Federal investigators executed search warrants in Santa Ana in connection to a food stamp fraud investigation on Wednesday, authorities said. Chip Yost reports from Santa Ana for the KTLA 5 News at 1 on May 3, 2017.

A Santa Ana man who carved his name on a woman’s chest was sentenced to nearly a decade in state prison on Friday.

Sergio Mendoza is shown in a booking photo provided to the Los Angeles Times by Santa Ana police in 2015.

Sergio Joaquin Mendoza, 27, kidnapped, threatened and physically harmed a woman he was in a “romantic relationship” with in 2015, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Over the course of four days in March 2015, he repeatedly punched the unidentified victim, forced her to sit in his car while he worked and threatened her if she tried to leave the vehicle.

Then, two days after that ordeal, he told the victim “he would let her leave if she allowed him to carve his name onto her chest,” the DA’s office said in a news release.

He used a razor blade to write his first name on her chest.

He drove her around, again threatening her with more violence if she left the vehicle, punched her and head-butted her, and tried to strangle her.

Nonetheless, the victim was able to escape, run into a local business and call police.

Mendoza was arrested three days after the woman escaped.

On March 9 of this year, he was convicted of felony kidnapping, criminal threats, false imprisonment, and two counts of domestic battery with corporal injury. He was also found guilty of misdemeanor false imprisonment.

An Orange County judge sentenced him to nine years and eight months in state prison. When he was arraigned in 2015, the DA’s office said he faced a maximum sentence of 11 years and eight months.

Santa Ana Police are looking for two men in connection with two robberies that occurred Wednesday, officials said.

During the first incident, the men went into a Motel 6 in the 160 block of East 1st Street. They allegedly jumped the lobby desk and brandished a knife at the hotel clerk and demanded money from the register. The clerk gave the men the money and they left the area, police said.

Two men believed to be involved in two Santa Ana robberies are seen in surveillance photos provided by police officials on May 18, 2017.

About five minutes later, the same men are believed to have robbed a 76 Gas Station in the 1500 block of East Edinger Avenue.

The men bought $10 worth of gas and demanded cigarettes. When the clerk asked the men for identification, they demanded that the clerk open the register and give them all the money, police said.

The men then left the area.

They are described as being between 18 and 20 years old. One is believed to be between five feet and two inches and five feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds. He was wearing white Adidas cap and a gray “Primitive” brand jacket.

The other man is described as being between 5 feet and 11 inches tall and 6 feet tall and weighs about 180 pounds. He was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts.

They were in a black Toyota Rav 4.

A 42-year-old Santa Ana man was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison Friday after being convicted of sexually assaulting three girls, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Jose Luis Aguilera, 41, is seen in a booking photo provided by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Jose Luis Aguilera was found guilty on April 28 of four felony counts of committing lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14, with a sentencing enhancement that there were multiple victims, the DA’s office said in a news release.

Aguilera met his young victims through church, according to the DA’s office.

Between October 2012 and September 2015, Aguilera — a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Santa Ana — was accused of sexually assaulting three girls, the release stated. The DA’s office previously said the victims were between 9 and 11 years old.

“He befriended at least four different families and then under the guise of playdates with his daughter he then would sexually assault the girls when he got them alone,” Deputy DA Heather Brown said at the time he was charged in the case.

The defendant “committed lewd acts” on the girls, including kissing the children and touching their genitals, according to the release.

One of the girls reported the crime to a family member, who then alerted the Santa Ana Police Department.

Aguilera was arrested on Sept. 4, 2015.

Santa Ana police on Tuesday released surveillance video as they sought the public's help in locating a man who attempted to rape a woman in the downtown area over the weekend.

Officers responded to a 7-Eleven store at First and Flower streets around 3 a.m. Sunday after a 26-year-old woman requested police assistance, according to the Santa Ana Police Department.

