An attorney awaiting sentencing for vehicular manslaughter for killing a bicyclist while driving under the influence of prescriptions drugs in Mission Viejo, was now facing an additional charge of possessing a controlled substance while in custody, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Hasti Fakhrai-Bayrooti of Rancho Santa Margarita pleaded guilty in March to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the 2013 crash that killed Eric Billings.

The crash occurred on Santa Margarita Parkway south of El Toro Road, near Trabuco Hills High School, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Fakhrai-Bayrooti was driving southbound when she veered into the bike lane, striking Billings, a release from the OCSD stated.

The impact sent the 54-year-old bicyclist over the hood and windshield of the car, according to the release. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

While in court for a sentencing hearing on May 8, Fakhrai-Bayrooti’s attorney requested a continuance to review the probation and sentencing report and told the court that the defendant was recently admitted to a rehab program and receiving treatment, according to the DA’s office.

The court granted the continuance but ordered the defendant to be remanded into custody pending sentencing.

On May 13, Fakhrai-Bayrooti was allegedly found to be in possession of the prescription drug Clonazepam while in jail, the release stated.

She was scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday in the vehicular homicide case in which she faced a maximum of four years in state prison.

An 11-year-old girl who lost her leg in an accident when she was a toddler is not the same girl was five days ago. On Friday, she ran the bases.

That’s because of a week spent with the Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball Team, a group of veterans and active-duty military personnel whose missing limbs don’t prevent from competing on the field.

Chloe Schmidt steps up to home plate for some coaching on June 12, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)

Chloe Schmidt is one of the young participants — who come from all over the country — at a weeklong camp hosted by the team in Mission Viejo.

“It’s really a life-changing experience,” Schmidt said. “They can teach me how to run, or how to do things I didn’t know I could do, and do them better too.”

As a little girl, Schmidt slip under a lawnmower her father was using, and he didn’t see her. The Maryland girl’s left leg was amputated.

Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball Team, a Virginia-based 501(c)3 nonprofit, has a mission to educate and inspire, in addition to supporting its team members. The team plays against able-bodied opponents across the country in exhibition teams.

The organization’s Kids Camp lets team members show children between 8 and 12 who were born without a limb or went through an amputation how they can excel athletically. The week in Mission Viejo marks the camp’s third incarnation since the first camp in Florida in 2013, according to the team’s website.

A participant in the Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball Team Kids Camp waits at third base on June 12, 2015. (Credit: Christina Pascucci / KTLA)

“Every kid has their own story, and every kid’s overcome so much,” said team member Sgt. Chris Hutton.

Hutton survived two tours in Iraq, but lost his leg to a drunk driver after returning home. He said he could not fathom growing up missing a limb.

“It makes the hair stand on my arms, just how they get through life,” Hutton said.

Camp founder Susan Rodio said the adult team members benefit too.

“They healed from their injuries, but this gave them a purpose again,” Rodio said.

On Friday evening, the campers will go to head to head for a game that marks the conclusion of the week: Thunder versus Lightning.

On June 20, the adult team heads to Akron, Ohio, for a double-header.

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An attorney convicted of killing a cyclist in Mission Viejo while under the influence of prescription drugs was sentenced Friday to four years in prison.

Hasti Fakhrai-Bayrooti, 41, pleaded guilty on March 10 to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the 2013 crash, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

The Rancho Santa Margarita woman also pleaded guilty Friday to one felony count of possession of a controlled substance while in jail.

She was sentenced to another three years in jail for that offense, to be served concurrently with Friday’s prison sentence, the release stated.

The crash occurred around 6:45 p.m. on March 15, 2013 on Santa Margarita Parkway south of El Toro Road, near Trabuco Hills High School, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Fakhrai-Bayrooti was driving southbound when she veered into the bike lane, striking Eric Billings, the release stated.

The impact sent the 54-year-old bicyclist over the hood and windshield of the car, according to the release. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

At the time of the crash, Fakhrai-Bayrooti was under the influence of prescription drugs, including Xanax and Suboxone, according to the DA’s Office.

A track and field coach at Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo has been arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography after several graphic photos were discovered on an iPad, authorities said.

Raymond William Henry II, 57, of Laguna Niguel, is seen in a booking photo. (Credit: Orange County Sheriff’s Department)

Raymond William Henry II, 57, was taken into custody on Friday and was being held on $20,000 bail, according to a news release from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The arrest was the result of an investigation that began Thursday when a person reported finding an iPad inside a vehicle after it was returned to a car-rental business, the department said.

