Turf war between federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and California’s Civil Rights Department

• April 27, 2023

California is at war with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This fight has nothing to do with a misbehaving big business or a tech titan. Rather, it’s a bureaucratic turf war caused by the state’s Civil Rights Department (CRD).  

The CRD, known until about nine months ago as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, is straightforwardly tasked with enforcing the state’s civil rights laws. Despite the benevolent name and mission, it’s better known as a rogue agency, more focused on media attention and agitation against big companies, including Cisco, Disney, Riot Games, and Tesla. 

Case in point: The present turf war with the feds, triggered by CRD’s decision to step between Activision Blizzard, a video game company, and the EEOC. Several years ago, the company had reached an agreement with the EEOC to pay $18 million to settle claims that its employees had been subjected to sexual harassment and other workplace violations of federal law. 

But before the terms of a September 2021 consent decree could be carried out, the California CRD hired two outside law firms and stepped into the legal fray, claiming it was better positioned than the EEOC to pursue relief for California victims. 

Movies and television typically show the FBI or some other federal agency swooping in and stealing investigations from the local authorities. Reality, at least in this instance, is somewhat different. 

Stung by the CRD’s aggressive tactics, Activision fought back, filing a lawsuit in December against the department to stop its “unlawful efforts to hide its media assault on the Company and the Company’s court-approved settlement with the” EEOC. The lawsuit also alleges the CRD “​​deliberately unleashed a hurricane of hostile media coverage against [Activision] based on malicious and knowingly false assertions” and “worked with activists who contributed to the CRD’s media war.”

The Activision suit says this is part of a pattern in which the CRD follows a “deliberate strategy” when it brings “cases against companies across California.” It further alleges that the CRD and its employees, including Director Kevin Kish and its then-Chief Counsel Janette Wipper, who was subsequently fired, engaged in a systemic campaign to “overwhelm” the company through “off-the-record media briefing” and leaks. 

All of it was in violation of the CRD’s own stated “policy not to speak to the media about ongoing matters.”

An amicus brief filed in federal court before the state lawsuit was brought complains that the CRD’s effort to crash Activision’s federal settlements directly interferes “with the policies promoted by Title VII” of the Civil Rights Act – which makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against someone because of their race, color, religion, sex or national origin – and that “it is not the desire to prevent discrimination that animates CRD’s appeal.” 

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The CRD even “admits that it also has its own interest at heart,” the brief contends—and the interests of its legal partners. Unlike the EEOC, which used staff attorneys to pursue the case, “CRD has retained private law firms that regularly pursue class actions on a contingency basis to obtain large fee awards.”

The attorneys at those private firms are among what journalist Matt Taibbi has called the “Lawyers Who Ate California.” In a withering multi-part series that touches on the CRD dispute, Taibbi chronicled one “​​of the bitterest bureaucratic turf wars this country has seen.” Taibbi marvels that, as recently as 2017, the CRD “was an agency with traditionally more modest aims, a bane of slumlords and strip club owners that took thousands of calls a year and litigated only in the rarest of cases.” But it soon became a reckless enterprise.

The Civil Rights Department is not the only governmental authority in California that sees businesses as deep wells of dollars to be taxed and fined or regulated into submission. Companies have noticed this and have been fleeing for years to states where the business environment is less hostile. The flight will continue until the CRD and other agents of government “service” are pulled back by policymakers who have noticed the California model is failing.

Kerry Jackson is a freelance writer living in California. He was an editorial writer at Investor’s Business Daily for 18 years.

​ Orange County Register 

Dwayne Wade, who has trans daughter, says he left Florida because family ‘would not be accepted’

• April 27, 2023

Former NBA star Dwayne Wade has discussed his family’s decision to leave the state of Florida, which he hinted at being due to the current political climate around transgender policies.

Wade’s conversation will air Thursday on “Headliners with Rachel Nichols,” Showtime’s new talk show that centers around the reporter’s meetings with top NBA figures.

Wade was asked about Florida politicians who stand against LGBTQ policies, and how the situation affects families like his own. In 2020, Wade’s 15-year-old daughter Zaya came out as transgender.

