside linebacker coach for the past two seasons before Kelly promoted Malloe to defensive coordinator earlier this month.

The terms for Fessler and Washington’s deal were not disclosed.

​ Orange County Register 

MLK weekend: A few things you may not know about Martin Luther King Jr.

• January 12, 2024

1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 95 on Jan. 15.

“But traces of bigotry still mar America. So, each year on Martin Luther King Day, let us not only recall Dr. King, but rededicate ourselves to the commandments he believed in and sought to live every day: Thou shall love thy God with all thy heart, and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.”

– President Ronald Reagan in a 1983 speech before he signed the bill making the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday. The holiday was first observed in 1986 and not officially observed in all 50 states until 2000.

George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Cesar Chavez are the only other Americans to have had their birthdays observed as a national holiday.

A few other notables:

Birth name

King was born Michael King Jr. on Jan. 15, 1929. In 1934, his father, a pastor, traveled to Germany and became inspired by Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther. As a result, King Sr. changed his own name as well as that of his 5-year-old son.

First attempt on his life

On Sept. 20, 1958, King was in Harlem signing copies of his new book, “Stride Toward Freedom,” in Blumstein’s department store when he was approached by Izola Ware Curry. The woman asked if he was Martin Luther King Jr. After he said yes, Curry said, “I’ve been looking for you for five years,” and she plunged a 7-inch letter opener into his chest. Surgeons later told King that just one sneeze could have punctured the aorta and killed him. King issued a statement affirming his nonviolent principles saying he felt no ill will toward his mentally ill attacker.

Worker’s rights

King had come to Memphis in April 1968 to support the strike of the city’s Black garbage workers, and in a speech on the night before his assassination, he told an audience at Mason Temple Church: “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life.”

His mother was assassinated, too

On June 30, 1974, as 69-year-old Alberta Williams King played the organ at a Sunday service inside Ebenezer Baptist Church, Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr. rose from the front pew, drew two pistols and began to fire shots. One of the bullets struck and killed King, who died steps from where her son had preached nonviolence.

National Civil Rights Museum

The Lorraine Motel where James Earl Ray assassinated King on April 4, 1968, is a complex of museums that trace the civil rights movement in the U.S. from the 17th century to the present.

You can learn more about the National Civil Rights Museum here.

The King Center in Atlanta, founded in 1968 has many online resources here.

Building the National Monument

You can learn more about the MLK National Monument here.

U.S. views on racism

An October 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center shows that overall, about two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) say that when it comes to racism against Black people in our country today, racism by individual people is a bigger problem than racism in our laws.

Percentage who say that, when it comes to racism against Black people in our country today, the bigger problem is …

You can find the August 2022, Pew Research Center story “Black Americans Have a Clear Vision for Reducing Racism but Little Hope It Will Happen” here.

Sources: History.com,The Pew Research Center, The Associated Press, Gallup, CNN, Time, The American Presidency Project, UCSB, The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Margarita football adds St. John Bosco’s Max Amasio to group of recent transfers

• January 12, 2024

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The group of football transfers joining Santa Margarita added its most notable name yet Friday with the confirmed arrival of defensive lineman Max Amasio from St. John Bosco.

The junior, who earned first-team All-Trinity League honors in the fall, said he has enrolled at Santa Margarita.

Amasio (5-11, 255) led St. John Bosco with 14 sacks and finished sixth in total tackles with 61.

Amasio was selected defensive player of the year for the regular season by the Trinity League Football Podcast. He played especially well in the Braves’ 28-0 win against Mater Dei in the teams’ Trinity League showdown.

Santa Margarita, coming off a 5-6 record in the fall, has added several other transfers since the season ended.

Two Mater Dei sophomores, wide receiver Jonah Smith (6-1, 172) and defensive back Jayden Crowder (5-10, 160), have confirmed their enrollment at Santa Margarita.

Smith, a second-team all-league selection, had 27 receptions for 363 yards and eight TDs last season to help Mater Dei capture CIF-SS Division 1, state and national championships. His eight touchdown receptions ranked second on the team.

Crowder had an interception and blocked two field goals.

Los Alamitos sophomore linebacker Ivrick Carrigan (5-11, 205) also confirmed his enrollment at Santa Margarita. He was a first-team All-Sunset League selection in the fall after racking up 79 total tackles and 10 pass breakups for the league champion Griffins.

Xavier Prep junior offensive lineman Elijah Vaikona (6-8, 345) also confirmed his enrollment at Santa Margarita. He started classes at the school Monday.

