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Home My WebLink About16 CLAIM 06-21 LEGAL EASE 09-05-06 AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 TO: WilLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER FROM: RONALD A. NAULT, FINANCE DIRECTOR SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF CLAIM OF lEGAL EASE, INC., CLAIM NO. 06-21 SUMMARY: This is a report alleging that the Tustin Police Department executed an improper search warrant, violating the Claimant's premises, falsely confiscating its possessions and slandering it in the press. It is claimed that these actions damaged the Claimant's property and interfered with its ability to continue operations. RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council deny Claim Number 06-21, legal Ease, Inc., and direct Staff to send notice thereof to the Claimant's attorney. FISCAL IMPACT: None. DISCUSSION: Staff has verified that the above search warrant was obtained after the Tustin Police Department completed a proper investigation of the Claimant's activities. Following the receipt of initial information from a citizen, surveillance of the business was conducted. Investigative findings over several months resuited in probable cause to believe a public offense and/or felony had been committed. The City's Claims Administrator recommends that this claim be denied. ATTACHMENT: Copy of Claim No. 06-21 ConsiderationOfClaimOfLegalEase.doc . . FRIESEN, GUY & ASSOCIA~~ OF FiST!'! Attorneys and Counselors at Law 1 Phone: (949) 623-8623 7545 Irvine Center Drive - Suite 200 lC'yax::"(949) 461-09221 ' Irvine, California 92618 ORIGII'~P\L Via Fax, Mail & Hand Delivery July 12,2006 Attn: Scott M. Jordan, Chief of Police Tustin Police Department 300 Centennial Way Tustin, CA 92780 Fax: 714-730-8027 City of Tustin City Clerk's Office 300 Centennial Way Tustin, CA 92780 Fax: 714-832-0825 Re: Claim against Tustin Police Department by Legal Ease, Inc. Dear Sir, Please be advised that Legal Ease, Inc. has retained this office assist it in regards to certain claims against the Tustin Police Department. As per CGC 9900 et. al., please let this letter serve as notice of a claim. The claim involves the actions of the Tustin Police department and in particular those actions believed to be spearheaded by Detective Jon Cartwright against Legal Ease, Inc. which culminated in a police action that occurred on January 12,2006. (Please see attached search warrant for reference) It is the contention of Legal Ease, Inc. that the Tustin Police department acted improperly and illegally in taking the above as well as subsequent actions. As per CGC 9910 the following information is provided: I. The name of the claimant is Legal Ease, Inc., whose head corporate office address is 4411 30th Street, San Diego, CA 92116. 2. Legal Ease, Inc. desires to have all notices sent to Friesen, Guy & Associates, 7545 Irvine Center Drive, #200, Irvine, CA 92618. 3. The injury was primarily caused at 1077 E. Main St. in Tustin, CA on January 12, 2006, with related actions both before and after that date. 4. Legal Ease, Inc. was subjected to an improper search warrant, had their premises violated due to said improperly obtained search warrant, had its possessions falsely confiscated and improperly retained by the Tustin Police, and was slandered by the Tustin Police via Detective Jon Cartwright in the press. Said actions have resulted in direct damage to the property of Legal . . Ease, Inc. as well as interfered with the ability of Legal Ease, Inc. to continue operations. 5. It is on information and belief that Detective Jon Cartwright is the primary person in charge of conducting the investigation, as well as obtaining and executing the warrant that resulted in the damages to Legal Ease, Inc. 6. The amount of the claim exceeds $25,000.00 and would therefore be sufficient to put the case into unlimited civil jurisdiction. I look forward to discussion the above claim and attempting to reach an amicable settlement of the dispute. Please direct all correspondence to my attention. Should you have any further questions or wish to enter into discussions you may contact me at the above numbers. Mf~ries :~~:.:>7 Sincerely, Enc. . . STATE OF CALIFORNIA. COUNTY OF ORANGE SEARCH WAR.RANT AND AFFIDAVIT (AFFIDAVIT) Detective Jon Cartwriaht declares under penalty of perjury that the facts expressed by him in the attached and (N.m. 01 AfliInl) incorporated Statement of Probable Cauae are true and that based thereon he has probable caUse to believe and does believe that the articles, property, and persons described below are lawfully seizable purSuant to Penal Code Section 1524, as indicated below, and are now located at the locations set forth below. Wherefore, affiant requests that this Search Warrant be' sued. , NIGHT SEARCH REQUESTED: YES ( ) NO (X) (SEARCH WARRANT) THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO ANY SHERIFF, POLICEMAN OR PEACE OFFICER IN THE COUNTY OF ORANGE: proof by affidavit, under penalty of perjury, having been