Here’s what Dwyane Wade said on Headliners when I asked him about anti-LGBTQ laws in Florida: “That’s another reason why I don’t live in that state. A lot of people don’t know that…my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there.” pic.twitter.com/1ya0AevA1C

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 26, 2023

“That’s another reason why I don’t live in that state,” Wade told Nichols in a clip shared with People Magazine. “A lot of people don’t know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”

The former Miami Heat player, 41, said that he does appreciate the tax incentives in the state, as well as the fact that Miami-Dade County was temporarily renamed “Miami-Wade County” in his honor.

But the positives don’t outweigh the negatives for Wade, who said, “My family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there. And so that’s one of the reasons why I don’t live there.”

Wade also discussed how he models his fathering style after his own dad, whom he described accepting of all his sons in addition to others in their community when he was growing up.

“And so I don’t know any difference,” Wade added. “And so yes, I had to educate myself and yes, I had to get a better understanding. And yes, I had to lose some friends along the process, but I never wavered on loving my kids and trying to find space to get the chance to understand them.”

Wade, who’s married to actress Gabrielle Union, is also father to a 4-year old daughter, Kaavia, 8-year-old son, Xavier Zechariah and 20-year-old son, Zaire.

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​ Orange County Register 

Crystal Cove’s latest restoration focuses on past, but also a future facing climate change

• April 27, 2023

Crystal Cove’s historic cottages on the sand tell a story about the coastline’s past – a California architectural style unique to decades ago, tales of a close-knit community sprouted from a post-war era and a history so important that tens of millions of dollars have been spent to preserve the small slice of coastal heaven.

The nonprofit Crystal Cove Conservancy is making headway on a $55 million project to restore the last cottages needing preservation along the north end of the 2.3-acre Crystal Cove Historic District, with five new units expected to be open in coming weeks.

Along with the painstaking detail going into preserving the past, much thought has also been given to the future of the cottages – from building to ensure they can withstand future climate challenges to educating a new generation of engineers to document and plan for rising seas.

“Crystal Cove is a unique State Park in California because it is a place where we can contemplate the challenges of balancing environmental needs against cultural needs, against today’s recreational needs,” said Brett Sanders, a UC Irvine professor of civil and environmental engineering. “And realize that it’s not going to be easy.”

For decades, the beachfront community known as “coveites” enjoyed a laid-back lifestyle living in a cobbled together collection of cottages, many built from wood that washed ashore, having Saturday night martini parties, beach bonfires and eating fresh fish and abalone plucked straight from the sea.

Today, the first of the restored cottages are used for a mix of educational programs and overnight stays – they are the most sought after in the State Parks system. And 17 more are now undergoing a massive makeover, with details down to the doorknobs reflecting the time period they were built between the ’30s and ’50s.

Planning for the future

As work is underway to preserve the area’s past, much has also been done to plan for the area’s future.

Kate Wheeler, president and CEO of the Crystal Cove Conservancy, talked about the long journey to restore the North Beach cottages, saying the California Coastal Commission “put us through the paces,” partly to ensure the area could withstand future sea-level rise.

The 650-foot-long boardwalk that fronts the first row of cottages was the biggest hurdle, needing to be built in a way so it didn’t act like a seawall, which could contribute to coastal erosion.

“We had to go back and redo the engineering plans,” Wheeler said. “Through that process, that’s where this coastal engineering project with UCI was born and we started working with the school of engineering.”

The entire project, the Coastal Commission said, had to withstand the levels of sea level rise expected by 2050.

“For $55 million,” Wheeler said, “I really want these to be standing after 2050.”

Instead of a boardwalk that would block the ocean, the wooden walkway was lifted with several caissons drilled down into the bedrock so water could naturally slope under it.

By contrast, the cottage on the opposite side of the beach, which was used in the ’80s Bette Midler movie “Beaches,” has a seawall in front that has impacted the adjacent beach, Wheeler said.

“When we have storms, we lose a ton of sand,” she said. “If you walk to the boardwalk, we don’t see that sand loss. It’s a great illustration project.”

Other considerations put in place: some of the cottages had to be lifted higher than they once were to be out of the ocean’s future potential pathway and retaining walls were built to withstand possible cliff erosion.

