| For Immediate Release Case # 09HF1242
July 15, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
FATHER TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR KIDNAPPING 3-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER AND ASSAULTING EX-GIRLFRIEND AND HER MALE FRIEND WITH A FIREARM
NEWPORT BEACH – A father will be arraigned tomorrow for kidnapping his 3-year-old daughter and assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her male friend with a firearm after becoming angry about the male friend during a custody drop-off. Daniel Chomina, 28, Garden Grove, is charged with three felony counts of assault with a firearm, one felony count of kidnapping, one felony count of first degree residential burglary, one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon for a 2005 conviction for the sale and transportation of a controlled substance, and a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of approximately 25 years in state prison. Chomina is being held on $250,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, Thursday, July 16, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. in Department H-2, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach.
Chomina and his ex-girlfriend, 23-year-old Jane Doe, share custody of their 3-year-old daughter. At approximately 9:30 a.m. on July 13, 2009, Chomina is accused of arriving at Jane Doe’s Lake Forest home to drop off the little girl. While inside the residence, Chomina is accused of becoming angry after finding that Jane Doe had a 28-year-old male friend, John Doe, in the master bedroom. He is accused of pointing a firearm at the two victims and then hitting John Doe in the head with the barrel of the firearm. The daughter was not in the bedroom at this time.
Chomina is accused of running from the apartment and the victims locked themselves inside with the little girl to call 9-1-1. While the victims were calling for help, Chomina is accused of returning to the home and pounding on the door. He is accused of then breaking into the house through a kitchen window screen and grabbing his daughter. Chomina is accused of taking the little girl and fleeing the scene in his truck.
While deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) were at Jane Doe’s home taking statements from the victims, Chomina is accused of calling Jane Doe and agreeing to drop their daughter off with his mother at Daniel’s Burgers in Anaheim. The defendant is accused of leaving the little girl as he had indicated and again fleeing the scene.
A warrant was issued for Chomina yesterday morning, July 14, 2009, and he was arrested later in the day at a home in Orange by OCSD and the Orange Police Department.
Deputy District Attorney Heidi Garrel of the Family Protection Unit is prosecuting this case.
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