The victim told authorities the incident began after she went inside a bar to use the restroom. A short time after leaving the location, she was confronted by a male stranger -- who had been following her -- in a stairwell near Third Street and Broadway.

Surveillance video taken around 2:35 a.m. showed a struggle between the two on the steps outside a business. The man keeps grabbing and groping the woman, at one point knocking her down on the stairs as she tries to fend him off, according to the footage and police.

“Part of the video we’re showing you is the initial contact where there’s a struggle. You can see she’s inebriated. You can see he’s trying to manhandle her, get her down to the bottom, which he eventually gets her there," said Santa Ana Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

He can be seen dragging her down the steps before both are out of the camera's view and the video ends.

Bertagna said the man's pants were down, and he tried to rape the victim after sexually assaulting her.

She continued to fight him off, however, forcing the attacker to flee the scene.

According to Bertagna, the victim had been at several bars that night with friends; it was unclear whether the man had been stalking her at one of the locations.

She was alone when he confronted her.

“If you’re going to leave a bar, and you’re going to go to a parking lot, or you’re going to go look for a ride, or whatever you’re going to do, don’t do it by yourself," Bertagna said. "There are people out there like this individual that take advantage of intoxicated people.

"This is a predator. There’s no doubt that this is not his first time he’s done this," the corporal added.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

A man who tried to assault a Santa Ana gas station clerk and rampaged through the store is believed to have also attacked a fellow motorist in a road-rage incident, and police are asking for help finding him.

A man sought in a March 28, 2017, road-rage incident is shown in a photo provided by Santa Ana police.

The two incidents occurred within an hour on March 28 on McFadden Avenue, and both were captured on camera.

The Santa Ana Police Department released video from the gas station assault and photos of the road-rage incident on Wednesday in an attempt to get the man’s identity.

In the first incident, police were called about 6:30 p.m. to a Chevron station in the 2100 block of East McFadden Avenue by a clerk who said a man had been loitering and harassing customers who were using the pumps. She confronted the man, who in turn followed her back into the store, yelled at her and began throwing items from the store at her, police said.

She called 911, but the man returned and began causing “major damage” to the store, trying to assault the clerk, a police news release stated. The man fled.

A man sought in a March 28, 2017, road-rage incident is shown in a photo provided by Santa Ana police.

Then, at 7 p.m., police were called to a fire station on West McFadden Avenue by a woman who said a man cursed at her, threw things out of his car at her and then boxed her vehicle in. He got out of his car and began punching the woman’s passenger-side window.

The woman snapped photos of the man before being able to drive away and call police.

"She needed to wait until it was safe to make her turn, he was angered by that. He was nonstop with the horn and she just did the right thing and ignored him and then she makes the turn when it's safe to do so," Corporal Anthony Bertagna told KTLA. "That's when he pulls up next to her and he cuts her off, he gets out of the car and starts pounding on her door trying to get inside the car. Obviously she had locked the car doors."

The man is described as Hispanic, 45 to 55 years old, 5 feet 5 inches tall, with a thin build and short gray, combed-back hair.

If you can identify the attacker or have details, call Investigator Laura Delisle at 714-245-8647 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

A man sought in a March 28, 2017, gas station attack is shown in a still from video provided by Santa Ana police.

A man who was caught on camera allegedly vandalizing a gas station and possibly attacking a fellow driver during a road-rage incident was arrested on Friday, according to the Santa Ana police.

Corbalan Jorge Hernandez is shown in a booking photo on May 28, 2017. (Credit: Santa Ana Police Department)

Corbalan Jorge Hernandez, 57, was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism after two residents recognized the man at a Public Storage facility in the 2700 block of Fairview Avenue and called police around 5:40 p.m.

Hernandez is accused of loitering and harassing customers at a Chevron gas station on McFadden Avenue on March 28. When a clerk approached him about his behavior he allegedly followed her back into the store and began yelling at her and throwing items on the front counter, police said.