Part of the Crystal Cove permit hinged on adding an environmental educational component, with a $1 million endowment from the state specifically tied to creating a dorm out of one of the cottages that will be set aside for at least 36 nights annually for a coastal engineering and research program.

UCI School of Engineering Dean Magnus Egerstedt recalled showing up for breakfast at the Beachcomber Café a few years back as he was being recruited to the school from Georgia Tech in Atlanta, the only one wearing a suit and tie to the beach.

Egerstedt, like countless others who have soaked in the Crystal Cove scenery, said he instantly fell in love with the area.

“Crystal Cove is a beautiful canvas,” he said. “As far as classrooms go, Crystal Cove is the most inspirational, glorious classroom.”

But for Egerstedt, a roboticist who created “slothbots” that use mobile sensors to take measurements, it’s not just about the beautiful views, working with the conservancy has been an opportunity to study what is happening in the coastal environment, in order to protect it for the future.

Wheeler envisions programs for kindergartners through college seniors, the younger students studying everything from plastics pollution to tidepools, the older students focusing on coastal dynamics programs, she said. And some will be able to enjoy a two-night, three-day experience staying in a 11-bed dorm being made out of one of the cottages, which is expected to open within the next two years.

“The hope is to see it as a partnership, the kids are helping with live, real research projects,” Egerstedt said. “It’s part education and data collection, but to contribute to push the frontiers of human knowledge.”

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A paradise to be shared
More cottage rentals at Crystal Cove?
Sneak peek at additional Crystal Cove cottages being restored for overnight stays

Sanders, an expert on coastal erosion and climate change issues facing the California coast, has been working with Crystal Cove Conservancy for six years to develop the first-of-its-kind curriculum, used already the past two years by hundreds of Orange County high schoolers, many from underserved communities.

“At first, the conservancy was interested in the fact they were building new structures right against the ocean, potentially affected by sea level rise,” he said, “and they were interested in a program that could perhaps help designers of buildings and structures (by) collecting data of what was happening to the structures and coast over time.”

But Sanders said he also saw an opportunity to broaden that idea to educational programs studying the changing complexities of the coastline.

“Climate change is clearly one of the most important issues we face today,” he said, “and the coast presents a really outstanding natural laboratory to teach differences between climate change, the long-term change, and change that happens on a monthly and yearly basis, so that we can have a public that is more literate when addressing the coastal challenges we face today.”

The Coastal Dynamics initiative allows students visiting from around Southern California – some who have never been to the beach – to learn measuring techniques for beach surveys to document sand height and width at a given time, tracking erosion levels.

“We build a long-term data set of beach change,” Sanders said. “So every class that comes adds another layer of data.”

Students learn how to upload the data into a computer program to help catalog the changes that occur over time.

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A paradise to be shared
More cottage rentals at Crystal Cove?
Sneak peek at additional Crystal Cove cottages being restored for overnight stays

The curriculum pairs with environmental science classes and is part of the state’s “next generation science standards,” Sanders said.

The hope is that students discover a passion for coastal engineering and want to use their knowledge toward a career path.

“We’re grooming students first with engineering skills because they are learning to collect and plot data and model the coast at the high school level,” Sanders said. “They can go into college with programming expertise that is relevant to climate change.”

Another part of it is inspiring a future generation of engineers who can help not just study, but plan for the future of area beaches.

“The coast is an extraordinary driver to the cultural identity of Southern California. This is so core to who we are culturally. It’s a tourism driver. The beaches and coast are critically important,” Egerstedt said. “What are the big, mega questions we’re facing as a community and a global society? If we can’t wrap our minds around climate change, a lot of other things won’t matter because there won’t be a society around to enjoy them.”

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​ Orange County Register 

SURFscape to showcase latest surf, outdoor gear right on the sand in Huntington Beach

• April 27, 2023

Looking for a new surfboard and want to test it out first? Want to scope out the latest outdoor gear before it hits retail shops?

A new beachside expo, SURFscape, will be held in Huntington Beach this weekend, bringing retailers together with surfing and outdoor enthusiasts during a festival-style event.

“It’s all coming together, we’re really excited. Weather is going to be good and there’s going to be swell in the water, so we’re pretty happy to be debuting the event,” said Vipe Desai, executive director of the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association, or SIMA.

