CAPTURED: THE FIRST OF ORANGE COUNTY’S TOP TEN MOST WANTED CRIMINALS

CAPTURED: THE FIRST OF ORANGE COUNTY’S TOP TEN MOST WANTED CRIMINALS

Santa Ana – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) and the Orange Police Department announced the capture of James Lawrence Diamond who had been wanted on seven counts of a lewd act upon a child since September 1997. Diamond was featured on the OCDA’s new Ten Most Wanted list. The defendant was apprehended in Pahrump, Nevada on September 30, 2005, before the press coverage, but the OCDA had been receiving active, fresh tips as a result. He will be brought back to Orange County later this week for prosecution. If convicted on all charges the defendant is facing up to 20 years in state prison

In July of 1997, defendant Diamond babysat a then 5-year-old female relative three times a week.  The victim during a routine examination disclosed to the school nurse that the defendant inappropriately touched her, orally copulated her, and made the victim orally copulate the defendant. The victim had said that the defendant had shown her pornographic tapes.  The defendant was in the process of shredding the pornographic tapes when the police went to his house.  On September 22, 1997, an Orange Police detective told him to come to the Orange Police Department.  The defendant had driven down and was waiting in the lobby.  When the detective came back, the defendant was gone.  When the police went to make contact with Diamond, they discovered that he had loaded a U-Haul and fled.  The trail was cold soon there after. 

“It was just a matter of time before Mr. Diamond was captured,” said Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. “We will be picking a very worthy candidate to replace Mr. Diamond on the Orange County District Attorney’s Top Ten list and we will let you know when that happens. We need to keep publicizing these fugitives. We urge the public to please keep logging on and please keep looking.”

“We view this as a win for the public,” said Captain Steven Ames of the Orange Police Department. “The public was responsible for the increase in information regarding this case. Law enforcement cannot do our job without assistance from the public.”

The Ten Most Wanted list was introduced as part of a new OCDA website to help fight crime. It deputizes the public to help find some of the worst criminal offenders who have eluded capture.  The list will be updated regularly with information about this and other cases.  To access the Orange County District Attorney’s website go to www.orangecountyda.com or www.orangecountydistrictattorney.com.