Security footage shows a man causing “major damage” to the store and attempting to assault the clerk, according to a police news release.

A man sought in a March 28, 2017, road-rage incident is shown in a photo provided by Santa Ana police.

Nearly an hour later Hernandez allegedly cursed at a woman and threw things out of his car before boxing her in on West McFadden Avenue, police said.

Photos from the scene show a man leaving his car and punching the woman’s passenger-side window. The woman snapped photos of the man before being able to drive away and call police.

Hernandez has reportedly been living out of his car and when asked about the incidents said he was “having a bad day”, according to police.

A mural reflects that a Dearden’s store largely caters to the Latino community.” (Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Furniture retailer Dearden’s, one of Southern California’s oldest businesses, said Thursday that it will close its eight stores and wind down operations over the coming weeks.

Founded in 1909, the Los Angeles-based chain sold furniture, appliances and other home goods to a predominantly lower-income Latino clientele.

“This was an extremely difficult decision that we tried to prevent but in reality was many years in the making,” Dearden’s Chief Executive Ronny Bensimon said in a statement.

An undated photo shows a customer browsing the bedroom furniture section at a Dearden’s. (Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Dearden’s stores are in Anaheim, Chino, Commerce, Huntington Park, La Puente, downtown Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Van Nuys. It also has a warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

Sixteen people have been charged after a yearslong investigation into an alleged multi-million dollar works compensation insurance referral scheme, the Orange County District Attorney's Office announced Monday. Chip Yost reports from Santa Ana for the KTLA 5 News at 1 on June 5, 2017.

Ten middle school students at Santa Ana's McFadden Intermediate School were hospitalized Monday after ingesting an unknown substance, possibly from another student, authorities said.

The incident began around 9 a.m. when an initial student came into the school office with symptoms, according to Deidra Powell, spokeswoman for the Santa Ana Unified School District.

"A student became very, very tired, very, very sleepy – to the point where one of our teachers noticed, sent her to the office," Powell said.

Then one student after another came in with similar symptoms, she said.

The Orange County Fire Authority was called and 10 students of varying ages were taken via ambulance to area hospitals with symptoms of lethargy, fire Capt. Larry Kurtz said.

The students – seven girls and three boys between the ages of 11 and 14 – were expected to be OK.

School officials think one student may have given the substance to fellow classmates.

Officials are not sure what was consumed or how it was taken, but a mother who told KTLA her daughter was affected said the children had consumed Xanax, the prescription psychoactive medication often used to treat anxiety.

Powell said the school principal will contact all parents to explain the situation and ask them for help talking to their children about not taking anything from classmates if they don't know what it is.

One parent at the school said a similar thing happened to her son several years ago at a different school. He was given a pot brownie, mother Ana Duran said, and had to be taken to the hospital because he was on medication.

Now she's warning her sixth-grader daughter about such possibilities.

"I tell my daughter ... she needs to be careful with what she eats, even like candies, whatever somebody gives her," Duran said.

A Los Alamitos man was charged Friday with several felonies after allegedly posing as an undercover police officer and kidnapping a woman he met online to commit a sexual offense, prosecutors said.

Sean Michael Vasquez is seen in a booking photo released by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Sean Michael Vasquez, 35, faced four felony counts: kidnapping to commit a sex offense; false imprisonment by violence, fraud or deceit; forcible oral copulation; and assault with intent to commit sexual offense, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

He also was charged with impersonating a police officer, a misdemeanor offense, and faced a sentencing allegation that the kidnapping resulted in a substantial increase in harm to the victim, the release stated.

Vasquez, who is being held on $1 million bail, could receive a maximum sentence of 31 years to life in prison if convicted on the charges.

The incident began on May 13, when the defendant -- going by the name "Alex" -- allegedly posed as a modeling agent online, where he met the 22-year-old victim and communicated with her through a series of text messages over several weeks, according to prosecutors.