St. John Bosco has added Servite wide receiver Ethan Naudin (6-1, 185). The junior confirmed this week that he has enrolled at the reigning league champion.

Naudin finished last season with 19 catches for 455 yards (23.9 yards per reception) and three TDs for the Division 2 runner-up Friars.

Please send football news to Dan Albano at [email protected] or @ocvarsityguy on X and Instagram

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​ Orange County Register 

UCLA football breakdown: How the Bruins look at defensive line

• January 12, 2024

Newly promoted defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe played a significant role in bringing edge rushers Laiatu Latu and Gabriel and Grayson Murphy to Westwood, helping make the defensive line a strength for UCLA over the past two seasons.

Latu had 13 sacks for UCLA in 2023, which ranked third on the program’s all-time list for a single season, tying him with Carnell Lake (1987). Latu also recorded 49 total tackles (21.5 TFL), two forced fumbles and two interceptions in 12 games played.

Latu has been projected as a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft. The edge rusher won the Lombardi Award, recognizing college football’s most outstanding lineman, and the Ted Hendricks Award, for the sports’ top defensive end, for his performance throughout the 2023 season. He was also voted as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

The Murphy twins decided to forgo their remaining eligibility and also declared for the draft.

The Bruins finished as a top-10 defense this past season, allowing 301.5 yards per game. The defensive line also helped produce a solid rush defense that ranked second in the country after allowing just 80.5 yards per game.

Carl Jones Jr. is also expected to be finished with the program after playing several defensive positions during his five years in Westwood but mostly outside linebacker in his later years. He started four of the 13 games he played this season and finished with 39 tackles (5.5 TFL), two sacks and a fumble recovery.

There’s still some level of uncertainty on how the Bruins will manage to make up the same level of production.

The position group will be tested going forward after it loses most of its experienced players. Defensive lineman Jay Toia is expected to return and will bring a level of consistency and serve as an anchor for the defense. He finished with 28 tackles (four TFL), one sack and forced a fumble in 12 games played in 2023.

The Bruins announced the hiring of Tony Washington Jr. as the new defensive line and outside linebackers coach Friday.

Here’s a full breakdown of UCLA’s offensive line entering spring ball, the fourth in a six-part series by the Southern California News Group examining the post-portal outlook for every part of the roster.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Returning: Jr. DL Jay Toia, Sr. DL Gary Smith III, R-Jr. DL Choé Bryant-Strother, R-So. DL Keanu Williams, Fr. DL Grant Buckey

Arriving: Sr. DL Jacob Busic (transfer, Navy), Fr. DL Collins Acheampong (transfer, Miami)

Departing: Sr. DL Laiatu Latu (NFL draft), R-Jr. DL Gabriel Murphy (NFL draft), R-Jr. DL Grayson Murphy (NFL draft), R-Sr. DL Carl Jones Jr. (5th-year player), R-Sr. Jake Heimlicher (sixth-year player)

TOP QUESTION

Why didn’t the Bruins sign any high school defensive linemen in the 2024 recruiting class? The Bruins emphasized offense during this recruiting cycle, especially with three of 10 recruits being offensive linemen. The Bruins have started to address the need to reload the defensive line, with Acheampong and Busic, through the transfer portal.

Busic’s arrival in Westwood reunites him with former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo. Busic spent four years with the Midshipmen and was a captain this past season. He was denied a fifth year of eligibility at Navy, which led to his decision to enter the transfer portal.

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THE GROUP X-FACTOR

Acheampong was ranked as a four-star prospect by 247sports as a member of the 2023 class coming out of Santa Margarita High before signing with the University of Miami. The 6-foot-7, 270-pound edge rusher spent just one season with the Hurricanes and didn’t see the field. Acheampong had familiarity with coach Chip Kelly and UCLA from his high school recruiting process. If Acheampong can impress the coaching staff throughout the spring and training camp, there’s potential that he could see some playing time this season as he settles in as a promising player for the future.

​ Orange County Register 

LAPD Chief Michel Moore to step down at the end of February

• January 12, 2024

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore will retire at the end of February, Mayor Karen Bass said Friday.

Moore has served as LAPD chief since his appointment by former Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2018.

In tearful remarks at City Hall, Moore said he was stepping down to spend more time with his family. He previously had announced his intention not to serve his entire second term after he was re-appointed by Bass.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

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​ Orange County Register