The free event to be held Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30, across from the Waterfront Hilton just south of the Huntington Beach Pier, aims at giving attendees an “interactive surf experience” with about 90 booths.

Among the well-known brands signed up are Quiksilver, Billabong and O’Neill, as well as up-and-coming newer brands trying to make waves in the surf space such as Mamala Surf, a women’s wetsuit brand.

“The surf market is one of the most creative and innovative industries in the world,” said SIMA President Paul Naude, also the creator of surf brand Vissla, in an announcement. “Once someone catches the wave and surf stoke, they’re a surfer and surf product buyer for life. We’re looking to grow the market with this unique consumer-facing experience in a way that’s never been done before.”

There’s currently a void in surf trade shows in Orange County, considered a hub for action-sports brands and where many major players call home. The Action Sports Retailer trade show dissolved in 2010 after 30 years, and Surf Expo is held in Florida.

Desai said surfboards and wetsuits will be available to demo, and brands will showcase everything from surfboard fins to new materials in boardshort technology. Shaping and glassing demonstrations will showcase the craft of surfboard making.

There will also be an outdoor element tapping into the new “van life” trend, with trailers, campers and other accessories “to make the outdoor adventure experience that much more exciting for people,” Desai said.

Hitchfire Grill, which attaches to the tow hitch of a vehicle, will be on hand at SURFscape to showcase its product. (Photo courtesy of SIMA)

Native like Water, a surf therapy group, will be showcasing its “SUPsquatch,” an eight-person stand-up paddleboard used for team building.

There will be Rising Tides talks throughout the weekend around environmentalism and activism with representatives from the Surfrider Foundation and other discussions around sustainability. The Bolsa Chica Conservancy will have a touch tank on hand.

Each day will feature music, with Cali Conscious and Ken Garcia performing, and there will be a Kona Big Wave beer garden and food trucks available.

An art campaign, “Split Life,” will be unveiled, showing how art and activism can combine. The art uses sea life impacted or killed by oil spills to make imprints of the animals on rice paper, using the oil to make the marks.

A Spilt Life exhibit to be showcased uses the imprints of creatures that die or are harmed due to contact with oil spills. (Photo courtesy of SIMA)

“It’s almost like taking a fingerprint of a deceased animal, instead of ink they are using the oil that killed the animal. The idea behind the campaign is to continue showcasing the harms of offshore oil spills,” Desai said.

The number of new surfers has surged since the onset of the pandemic as people looked for outdoor alternatives. Combine that with the Olympic exposure from surfing’s debut in 2021 and wave pools popping up inland, and it is expected interest among new surfers will continue in coming years, Desai said.

“From the response of brands and consumers signing up for the demos,” he said, “we feel this is going to really excite consumers and help them to find products that will make surfing and outdoor experiences that much more enjoyable.”

Get more information at: surfscape.com

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​ Orange County Register 

JSerra baseball pushes Trinity League’s three-way battle to final day of league play

• April 27, 2023

ORANGE — The Trinity League’s three-way battle over two automatic CIF-SS playoff berths will go the distance, all the way to the final day of league play.

Thank JSerra for that.

The Lions defeated Orange Lutheran 7-3 in a Trinity League game at Hart Park on Wednesday night, and that left things right where they were when the week began.

JSerra (16-9, 8-6), Orange Lutheran (18-8-1, 8-6) and Mater (15-11-1, 8-6) remain in a three-way tie for second place. Only the league’s top three finishers receive automatic playoff berths.

The fourth-place will have to hope for an at-large berth into the playoffs, which is always a dicey situation.

The logjam will finally be broken Thursday, the last day of league play. The Lions and Lancers play at 4:30 p.m. at JSerra, and Mater Dei is at Servite at 3:15 p.m.

“In essence, win and we’re in,” JSerra coach Brett Kay said. “Winning is the only thing that matters. If we win tomorrow, we go in as either the third or second place team, predicated on what Mater Dei and Servite do. If (the Lancers) win tomorrow, they are automatically second, Mater Dei is third. That pushes us to fourth.”

Santa Margarita (21-6, 13-1), the county’s No. 1-ranked team, already clinched first place.