He is accused of setting up a "role play" date with the victim where the woman would pretend to be a prostitute and meet him in an Anaheim parking lot, the release stated.

When they met at the location, Vasquez allegedly flashed a badge and told the woman he was an undercover police officer. He is then suspected of driving the victim to the parking lot of a self-storage facility, where he handcuffed her, prosecutors said.

Vasquez then placed the victim in the backseat and got her driver's license. Meanwhile, he also sent her texts as "Alex" in an effort to continue the "charade," the release stated.

He got into the back seat, locked the door and allegedly demanded the victim "orally copulate him to 'fix' her legal problem," prosecutors said.

When she refused, Vasquez is accused of kidnapping the victim, driving her to areas in Santa Ana known for prostitution and demanded that she rob potential johns.

When she was unable to do so, he allegedly drove her to a secluded location in a residential neighborhood and forced her to orally copulate him; he then drove the victim back to her vehicle, according to the DA's office.

She then reported the incident to the Anaheim Police Department, which began an investigation into the case.

Investigators are concerned that Vasquez may have had other additional victims, and they are asking for the public's help to identify any other possible ones.

Anyone with additional information, or who believes they may have been a victim, is urged to contact Supervising Investigator Eric Wiseman of the Sexual Assault Unit at 714-347-8794.

Roberto Cortes, along with his wife and children, were about to meet friends for dinner in Santa Ana when a stranger approached the family and grabbed their 3-year-old son, holding a sharp metal object to his throat. Steve Kuzj reports for the KTLA 5 News at 10 on June 9, 2017.

Drivers on the 55 Freeway in Santa Ana witnessed a woman hanging out of the side of a car in an apparent conflict with the occupant of that car. The incident was captured on cellphone video, and the California Highway Patrol is investigating.

It happened during rush hour Monday on the northbound freeway near the Dyer Road exit.

Two friends who saw the strange sight unfold said a woman jumped out of the back of a white sedan and grabbed onto the passenger-side door of a black car, apparently a Honda.

“We noticed somebody jumped out of a car, and when we looked over and … it’s like, ‘Whoa,’” Gabriel Martinez said. “We see she ran toward the other vehicle and started swinging at the passenger side of the vehicle.”

The witnesses said the woman seemed to be swinging at the person in the passenger side of the black car. Then the driver of the black car moved the vehicle into the far-right lane, dragging the woman alongside it.

“She held on for dear life,” Martinez said. “She held on for a couple minutes, going about 12 mph.”

The woman eventually gave up and could be seen walking down the shoulder of the freeway.

The witnesses who spoke to KTLA speculated about what motivated the incident.

CHP officials, meanwhile, said the agency received calls about the incident but the involved vehicles were gone when officers responded to investigate.

Drivers on the 55 Freeway in Santa Ana witnessed a woman hanging out of the side of a car in an apparent conflict with the occupant of that car. The incident was captured on cellphone video, and the California Highway Patrol is investigating.

It happened during rush hour Monday on the northbound freeway near the Dyer Road exit, witnesses said.

Two friends who saw the strange sight unfold said a woman jumped out of the back of a white sedan and grabbed onto the passenger-side door of a black car, apparently a Honda.

“We noticed somebody jumped out of a car, and when we looked over and … it’s like, ‘Whoa,’” Gabriel Martinez said. “We see she ran toward the other vehicle and started swinging at the passenger side of the vehicle.”

The witnesses said the woman seemed to be swinging at the person in the passenger side of the black car. Then the driver of the black car moved the vehicle into the far-right lane, dragging the woman alongside it.

“She held on for dear life,” Martinez said. “She held on for a couple minutes, going about 12 mph.”

The woman eventually gave up and could be seen walking down the shoulder of the freeway.

The witnesses who spoke to KTLA speculated about what motivated the incident.

CHP officials, meanwhile, said the agency received calls about the incident but the involved vehicles were gone when officers responded to investigate.

