A Santa Clarita man has pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer out of more than $1 million in a years-long wire fraud scheme, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. Steven Anthony Cowles, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 22. According to ...

Dr. Dianne Van Hook, the pioneering Chancellor who led College of the Canyons (COC) for 36 years, has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Santa Clarita Community College District. During her nearly four-decade tenure, Dr. Van Hook transformed COC into a nationally recognized institution of higher learning, hiring over 1000 exceptional employees, establishing hallmark programs such as the Academy ...

Five San Fernando Valley MS-13 gang members have been found guilty of six murders across Los Angeles County between 2017 and 2019, including one victim found in Santa Clarita, tied to the discovery of human remains following the 2019 Tick Fire. After a nine-week trial, a jury found five defendants guilty on multiple counts tied to MS-13 activity in the ...

A federal jury has begun deliberations this week in the racketeering and murder trial of five alleged MS-13 gang members accused of carrying out a series of brutal killings across Los Angeles County, including one near Santa Clarita, tied to the discovery of human remains following the 2019 Tick Fire. According to prosecutors, the defendants are part of the Fulton ...

A former Pacific Palisades resident now living in Florida has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with maliciously starting what eventually became the Palisades Fire of January 2025, one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, the Justice Department announced today. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, a.k.a. “Jonathan Rinder,” and “Jon Rinder,” of Melbourne, Florida, is charged ...

A Canyon Country man already facing federal charges has been named as a key supplier in a $611 million electronics fraud and money laundering case that led to the arrest of two San Fernando Valley men Tuesday. Federal prosecutors allege that Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 58, a.k.a. “Parcero,” of Canyon Country, sold electronics and gift cards to Wireless World, a company ...

The Los Angeles County Superior Court has issued a final ruling in the case between the City of Santa Clarita and the developers of a solar facility at Canyon View Estates, finding the defendants are the prevailing party and entitled to attorney’s fees. The dispute began in September 2018, when the City of Santa Clarita sued over a solar installation ...

The United States filed two lawsuits against Southern California Edison, alleging negligence in sparking the Eaton and Fairview fires.  The deadly fires killed at least 21 people, destroyed more than 9,000 structures, and scorched National Forest lands. “The lawsuits filed today allege a troubling pattern of negligence resulting in death, destruction, and tens of millions of federal taxpayer dollars spent ...

A lawyer who bought a home in Valencia using funds he gained via a $2.1 million bribe while serving as an officer of Nigeria’s state-owned oil company was found guilty by a jury Thursday, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, 58, a.k.a. “Pollie,” of Valencia, who practiced immigration, family, and personal injury law out of an ...

A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputy pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing more than one pound of heroin that he admitted to attempting to smuggle inside the jail in Castaic last year. Michael Meiser, 40, of Lancaster, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin. According to his plea agreement, in April 2024, Meiser was ...