Members of the sheriff’s Special Victims Unit contacted the person who discovered the computer tablet, and were informed that it “contained photos of naked females ranging in age from 11 to 13 years old, exposing their genitals,” the release said.

According to officials, investigators also found numerous images of female minors wearing Trabuco Hills High School uniforms and participating in track and field activities.

Authorities subsequently learned that Henry is an athletics coach and teacher’s aide at the high school, the statement said.

A spokesperson for the Saddleback Unified School District did not immediately respond to a telephone call seeking comment.

Henry, a Laguna Niguel resident, was booked into the Orange County jail on suspicion of possessing child pornography. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Unit at 714-647-7060 or 714-647-7000. Anonymous tips may be submitted by calling 855-847-6227 or visiting occrimestoppers.org.

A 70-year-old retired Los Angeles Police Department detective was identified Thursday as the “Snowbird Bandit,” who robbed five Orange County banks between March and July, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Randolph Bruce Adair, of Rancho Santa Margarita, was arrested Wednesday after several family members saw media reports about the “Snowbird Bandit” and contacted investigators, according to OCSD.

Details regarding what information family members were able to provide was not given, and a booking photo was not released due to the ongoing investigation.

Adair is suspected of robbing five banks:

• First Citizens Bank in Rancho Santa Margarita on July 21
• U.S. Bank in Ladera Ranch on July 6
• Wells Fargo Bank in Mission Viejo on June 11
• First Citizens Bank in Rancho Santa Margarita on May 22
• California Bank & Trust in Dana Point on March 20

The former detective worked with the LAPD some 30 years ago, according to OCSD Lt. Jeff Hallock.

“It’s shocking and it’s unfortunate,” Hallock said.

Neighbors were surprised by Adair’s arrest and told KTLA he seemed like a normal man.

“He would just be on his porch smoking cigars and just watching the neighborhood,” neighbor Chris Zeif said. “Just talking to people when they walked by – ‘How are you doing? How is everything?’”

Hallock said Adair’s motive was not known, but “generally speaking” robbers have issues with addiction.

“(Robbers) will indicate that a lot of time the bank robberies are as a result of some type of addiction, whether it’s a drug addiction or a gambling addiction or something like that,” Hallock said.

Adair was arrested on suspicion of robbery and an outstanding warrant and held in lieu of $205,000 bail at an Orange County jail.

Investigators planned to pursue federal charges, the OCSD news release stated.

Anyone with additional information was asked to contact the Sheriff’s Department at 714-647-7000 or the Bank Robbery Apprehension Team at 949-939-8699. Anonymous tips could be submitted to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227 or at occrimestoppers.org.

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A Mission Viejo middle-school teacher who saw the allegations that she committed lewd acts with a student dropped in criminal court spoke out Monday to share her side of the story, nearly a year after the case was first made public.

Kristen Roush, a teacher at La Paz Intermediate School, was arrested on Oct. 24, 2014, at her Aliso Viejo home and held on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child.

Roush had just pulled into the garage with her youngest daughter, who was in preschool at the time, when investigators suddenly appeared.

"Three men showed up behind my car at the garage and said they needed to talk to me and that I needed to call someone to take my child," Roush said. According to the 35-year-old mother of two, the detectives threatened to call child protective services if she didn't call someone first.

Roush's arrest followed a monthslong investigation into her interactions with a 15-year-old boy whose parents told authorities they believed the relationship was inappropriate. Evidence on her cellphone linked her to the child, the Sheriff’s Department said at the time of her arrest.

The student accused her of kissing him, the Orange County Register reported.

Speaking to KTLA on Monday, Roush denied any inappropriate contact with the teenager or with any other student. Roush claimed the student's mother jumped to conclusions when she gave the boy a ride home.

"He got out of the car and she said, 'you are not supposed to be with her,'" Roush told KTLA. "I said I was under the impression he had permission and she said 'kids lie all the time.'"

Roush said she had her own two children in the car at the time.

The boy's mother called 911, which Roush and her attorney claimed led to innocent gestures being misinterpreted as criminal.

"The most contact Kristen had with her students, and it was more than one, were hugs, innocent hugs," said attorney David Wohl.

At her arraignment in November, Roush was supported by her husband, with whom she has two children, and her parents and former co-workers.