Police released surveillance video on Friday as they searched for three people suspected of robbing a jewelry store in Santa Ana. Chip Yost reports from Santa Ana for the KTLA 5 News at 1 on July 7, 2017.

Authorities are asking potential additional victims to come forward after a former student at a Santa Ana high school reported having a sexual relationship with a coach who worked there.

Tracey Fulford, 52, is seen in a booking photo released July 10, 2017, by the Santa Ana Police Department.

Tracey Stephan Fulford, the girl’s 52-year-old basketball coach at Segerstrom High School, was arrested Sunday in Irvine on suspicion of child molestation, lewd conduct and distributing harmful matter to a child, according to a statement from the Santa Ana Police Department.

The 19-year-old victim went to the Santa Ana police station with her parents around 10:30 p.m. Saturday to report the two-year sexual relationship she said she was engaged in with Fulford while she was a 16-year-old student and member of the school’s basketball team.

She decided to approach law enforcement after meeting the previous day with school administrators, who she said discouraged her from speaking out about the inappropriate relationship, according to police.

The victim alleged she would willingly follow Fulford into a storage room and other locations in the campus gym where they would engage in sexual activity.

When the relationship continued past the girl’s 18th birthday, she and the coach began meeting up away from school for consensual sex, she told police.

In addition to investigating these claims, detectives will work with Santa Ana Unified School District and school police to determine whether there was any failure on the staff’s part to adhere to mandated reporting of the incident to police or administrators.

The district released a statement Sunday saying it was taking the allegations seriously and would cooperate with the police investigation.

However, officials did not say whether Fulford had been dismissed or suspended from his position, which they characterized as a walk-on role.

The coach was taken into custody while working in Irvine after officers attempted to serve a warrant at the Santa Ana residence where he rents a room and found him not home.

He was subsequently interviewed by Santa Ana police, who placed him under formal arrest after he made self-incriminating statements, officials said. He was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

In additional to his nearly four-decade career at the school, officials said Fulford often gave students private lessons and investigators believe there could be more victims tied to his case.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective E. Majors at 714-245-8378 or emajors@santa-ana.org. Anonymous tips can be submitted via 855-847-6227.

An investigation is underway to determine if Santa Ana police officers used excessive force Sunday night while taking a man into custody. The incident was captured by a neighbor on cell phone video.

Elizabeth Espinosa reports for the KTLA 5 News at 10 on July 10, 2017.

An investigation is underway to determine if Santa Ana police officers used excessive force Sunday night while taking a vehicle theft suspect into custody in an incident captured by a neighbor on her cell phone.

One family who lives on the 2000 block of Kilson Drive were home when officers arrested Jesus Martinez in front of their house around 7:20 p.m. and began filming the confrontation after witnessing what they perceived as an excessive use of force.

Martinez, who police say is a documented gang member, had been neutralized as a threat when police continued to deliver a series of severe blows and unfair treatment, said Roxana Cedillo, who filmed the arrest from her living room window.

“I’m very grateful that they do put themselves in the line to help us, and help all innocent people. But in that case, he was already on the ground," she told KTLA. "There was no need for the brutal part.”

The graphic video begins with one Santa Ana officer holding the man identified as Martinez to the ground as he delivers orders for the suspect to put his hands behind his head.

“Get your f—ing hands behind your back,” the officer is seen shouting while holding the man identified as Martinez by the wrists.

Martinez is heard replying, “They’re behind my back sir, let me put them behind my back sir.”

Though Martinez was failing to comply with the officer's orders, the officer was also making it nearly impossible for him to comply, according to Cedillo.

“The officer was already on top of the suspect and was telling him to put his hands in the back, but the suspect had them right here,” she said, motioning with her arms a bit in front of her face, “not where he wanted them. At the same time, I did see the officer holding his hands, telling him, ‘Put them in the back.’”

