News Articles/Press Releases
- 7/11/11: Former Sailor Receives Prison Sentence for Possessing Child Pornography — The San Diego RCFL aided the joint investigation brought under Project Safe Childhood — learn more.
- 6/28/11: Old Fashioned Police Work Combined With Modern Technology Resolves Cold Case — The San Diego RCFL was part of a team of investigators and prosecutors who brought justice to the victims of convicted murderer and sexual predator Philong Huynh, 40. Huynh was convicted of murder and sexual assault and will spend the rest of his life in prison — get the full story.
- Video Feature —Television news program "Dateline NBC," featured a story about the double homicide of a young mother and her 10-month old son. The San Diego RCFL provided expertise to investigators who eventually found the killer and charged him with both murders. Read about the story on page 26 of the RCFL Program's FY09 annual report — or watch the Dateline piece.
- 3/30/11: Jury Rules in Coast Guard Boating Accident Court Martial — Coast Guard Petty Officer Paul Ramos received the maximum sentence for his role in the boating accident which killed an 8-year old boy. The San Diego RCFL provided audio/visual expertise to Coast Guard prosecutors.
- 3/21/11: Former Music Teacher Sentenced to Prison — The San Diego RCFL (SDRCFL) provided digital forensics expertise for an investigation involving Mark Lewis Kinney, 48, who was convicted on several counts of child molestation and pornography. On March 18, 2011, Kinney was sentenced to 15 years to life for his crimes – read the full story.
- 3/15/11: San Diego RCFL Aids Investigation Involving Largest Cache of Homemade Explosives in U.S. History – Suspect Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery — George Jakubec, 54, plead guilty to two armed bank robberies in the San Diego area. The unemployed software engineer's home was packed with so many explosives, that authorities destroyed it because of the risks posed to the community. The San Diego RCFL supported the investigation.
- 3/21/11 – Former Music Teacher Sentenced to Prison — The San Diego RCFL (SDRCFL) provided digital forensics expertise for an investigation involving Mark Lewis Kinney, 48, who was convicted on several counts of child molestation and pornography. On March 18, 2011, Kinney was sentenced to 15 years to life for his crimes – read the full story.
- 1/19/11 – San Diego RCFL Supports Successful Ponzi Scheme Prosecution — The two brothers behind a $30 million Ponzi scheme plead guilty in San Diego Federal Court for their role in the plot. Investors lost between approximately $20 million to $50 million. The San Diego RCFL (SDRCFL) devoted hundreds of hours to the complicated financial investigation — learn more.
- 1/16/11: SDRCFL laboratory director Craig Porter was interviewed live on a local morning news program about the inner-workings of the laboratory - click here to watch a short clip.
- 12/8/10: San Diego RCFL Aids Investigation Involving Largest Cache of Homemade Explosives in U.S. History The arrest of an unemployed software engineer whose home contained firearms, homemade explosives, and bomb making materials launched an intense investigation of the owner, George Jakubec. The San Diego RCFL is providing digital forensics expertise to investigators — learn more.
- 11/15/10: San Diego RCFL Aids Joint Investigation of Man Accused of Possessing Child Pornography — Read the full story.
- 8/30/10: San Diego Man Receives Heavy Sentence for Possessing Child Pornography Former San Diego resident David Grummer received a 295-month prison sentence for 18 counts of receipt of child pornography and five counts of possession of child pornography, in a case investigated by the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The San Diego RCFL (SDRCFL) provided digital forensics expertise to investigators who pursued this case as part of Project Safe Childhood — learn more.
- 6/30/10: San Diego RCFL Assists Successful Child Pornography Investigation A San Diego man was convicted on June 24, 2010 on 18 counts of receipt of child pornography and five counts of possession of child pornography in a case investigated by the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The San Diego RCFL (SDRCFL) provided digital forensics expertise to investigators in the case which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood — learn more.
- 5/12/10: Teen Hacker Found Guilty for Crashing PlayStation Website The San Diego RCFL supported the federal investigation.
- 5/12/10: San Diego Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting Children The San Diego RCFL assisted the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office in the investigation of Jared Ravin Yaffe, who paid a babysitter to bring children in his care to him, so he could molest them. On May 7, 2010, Yaffe plead guilty.
- 04/26/10: Southern California Man Pleads Guilty to Teens’ Murders By pleading guilty to the murders of Chelsea King, 17 and Amber Dubois, 14, John Gardner will spend the rest of his life in a jail cell, and will not face the death penalty. The San Diego RCFL was involved in the forensic analysis of several computers from both investigations.
- 07/12/09: REGION: Escondido joins regional computer forensics lab When Escondido teen Amber Dubois disappeared in February, detectives sent the family's computer to the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in San Diego. Forensic experts there quickly determined that the household's Internet use had spiked in the week before Amber went missing, leading detectives to seek her e-mails and chat records from Yahoo. While Amber's case was given a quick turnaround ---- the search for the missing Escondido High School student continues ---- local police detectives say that computer forensic examinations are not just for high-profile cases...
- 09/26/08: Prison Time for Man on Drug and Porn Charges SAN DIEGO - A San Diego man who sold 250 grams of cocaine and received obscene material on his computer was sentenced Friday to more than 11 years in federal prison. William Edward Fessler, 37, also known as Kareem Montano, had been charged with distribution of cocaine base and transportation of obscene matter. He pleaded guilty July 1. Fessler's 135-month sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw.
- 05/24/07: 2 girls testify that man tied them up, molested them - Suspect dated their mothers CHULA VISTA – Two girls told a judge yesterday that they were tied up and molested by an Imperial Beach man their mothers dated between 1998 and 2002. Neither of the mothers knew each other, and they dated Robert Samuel Kircher at different times, but their daughters gave strikingly similar accounts in graphic detail of what happened to them. At the end of the hearing in Chula Vista Superior Court, Judge Esteban Hernandez ordered Kircher held in jail without bail pending a hearing June 7 to set a trial date...