Orange Lutheran owns the tiebreaker against Mater Dei, Mater Dei holds the tiebreaker against JSerra, and JSerra holds the tiebreaker against Orange Lutheran.

Also a factor in the situation: Orange Lutheran and JSerra are Division 1 teams, while Mater Dei is in Division 2. The CIF-SS has rules regarding ties for teams that will be in different playoff divisions.

That’s a lot to keep track of, so it’s no wonder that the coaches involved are focusing on winning Thursday.

“We’re not relying on anybody else to help us,” Orange Lutheran coach Eric Borba said. “We need to win. You control your own destiny at the end of the year. That’s all you can ask for.”

In the second inning Wednesday, JSerra took advantage of some Orange Lutheran miscues and got a dose of power from an unexpected source.

The Lions had a batter reach base on an error, scored two runs on wild pitches, a run on a fielder’s choice and got a two-run home run from No. 2 batter Lou Fujiwara to take a 5-0 lead.

Fujiwara’s home run was the first of his high school career.

“I saw a fastball inside and got the barrel on top of it,” said Fujiwara, who played for Japan in the Little League World Series. “I got lucky.”

The Lancers scored two more runs in the fifth on consecutive wild pitches.

Dominic Smaldino scored all the way from second on the first wild pitch.

With JSerra leading 7-1, the Lancers had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the fifth when McAllistor Zawistoski came in to relieve starter Benjamin Reimers and got a strikeout to end the inning.

“I think the best thing for us is to put this night behind us,” Borba said. “We didn’t play a very good game. This time of year, you can’t play like that or your season is over.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Corona del Mar boys volleyball sweeps Edison to begin Division 1 playoffs

• April 27, 2023

NEWPORT BEACH – Corona del Mar was too big and too quick for Edison on Wednesday, as the Sea Kings swept the Chargers in three sets, 25-13, 26-24, 25-17, in their CIF Southern Section Division 1 pool-play match at Corona del Mar High.

Sea Kings 6-foot-5 junior outside hitter Sterling Foley had 14 kills. George Bruening, a 6-9 senior opposite hitter, had 12. Many of their spikes were launched from two feet above the net.

Corona del Mar junior setter Ryan Gant contributed 26 assists and five digs, and sophomore libero Brogan Glenn had 10 digs.

The Division 1 playoffs have a pool-play format this season. Corona del Mar (18-8) and Edison (19-9)  are in Pool A with No. 1 seed Loyola and Beckman. Loyola (18-1) swept Beckman (29-5) in three sets Wednesday.

Pool B is composed of Huntington Beach, Mater Dei, Mira Costa and defending Division 1 champion Newport Harbor.

Newport Harbor defeated Huntington Beach 25-16, 23-25, 25-18, 25-27, 15-12 in a Pool B match Wednesday.

When pool play resumes Tuesday, May, Corona del Mar will be at home against Beckman. Edison is at Loyola.

Sea Kings coach Katey Thompson’s post-match assessment was that while the team’s performance was not a work of art it was enough to get the win.

“I liked that we were able to play ugly,” she said. “It wasn’t our most precise volleyball. We definitely didn’t adjust as quickly as I wished we would have. But we ended up adjusting and we were able to just dig our way out of it.”

Bruening, who signed with UC Santa Barbara, kick-started the first set for the Sea Kings, scoring on a vicious spike and a block and quickly it was 5-1. Some of Bruening’s kills were not so vicious, simply redirecting the ball softly to an opening on the court on the other side of the net.

A block by Corona del Mar senior middle blocker Kaden Kavanaugh provided the set winner.

Blocks and kills by Bruening, Foley and senior middle blocker Cade Alacano led the Sea Kings to a 26-24 win in the second set.

Edison had a 6-3 lead in the third set. Corona del Mar went on a 10-3 run to take control and get the 25-17 win to conclude the match.

Foley felt the Sea Kings hit a high level of energy early but might have lacked that edge later.

“Your first CIF game you’ve always got to come out with a lot of energy,” said Foley who has played on USA Volleyball’s 19U team. “The first set was pretty good, we had a good, fast start, but the other two sets we didn’t really come out that hot.”

Bruening expects the Sea Kings to keep the energy high during Division 1 pool play.

“Recently we’ve been doing better at kind of kicking off our speed and doing what we’re supposed to do,” Breuning said.

