Deliberations continue in local gang-rape case Jurors...

Deliberations continue in local gang-rape case

Jurors in the retrial of a high-profile gang-rape case had a

question for lawyers at the end of their first day of deliberations.

The question came just a few hours into their deliberating on the

case against Kyle Nachreiner, Keith Spann and Greg Haidl. The three

are accused of gang-raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl in 2002

when they were all 17.

Attorneys said they could not disclose what the question was, and

the answer was sealed by the court. Jurors had Friday off, but

attorneys met in a closed-door session in Judge Francisco Briseno’s

courtroom to discuss the question, Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Schroeder

said.

Jurors will have their question answered Monday, when they return

to continue deliberations.

Last year, a jury failed to come to a verdict after 20 hours. The

judge declared a mistrial in that case.

Murder case suspect must give DNA sample

A judge on Friday ordered a suspect in the killing of a Newport

Beach couple to provide a DNA sample.

Long Beach resident John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 41, appeared in Judge

Craig Robison’s courtroom for an arraignment Friday but the

arraignment was postponed until April 15, a court clerk said. Though

a DNA sample was part of a warrant issued last week, Kennedy refused

to give one, prosecutor Matt Murphy said.

Robison ordered Kennedy to provide the sample immediately, Murphy

said.

Kennedy is the fourth person charged with the murder of Tom and

Jackie Hawks, a Newport Beach couple who had lived on their boat in

Newport Harbor until their mysterious disappearance in November.

Their bodies have not been found, but murder charges were filed

against Long Beach residents Skylar DeLeon, 25, and Myron Gardner,

41, and Alonso Machain, 21, of Pico Rivera, on March 4. Each murder

charge contains special circumstance allegations that would make them

eligible for the death penalty.

DeLeon initially told police that he had purchased the Hawkses’

55-foot cabin cruiser Well Deserved for $400,000 cash. Police now say

the transaction never took place.

All four defendants are being held in the Orange County Jail

without bail. They are scheduled to be arraigned in Harbor Justice

Center April 15.

Bicyclist hit, seriously injured by pickup truck

A Laguna Beach man was seriously injured when a pickup truck

struck him as he rode his bicycle in Newport Coast Friday morning.

Giampierro Cappeli, 42, was riding a high-performance road bike

about 30 miles per hour on a downgrade on Ridge Park Road when a

pickup truck turning left on Tesoro struck him at about 7:20 a.m.,

said Newport Beach traffic investigator Gerry White. According to

witnesses, Cappeli flew over the handlebars some 30 feet, landed head

first onto the pavement and tumbled on the road, White said.

Cappeli suffered a concussion, facial fractures, a fractured

pelvis and facial abrasions and was taken to Mission Hospital in

Mission Viejo, White said. Considering the accident, Cappeli was

fortunate to not be injured more severely, White said.

“He survived mainly due to the fact that he was wearing a

well-fitting bicycle helmet,” he said.

Charges have not been filed against the truck’s driver, Maria

Diaz-Perez, 48, of Los Angeles, police said. The accident is under

investigation.

City suspends issuing citations temporarily

Drivers who get caught by red light cameras at two Costa Mesa

intersections will still catch a break for the time being.

The city temporarily suspended issuing citations at three

intersections -- Newport Boulevard at 17th and 19th streets and Bristol Street and Anton Boulevard -- last month. That came after

someone who received a ticket successfully fought it, arguing that

the yellow light wasn’t long enough.

Costa Mesa reissued a 30-day public notice of the cameras’

presence at those intersections “as a precautionary measure,” City

Manager Allan Roeder said at the time.

A court denied an appeal filed by the city, and now Costa Mesa is

taking its case to the state Supreme Court, City Attorney Kimberly

Hall Barlow said.

Until the court decides the fate of the cameras, drivers will be

issued warnings instead of tickets if photographed on Newport

Boulevard at 17th and 19th streets, she said. Those intersections are

operated by Caltrans, not the city, and have a different standard for

timing yellow lights, Barlow said.

Drivers caught at other red light cameras throughout the city will

still receive citations.

Police arrest 14 at sobriety checkpoint

Costa Mesa police arrested 14 people on suspicion of drunken

driving during a sobriety checkpoint Thursday night.

The checkpoint, planned in conjunction with St. Patrick’s Day, was

set up on Newport Boulevard at Flower Street. In all, 2,566 cars

drove through the checkpoint and officers spoke to drivers of 522

cars, police said.

Officers gave sobriety tests to 41 people and made the 14 arrests,

police said. They towed one vehicle driven by someone with a

suspended license.

The department’s next sobriety checkpoint will take place April 16

at East 17th Street and Westminster Avenue, police said.