Then, this July, she took a plea deal, agreeing to admit to one misdemeanor charge of battery on school property. All felony counts of lewd acts were dismissed, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.

On Sept. 18, she was sentenced to three years of formal probation for the misdemeanor charge. Roush said the battery charge was for one of those hugs.

As part of the plea deal, Roush agreed to resign her teaching position, according to the prosecutor in the case.

“There was no way for her to ever go back,” her attorney, David Wohl, told the newspaper. “She’s basically weighing her options. She’s a very smart woman, and she has great family support and has weathered this fairly well. She knew she was innocent.”

Roush said she took the plea deal to spare her family the expense of a trial and to protect those who believed in her from being dragged into court.

At least four armed robbers were seen on surveillance video taking jewelry from a store at the Shops at Mission Viejo mall Wednesday.

Surveillance video shows an armed robbery at a store in Mission Viejo on Oct. 21, 2015. (Credit: Orange County Sheriff's Department)

The robbers took an unknown amount of Rolex watches and jewelry from Fredric H. Rubel Jewelers during the incident, which was first tweeted by the Orange County Sheriff's Department at 12:19 p.m.

Surveillance video showed the robbers using hand-held tools to break glass display cases full of jewelry.

Once the glass was broken, the robbers scooped the contents of the cases into the sacks they were carrying and fled the store.

Others in the store took cover as at least one of the robbers brandished a firearm.

The robbers were all wearing dark-colored hooded sweatshirts during the incident, which lasted about 60 seconds.

Some people near the incident mistook the sound of breaking glass for gunshots, according to Lt. Jeff Hallock of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

No shots were fired and no injures were reported, according to the Sheriff's Department.

The robbers were said to all be men and were apparently armed, according to the Sheriff's Department's tweet.

They were suspected of changing vehicles after making their getaway and conflicting descriptions of the robbers were given to officials so descriptions were not available, Hallock said.

The stolen watches were fixed with tracking devices, which led investigators to the northbound 405 Freeway between Beach Boulevard and Newland Street in the Huntington Beach area.

Witnesses told sheriff's officials they saw bags being thrown out of a vehicle, and video of the scene showed watches on the roadway. However, Hallock said they could not immediately confirm the objects found were the stolen watches.

"The suspects were described as male, African-Americans, wearing black masks and clothing," according to a news release from the Sheriff's Department.

Anyone with information regarding the robbery was asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at 714-647-7000.  Anonymous tips may also be submitted to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS (855-847-6227) or at occrimestoppers.org.

KTLA's Ashley Soley-Cerro, Kennedy Ryan and Feven Kiflegiorgis contributed to this report.

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A Capistrano Valley High School math teacher suspected of “sexting” with a 16-year-old student was arrested at his home in Irvine Monday.

Justin Verducci is seen in a photo provided by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department on Nov. 30, 2015.

Justin Verducci, 25, was taken into custody after the teenager’s parents discovered several inappropriate text messages on their daughter’s phone and contacted sheriff’s investigators Friday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release.

“The text messages were sexual in nature and exchanged between their daughter and Verducci,” the Sheriff’s Department stated.

Verducci, a math teacher at the Mission Viejo school, was arrested for child annoyance and sexual communication with a known minor online.

He was being held on $20,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Anyone with further information regarding possible additional victims was asked to call the Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victim’s Unit at 714-647-7418 or 714-647-7000.

Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS (855-847-6227) or submit a tip at occrimestoppers.org.

Lightning strikes during a powerful thunderstorm that rolled through Southern California on Monday morning caused trees to catch fire and sparked a blaze that resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in damages at several businesses.

Video posted to Twitter shortly before 7 a.m. captured the moments after a lightning bolt struck in the area of Mariposa Avenue and Second Street. The strike ignited a palm tree sitting in the front yard of a residential property.

Twitter user Ken Chung, who recorded the footage while heading to work, said he immediately dialed 911 to report the blaze.

In Mission Viejo, firefighters responded to the 26000 block of Crown Valley Parkway after an attic fire erupted when the structure was hit by lightning, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

The flames were extinguished, but not before a total of five businesses were impacted. The blaze caused about $30,000 in damages, fire officials said.

Some residents reported being awoken by the storm, which brought lightning, thunder, heavy rain and even hail to parts of the Southland in the overnight and early morning hours.

Surveillance video showing three men committing an armed robbery of a Mission Viejo pharmacy was released by authorities on Thursday.