In Pool B on Wednesday, Mira Costa defeated Mater Dei 3-0.

Tuesday’s Pool B schedule has Mira Costa (26-3) at Newport Harbor (31-2) and Mater Dei (27-11-1)  at Huntington Beach (22-7).

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​ Orange County Register 

Brea man pleads guilty to providing medical procedures without a license

• April 27, 2023

A 62-year-old Brea man pleaded guilty Wednesday and was immediately sentenced to four years in prison for providing various medical procedures without a medical license.

Elias Renteria Segoviano was released last year on a separate case on his own recognizance but, “Not more than one day after his arraignment, Elias Segoviano continued to engage in unlawful medical practices including the performance of invasive medical procedures that were delineated and recorded through undercover operations,” Orange County District Attorney’s investigator Thomas Hoang said in court papers seeking to have the defendant’s bail increased from $35,000 to $1 million.

Segoviano was arrested on July 19 last year at his business, Botox in Anaheim, at 935 S. Brookhurst St., according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. He performed procedures such as injecting victims with suspected counterfeit Botox, fillers, anesthetics and other drugs.

Segoviano pleaded guilty to perjury, procuring or offering false or forged documents to be filed, registered or recorded as well as seven counts of unauthorized practice of medicine, all felonies. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of false indications of a medical license, falsely representing a license, misrepresentation of qualifications and impersonating a nurse

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​ Orange County Register 

Man convicted of day-time drive-by killing in Santa Ana

• April 27, 2023

A 25-year-old man was convicted Wednesday of gunning down a 20-year-old man in a mid-afternoon drive-by shooting in Santa Ana.

Edgar Macias Martinez was convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances of a drive-by shooting and murder for the benefit of a gang. He was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm with a sentencing enhancement for discharge of a firearm causing death.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Gary Paer will hold a hearing Thursday to confirm the defendant’s prior convictions, which will affect his punishment when he is sentenced May 19.

Martinez was convicted of killing 20-year-old Alex Ruiz of Garden Grove on Aug. 15, 2022.

Martinez and another man “drove into the heart of his rival gang territory… with the intent to shoot at whatever gang member he came across,” Deputy District Attorney Mallory Miller said in her opening statement of the trial.

Surveillance video showed the killer leaning out of the passenger side window of a Chevrolet Equinox at 3:19 p.m. and opening fire on Ruiz, who was with his friend, Andres Ponce, at 1726 N. Spurgeon St., between Main Street and the 5 Freeway, less than one block north of 17th Street.

Ruiz, who was shot in the chest once, was taken to OC Global Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:05 p.m.

“Mr. Ruiz ultimately bled to death,” Miller said, referring to massive internal bleeding the victim suffered.

Police managed to determine part of the car’s license plate number from surveillance video, Miller said. They also used surveillance video to track its movements before and after the shooting, she said.

A detective recognized the car from a separate crime, which led police to the registered owner, the defendant’s sister, Miller said. When they went to Martinez’s residence they saw the suspect’s car there, she added.

The defendant’s sister told detectives Martinez borrowed her car that afternoon and when he returned home it appeared he had been to a local fitness center, Miller said. Police obtained surveillance video of Martinez arriving at a fitness center at Main Place Mall minutes after the shooting, Miller said.

“Mr. Ponce is going to have to deal with being with his friend when he was shot to death for the rest of his life,” Miller said. “This is a classic drive-by gang murder.”

Martinez’s attorney, Jonathan Lynn, said Ponce picked someone else out of a lineup. Lynn also noted that police did not test Martinez’s hands for gunshot residue.

“There’s no murder weapon that was found,” Lynn said.

Lynn also said there is nothing on social media that would indicate that Martinez had any gang connections.

Martinez was out on bail at the time of the shooting on a felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon and being a prohibited person owning ammunition as well as bringing or sending drugs into jail, according to court records.

Martinez pleaded guilty in April 2021 to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Martinez pleaded guilty in February 2017 to participating in gang activity and conspiracy to commit assault with a semiautomatic firearm with a sentencing enhancement for gang activity. When he was 17 he was convicted in juvenile court of robbery in May 2015, according to court records.

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​ Orange County Register