Archive By Author - Jim Holt
5.4 quake rattles, leaves no major damage
You can call it wobbly, you can call it undulating, but you cannot call Wednesday's earthquake harmful in any way - at least in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Jury deliberates in Rodriguez trial
SAN FERNANDO - Jury deliberations are under way this week in the murder trial of Antonio Rodriguez, 29, who is charged with sexually assaulting his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter and killing her in a Castaic park bathroom.
Defense rests in Rodriguez trial
SAN FERNANDO - There is no evidence that 5-year-old Desarie Elizabeth Saravia was sexually assaulted by the man accused of beating her to death inside a Castaic park bathroom, the man's defense lawyer said in closing arguments Tuesday.
Prosecution closes case with photos
SAN FERNANDO - The prosecution wrapped up its case against accused child killer Antonio Rodriguez on Friday by letting some of the more than 100 injury pictures tell the stories of brutality in the savage beating death of 5-year-old Desarie Elizabeth Saravia.
Businesses balk at fees
A planned sewer-system hookup fee - part of a package of sewer-fee rate hikes proposed Santa Clarita Valley-wide - is necessary to avoid future bond measures, a sanitation district official said this week.
They called him ‘Daddy’
SAN FERNANDO - Lawyers representing a man accused of beating to death his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter wrapped up their case Wednesday with further testimony that he was a caring man whom the little girl called "Daddy."
Locals hope to flush out truth about potential sewer-rate hike
Sanitation District officials who held the first of a series of public information meetings on a proposed sewer-rate hike met with criticism and confusion from about 50 people who attended.
Family testifies accused was father figure
SAN FERNANDO - Antonio Rodriguez, who is accused of beating to death his girlfriend's daughter, was a caring father figure who took the child and her brother to his mother's house every day to feed them, according to testimony offered in court Tuesday.
Murdered girl’s blood found in motel room
SAN FERNANDO - Prosecutors wrapped up their case against accused murderer Antonio Rodriguez on Monday with crime analysts saying they found blood belonging to the murdered girl, Desarie Elizabeth Saravia, and her brother inside a blood-splattered Van Nuys motel room.
The sewage-rate hike’s salty effect on business
Hiking Santa Clarita Valley business owners' fees to pay for a salt-ridding machine is not the way to encourage new business to locate here, some owners say.
Experts describe wounding of lifeless little girl
SAN FERNANDO - A veteran emergency room physician said Friday he had never seen a patient injured as badly as tiny 5-year-old Desarie Elizabeth Saravia when she arrived lifeless at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital one afternoon in 2004.
Tragic details unfold through pictures
SAN FERNANDO - A crayon drawing done by a badly beaten boy three days after his 5-year-old sister was savagely beaten to death in a Castaic park bathroom gave jurors a glimpse into the children's shared suffering Thursday as a murder trial continued. On Nov. 15, 2004, Brian Saravia, then 6, remained silent when a doctor specializing in cases of child abuse asked him a few questions at the University of California Los Angeles ...
Meadows works out with the best of ’em
Having exercised with students almost every other day for a month, teachers at Meadows Elementary School will have little problem jumping for joy today when they learn their school is a finalist in a statewide challenge to keep kids fit.
Reliving Desarie’s final moments
SAN FERNANDO - Two Castaic women described in court Wednesday what happened the day a lifeless, naked young girl ended up on their quiet suburban street.
High cost of salt wars
The victor of a water war over chloride levels in the Santa Clara River, pitting upstream suburbanites against downstream farmers, could be determined with the flourish of a pen on two emerging fronts this summer, The Signal has learned following a month-long investigation.
Articles By Author - Jim Holt
Man held at gunpoint, released
Local sheriff's deputies held a motorist at gunpoint Tuesday after he was suspected of driving a stolen car, a sheriff's spokesman said.
Detectives still searching for would-be robbers
Local detectives are still looking for two would-be robbers who held a Valencia woman at gunpoint two weeks ago, said a local sheriff's spokesman.
Hearing delayed for accused bank robbers
A preliminary hearing for three men identified by prosecutors as Crips gang members accused in a take-over bank robbery last September was postponed for the second time Tuesday, a county prosecutor said.
Hearing postponed in fatal Sand Canyon crash
SAN FERNANDO - The preliminary hearing of two men charged with murder in a Sand Canyon street racing death was delayed today over issues of evidence.
Valencia Water customers spout anger at rate increase
News of 20 percent hike in water rates over the next three years upset some Valencia Water Company ratepayers recently, but not as much as having missed the chance to file a formal complaint, according ratepayers who contacted The Signal.
Time tunnel invites visitors to Placerita Canyon Nature Center
Hawks with wings frozen in midair, turtles halted mid-step and snarling mountain lions - all preserved through taxidermy - compete for attention with a lesser-known attraction at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center: a time tunnel of sorts.
Police ID pedestrian killed on Interstate 5
Officials with the Los Angeles County Coroner's office have identified the pedestrian killed early Saturday morning after he was struck by an SUV in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 but are still trying to reach his next of kin, a spokesman said Sunday.
DA reviews charges in boy’s death
Criminal charges are pending in July's fatal boating crash on Pyramid Lake that claimed the life of a 16-year-old boy visiting from Russia, a sheriff's spokesman said.
Chess players compete for championship
There was a beach party at the Hyatt Regency Valencia this weekend and partygoers brought their own boards - chess boards that is.
Motorcyclist taken to hospital after crash
A motorcyclist was taken to the hospital Sunday afternoon following a traffic collision in Canyon Country.
Suspect arrested in blond scammer thefts
A woman suspected of being the blond scammer for allegedly stalking other women at grocery stores, stealing their wallets and then using their IDs to obtain cash or expensive jewelry has been arrested, a local sheriff's spokesman said.
Driver unhurt as car rolls over
A motorist rolled his car several times Thursday after he reportedly pulled onto the gravel shoulder to let a "tailgater" pass on San Francisquito Canyon Road, said a man who towed the wrecked car from the crash site.
UPDATE: Woman returned from Oregon to face charges of killing mother
A former Saugus High School student was in jail in Van Nuys Wednesday accused of murdering her mother after homicide detectives brought her back from Oregon, said the detective in charge of the case.
Attacker sought in Canyon Country condo assault
Despite an arrest made in last week's attack of a woman inside her condo complex garage in Canyon Country, local sheriff's deputies are still looking for a second man wanted for a similar attack on a woman nearly a year ago at the same complex, a local sheriff's spokesman said Wednesday.
Canyon Country man sentenced to 14 years in extortion case
A Canyon Country man who shot up the American Beauty condo complex with a machine gun eight years ago pleaded guilty to five criminal counts in a more recent series of offenses, including two counts of felony battery on a peace officer and three counts of extortion, a deputy district attorney said Wednesday.