The crime occurred 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Employees from Cal-Med Pharmacy, at 24031 Marguerite Parkway, reported the robbery at 9:08 p.m., a sheriff’s lieutenant told the Orange County Register.

The newspaper reported it wasn’t known what the robbers got away with.

Orange County has experienced a string of thefts at pharmacies in recent months, with burglars targeting a prescription cough syrup that is used in a drug-infused party drink known as "syzzurp," among other names. It's not clear if the Mission Viejo robbery is part of that trend.

A second type of mosquito that carries the Zika virus has been discovered in Mission Viejo, according to a Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District official. Dave Mecham reports for the KTLA 5 News at 10 on Aug. 14, 2016.

New concerns about titanium golf clubs after authorities say one sparked a brush fire in Mission Viejo that burned 20 acres this week. Chip Yost reports from Irvine for the KTLA 5 News at 1 on Sept. 8. 2016.

Michael Lee yearbook photo. Credit: Marcos Meza

A student who attended Mission Viejo High School more than 20 years ago correctly predicted that that the Chicago Cubs would win the 2016 World Series.

In his senior year picture for the school's 1993 yearbook, Michael Lee wrote:

"Chicago Cubs. 2016 World Series Champions. You heard it here first."

The Cubs, of course, did just that, beating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 on Wednesday night. The victory marked the first World Series win for the Cubs in more than a century.

Lee's former classmate, Marcos Meza, provided KTLA sister station WGN-TV in Chicago last month with video proof that the yearbook photo and its message are real.

"When [Lee and I] connected on Facebook in 2009 I sent him the photo and told him we were nearing 2016. He posted the photo of his prediction on August 8th," Meza said. "After my Dodgers lost it was time for me to make this go viral and BeLEEve in the Cubs for 2016."

A Mission Viejo man was convicted of murder on Monday after he drunkenly drove into a home and killed a 60-year-old man who was asleep in the front bedroom, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

Kourosh Keshmiri is seen in a booking photo provided by OCSD after his December 2013 arrest.

Kourosh Keshmiri was found guilty of one felony count of murder.

The 30-year-old was speeding in a residential neighborhood around 3 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2013, when he lost control of his car and crashed into the home.

Kenneth Jackson was sleeping in his bed when he was struck by the vehicle, later dying from his injuries, prosecutors said.

Keshmiri was traveling at a speed of 86 mph in a 25 mph zone when the crash occurred, according to prosecutors.

He was previously charged in a separate DUI case in 2013 and had a prior DUI conviction in 2010.

When Keshmiri was convicted in 2010, prosecutors warned him that he could be charged with murder if he killed a person while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Keshmiri faces a maximum sentence of 15 years-to-life in state prison.

Kourosh Keshmiri is seen at the scene where he drove into a home, killing its occupant, on Dec. 29, 2013. (Credit: Southern Counties News)

A drunken driver who was convicted of killing a sleeping man by crashing into the victim’s Mission Viejo home was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Orange County District Attorney’s Office officials said Friday.

Kourosh Keshmiri is seen in a booking photo provided by OCSD after his December 2013 arrest.

Kourosh Keshmiri, 30, was found guilty of second-degree murder on Dec. 12 in connection with the 2013 incident.

Keshmiri had previously been convicted of DUI in 2010 and on Friday he also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol with a prior and driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher with a prior.

Keshmiri had previously been convicted of DUI in 2010.

During the 2013 incident, Keshmiri was going over 86 mph in a 25 mph neighborhood, officials said. He lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a home, driving into the front bedroom where Kenneth Jackson, 60, was sleeping. Jackson died at the scene, officials said.

During victim impact statements in court Friday friends said Jackson served in the Peace Corp.

A man died Thursday after crashing into an object as he fled law enforcement officials who were investigating whether the car he was driving was stolen, deputies said.

Deputies respond to the scene where at suspected car thief crashed a Corvette on Feb. 16, 2017. (Credit: Kelli Yoon)

A vehicle described only as a Corvette was reported stolen in Mission Viejo to Orange County Sheriff’s officials around 6:30 p.m., according to Lt. Mark Stichter. About an hour later, deputies spotted the Corvette in the Foxborough area of Lake Forest, Stichter said.

Officials conducted a traffic stop but the suspect was not complying and sped away as deputies were giving him commands, OC Sheriff’s Lt. Wayne Rehnelt said.