What happens next is unclear as the video pans away, but Martinez’s yelps intensify as a second officer rushes over, and slapping noises are heard. As they return to frame the officers are hitting Martinez, then continue holding him down as he writhes and shouts.

Eventually, a third officer approaches and is seen hitting Martinez with his baton and kicking him as he lay prone on the ground.

“There was three guys holding him and still punching him. That was a little bit too much what they did," said Rafael Silo, Cedillo's husband. "It was difficult to watch because I was nervous for my kids.”

The couple has two children, the second of whom was born two weeks ago.

Blood remained spattered on the family's sidewalk when KTLA visited the family's home.

Police say the confrontation began when two officers encountered a vehicle with no license plates driven by Martinez. He and a passenger, Gabriel Mendoza, were not wearing seatbelts, according to Cpl. Anthony Bertagna with the Santa Ana Police Department.

The car refused to yield when officers tried to pull it over, and a pursuit ensued with speeds pushing 85 mph, he said.

The pursuit ended, and officers used force to detain Martinez after he attempted to flee on foot, officials said.

He and Mendoza were arrested on suspicion of grand theft auto, narcotics possession and possession of a replica handgun, Bertagna said.

None of the involved officers have been identified.

Bertagna said Santa Ana's acting chief of police, David Valentin, has seen the video and has assigned the department's internal affairs unit to investigate.

“They’ll look at the whole incident and evaluate whether this officer’s use of force was within policy or out of policy,” Bertagna said.

Silo said his family is sympathetic to the harsh realities of policing but thinks it's time for the department to reflect on its use of force practices.

“We understand your situation and your job," he said, "but there are other ways of doing it.”

Santa Ana police are looking for a man who allegedly robbed two gas stations while armed with a handgun this month, authorities announced in a news release Tuesday.

Santa Ana police on July 11, 2017 released this surveillance still of a man involved in an armed robbery on July 6, 2017.

The first robbery occurred about 11:30 p.m. July 6 at an Arco gas station in the 1700 block of East Dyer Road.

About an hour and a half later, police said the same man robbed another Arco station along the 3400 block of South Main Street.

During both incidents, the man pointed a handgun at the victims and demanded money from the registers, surveillance video shows.

In one of the incidents, the man was holding a soda bottle when he approached the cashier, appeared to try and purchase the drink, but he pulled out a gun instead, the video shows.

He then asked the cashier to open the register, grabbed handfuls of cash and told the clerk to give him the rest. The video shows the man dropped some of the money, but he grabbed it again and put the rest in his back pocket.

In the other incident, the man brandished the gun while talking on a cellphone.

Dave Goyel, the owner of one of the gas stations told KTLA that he was glad his employees were not hurt. He added that the man got away with a few hundred dollars.

He is described as being about 25 to 30 years old, is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 250 pounds.

He was wearing a black zip-up hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black and white sneakers and a black baseball cap with a white logo.

Anyone with information about the incidents or the man involved can call 714 245-8647, or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

A juvenile driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI after allegedly hitting pedestrians in a crash that left five people injured in Santa Ana on Thursday morning, police said.

Five people were injured when a car jumped a curb, including two pedestrians. (Credit: Cpl. Anthony Bertagna)

The crash occurred around 11 a.m. in the 1600 block of Greenville Street when a vehicle with three juveniles inside jumped the northbound curb and hit two pedestrians, according to Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department.

The two pedestrians were injured, as were the three occupants of the vehicle, Bertagna said.

All five trauma patients were transported. None of the injuries were considered to be life-threatening, according to the corporal.

The driver was arrested,  Bertagna said. However, since being released from hospital care, the driver was released to his parents after a juvenile detention facility refused to take him in, Bertagna said. Bertagna did not provide a name, gender or an exact age of the individual.

The crash is under investigation, and no additional information has been released.

KTLA’s Jennifer Thang and Nidia Becerra contributed to this story.