| For Immediate Release Case # 07HF0412
October 13, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
MAN CONVICTED OF KIDNAPPING LIVE-IN GIRLFRIEND AND ATTEMPTING TO MURDER HER TWO DAYS LATER
*Defendant also convicted of attempting to carjack girlfriend’s neighbor
SANTA ANA – A man was convicted today of kidnapping and attempting to murder his live-in girlfriend and attempting to carjack the victim’s neighbor. Manuel Ozuna Viveros, 33, Rancho Santa Margarita, pleaded guilty to the court to one felony count each of attempted murder, kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, criminal threats, two counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat, and sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a deadly weapon and causing great bodily injury for Jane Doe #1. He pleaded guilty to the court to one felony count each of first-degree residential burglary with a non-accomplice present and attempted carjacking for Jane Doe #2. The defendant has a prior conviction for stalking and false imprisonment in 2003. Viveros was sentenced to a court offer of 18 years in state prison, over the objection of the People, who advocated for a life sentence.
On Feb. 20, 2007, Viveros confronted his live-in girlfriend, Jane Doe #1, at a grocery store in Santa Ana. He forced her into his truck, grabbed her cell phone as she tried to call 9-1-1, and drove the victim to their home in Lake Forest. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department was contacted but defendant fled the scene before police arrived, and a protective order was issued against Viveros for the victim.
On Feb. 22, 2007, Viveros confronted Jane Doe #1 again, this time as she was walking near her home. He attempted to force her into a car and threatened to kill her. When the victim resisted, Viveros reached into his car and retrieved a knife, stabbing Jane Doe #1 multiple times.
Viveros ran away from Jane Doe #1 into a nearby home, where he demanded that the resident, Jane Doe #2, drive him to another city. He left the residence with Jane Doe #2, who then gave him the keys to her car and escaped to another neighbor’s garage.
Deputy District Attorney Heidi Garrel of the Family Protection Unit prosecuted this case.
###