After a 10-minute search authorities located the suspect near the intersection of Trabuco Road and Cherry Avenue, where the Corvette had collided with an unspecified object, Stichter said. First responders with the Orange County Fire Authority pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The suspect has not been identified, and Sheriff’s officials said they are investigating the incident.

No further details were immediately available.

Known for his outrageous Twitter outbursts and conflicts with police, mixed martial arts fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller is looking to make amends.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller is shown during his arrest after a standoff that he live-tweeted on Oct. 9, 2014, in Mission Viejo. (Credit: Chip Yost / KTLA)

Seeking to resolve no fewer than five criminal cases in Orange County, Miller agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to more than a dozen felony and misdemeanor charges for vandalizing a tattoo shop, assaulting police officers and resisting arrest.

The 36-year-old fighter, who was facing a possible 21-year prison sentence, received a punishment of three years’ probation and 100 days in jail. Because he has already spent 50 days in county jail, under California law, Miller won’t have to serve any additional jail time.

“I have done a lot of things that I regret,” Miller said. “I wasn’t thinking during those times.”

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller is shown in a booking photo provided by OCSD on March 16, 2016.

One man died and another is hospitalized in critical condition following a double stabbing at an apartment complex in Mission Viejo, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday.

Deputies were dispatched to a complex in the 28000 block of Marguerite Parkway following a report of a stabbing near the entrance just after 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Sheriff’s Department news release. The location is not far from The Shops at Mission Viejo.

When they arrived, deputies found two men had been stabbed.

Both men were transported to a local hospital by the Orange County Fire Authority, which also responded to the scene.

One of the stabbing victims later died, according to the release. His identity has not yet been released.

The other victim, who was critically wounded in the stabbing, remains hospitalized.

A motive for the case was not immediately known. Sheriff’s officials have also not said whether anyone was being sought in connection to the deadly incident.

As the investigation continues, authorities have asked anyone with information to contact the Sheriff’s Department at 714-647-7000.

Additionally, anonymous tips can be left by calling Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227.

Four schools in Mission Viejo were temporarily placed on lockdown Wednesday while deputies searched for a man sought by authorities in Northern California, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Four schools — La Paz Intermediate, Linda Vista Elementary, Mission Viejo High and Esperanza Special Education — were initially placed on lockdown out of “an abundance of caution,” the department tweeted just before 11:20 a.m. All four campuses are a short distance away from each other.

About 30 minutes later, the department tweeted that the lockdown had been lifted at Mission Viejo High School and Linda Vista Elementary School.

A short time after that, the order at the two remaining schools was downgraded to “soft lockdown,” meaning classes could resume but students could not move about the campus.

The lockdown was completely lifted by 2:20 p.m., according to the department.

Sheriff’s deputies were searching for a subject in the area at the request of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, and there was “no direct threat made to any school,” according to the department.

The man being sought was identified as 32-year-old Lee Zechariah Austin, who was wanted for outstanding warrants, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Lane Lagaret.

Austin was believed to be in the area of the schools at one point. After further investigation, authorities no longer believe that to be the case, Lagaret said.

No additional information was immediately provided.

KTLA’s Chip Yost contributed to this story. 

Jaime Zepeda is seen in an image provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

The father of a 10-year-old boy abducted in Mission Viejo is believed to be in Mexico with his son, who told investigators he was "safe," authorities said Thursday.

Jaime Carmona Zepeda, 33, was supposed to return his son, Jaime Huerta, to his estranged wife at about 7 p.m. Wednesday per the conditions of a court order, but never showed up, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release.

Huerta was last seen leaving Linda Vista Elementary School in Mission Viejo at about 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Authorities later asked the public to be on the lookout for Zepeda, who they thought could be on his way to Mexico with Huerta. Just before 10 a.m. Thursday, the Sheriff's Department said on Twitter that the pair had been in contact with investigators.

The boy told authorities he was safe, and investigators think they are in fact now in Mexico.

Jaime Zepeda (left) is seen with his son, Jaime Huerta, in a photo provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Zepeda was described as a Hispanic man, about 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Investigators said Zepeda was likely traveling in either a gold-colored 2002 Ford F-150 with license plate No. 8U71467, or a 1997 Toyota Celica with license plate No. 6FGN527.

The boy was described as Hispanic, about 4 feet 10 inches tall, weighing about 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing black Adidas shorts, a gray sweater and black tennis shoes, with a backpack.

No further information about the contact with Zepeda was given.