made before me by Del, Jon Cartwrlahl that there Is probable cause to believe that the property or person described herein "may be found at the locations set forth herein and that it is lawfully seizable pursuant to Penal Code Section 1524 as Indicated below by ')((s) In that it " was stolen or embezzled. " 2QQl was used as the means of commilling a felony. m.. is possessed by a person with the intent to use it as means of commilling a public offense or Is possessed by another to whom he or she may have delivered it for the purpose of concealing it or preventing its discovery. XXX tends to show that a felony has been commilled or that a particular person has "commilled a felony. _ tends to show that sexual exploitation of a child, in violation of Penal Code Section 311.3, or possession of mailer depicting sexual conduct of a person under the age of 18 years, in violation of Section 311.11, has occurred or is occurring. _ there is a warrant to arrest the person. YOU ARE THEREFORE COMMANDED TO SEARCH: (Premises, vehicles, persons) Premises: 1077 E. Main Sl Tustin, CA., County of Orange. The premises are further described as a single-story commercial storefront with glass door and windows. The numbers '1077' are affixed to the front of the building above the double glass entry doors and are approximately 7' tall. They are composed of white numbers adhered to the glass as a sticker. There is an approximate 15' lighted sign above the business with e pale yellow background. There are dark lellers that read 'lEI Patient Group'. All rooms, allies, and other parts within the residence and all garages, trash containers, outbuildings, and storage areas designated for the use of the residence. Persons: Timolin Anthony Mary Burke I D.O.B. 070154 Vehicle #1: 2005 Toyota 4 door, 5LZF002 CA Vehicle #2:1989 Mercedes Benz, 5NGU198 CA. FOR THE FOLLOWING PROPERTY OR PERSONS: Marijuana, paraphernalia associated with the sales of marijuana including scales, other weighing devices, containers or packaging malerial, including baggies or folding papers, buyer or seller list or recordations of sales of marijuana. Personal property tending to establish the identity of persons in control of the premises and containers concealing sucli Items as utility receipts, addressed envelopes, keys, bank books, checkbooks, personal phone books, driver's license and photographs/videos, employment records and records of recorded sales. Also be allowed to answer any incoming phone calls or pager calls during the execution of this warrant without revealing our true identity. Electronic data processing and storage devices, camfilras, computers and computer systems, including personal computers; internal and peripheral storage devices such as intemal and extemal hard disk drives, "floppy disk drives and diskelles, tape drives and magnetic data tapes, optical storage deviCes or other memory storage devices. Any digital cameras and memory devices used with digital cameras. STAt OF CALIFORNIA - COUNTY OF O!NGE SEARCH WARRANT AND AFFIDAVIT (AFFIDAVIT) Continued" . Any hand held data processors and storage devices, such as personaldata.organizers.(I?DA:s) and memory devices used. with these storage devices. Any computer software; to include floppy disks, drive units, magnetic tapes, Laser discs, CD's and any other feature which stores data; any related data stored within such units, as well as any related operating logs, software, and instruction and operating manuals used to operate the above listed items. I find it necessary to employ the use of outside experts, acting under the direction of the investigating officers, to access and preserve computer data. Any digital evidence found during the execution of this search warrant will be seized, transported from the scene, and analyzed in a reasonably prudent time. Due to the nature of digital information storage, it is necessary to search every bit, byte, sector and cluster of a hard disk drive or other magnetic or optical storage media for information of evidentiary value. File names or extensions may be altered by a computer operator. As an example, on a Windows-based operating system, text files may be disguised as picture files or picture files may be disguised as text files, through a simple change of the three character extension (ie: '.txr, '.doc', '.jpg', '.gir, etc). Furthermore,through Stenography software, entire text files may be Inserted into picture files, or visa versa, making dIscovery of the hidden information much more time consuming and technically challenging. AND TO SEIZE ITI THEM IF FOUND and bring IV them forthwith before me, or this court, at the courthouse of this court This Search Warrant and Affidavit and attach nd incorporated tement of Probable Cause were sworn to as true under penalty of perjury and subscribed bef m on (date) 1- -a- , at AM. I P.M. Wherefore, I find probable cause f he iss nc of this Search Want and do issue it. NIGHT SEARCH APPROVED: YES I ]NO [ X ) Judicial District, Depl C - -:)1...--- tVonnllsw-afl.597 CENTRAL