| For Immediate Release Case # 09ZF0069
October 15, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
POLICE SERGEANT INDICTED FOR PHYSICALLY ABUSING ESTRANGED WIFE AND NEW GIRLFRIEND ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS
SANTA ANA – A Sergeant with the Westminster Police Department will be arraigned tomorrow for repeatedly physically assaulting his estranged wife and new girlfriend. William Arganda, 39, Orange, was indicted Sept. 23, 2009, on three felony counts of domestic battery causing corporal injury to a spouse or former spouse, four misdemeanor counts of battery upon a girlfriend, one misdemeanor count of inducing false statements to law enforcement, and one misdemeanor count of disclosing Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) information without authorization. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of four years and four months in state prison. Arganda is out of custody on $100,000 bail and is scheduled for continued arraignment tomorrow, Oct. 16, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-5, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Arganda, an 18-year veteran of the Westminster Police Department, was married to Jane Doe #1 in 1998. The couple, who had two children and lived together in Orange, separated in August 2006. Between September and December 2006, Arganda is accused of assaulting Jane Doe #1 on at least three occasions in the Orange home the couple had formerly shared. He is accused of physically assaulting the victim during arguments including grabbing her and pulling her backwards and pushing her into a bedroom closet onto a wooden rack. The defendant is accused of inflicting corporal injury on Jane Doe #1, including bruising to her abdomen, wrist, arm, and back of her neck.
In February 2009, Arganda is accused of beginning to date Jane Doe #2. Between February and May 2009, Arganda is accused of assaulting the victim on at least four occasions during arguments. Arganda is accused of assaulting the victim including grabbing her keys and swinging them at her hand, placing her in a headlock and pulling her hair, covering her nose and mouth with his hand, pinning down her legs, and grabbing her throat and squeezing her neck.
In March 2009, Arganda is accused of using his law enforcement access to DMV records to run the license plate of a car parked in front of Jane Doe #2’s home without a legitimate law enforcement purpose. He is accused of confronting the victim with the specific name and city of residence of a male from Inglewood, and demanding to know why this male had been at her home. The law makes the sharing of personal information obtained through law enforcement searches of the DMV database a misdemeanor.
On May 26, 2009, Arganda is accused of becoming angry with Jane Doe #2 during an argument, grabbing her from behind, forcing her head against the kitchen counter, and putting his hand over her mouth. When Jane Doe #2 was able to get away, she began breaking items in Arganda’s house. Arganda is accused of calling 9-1-1 and claiming that Jane Doe #2 was vandalizing his property and committing violence against him. Responding officers took a report to conduct further investigation, but no one was arrested at that time due to the conflicting stories by the defendant and the victim.
On May 28, 2009, Arganda is accused of calling a female friend and instructing her to lie to police if contacted about the May 26, 2009, incident. He is accused of coaching her to say she witnessed the assault from an outside window and that Jane Doe #2 was the aggressor. On May 29, 2009, Arganda is accused of contacting the Orange Police Department (OPD) to say that his friend had information regarding their investigation into the domestic dispute.