Probation

Over prosecutors' objections, a Orange County Superior Court judge Thursday gave a Newport Beach man probation for swinging his 8-pound puppy through the air by a leash on its neck. Verne Joseph Strong, 57, was given credit for 317 days served in jail and sentenced to three years informal probation for misdemeanor animal abuse by a caretaker. Prosecutors were seeking a felony conviction for Strong, a convicted burglar, for violating his parole. On July 11, Strong and his girlfriend, Angel Marie Holmes, 37, also from Newport Beach, were arrested at the Walmart parking lot in Westminster.

Irvine police arrested a registered sex offender last week who had gone to Citrus Glen Park to play tennis, officers said. Jean Pierre Nguyen, 51, of Garden Grove was arrested for violating a July 2011 Irvine law that prohibits certain sex offenders from visiting city parks or recreational facilities, according to the Irvine Police Department. Nguyen was on probation after a conviction earlier this year for indecent exposure in Garden Grove, police said. The Orange County Probation Department contacted Irvine police believing Nguyen was at the park on Thursday.

A couple accused of "fairly sophisticated squatting" at an ocean-view mansion in Newport Coast was sentenced to three years of probation Wednesday in Santa Ana. Chris Wayne Duncan, 43, and Robin Ann Duncan, 37, both of Newport Beach, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit trespass and one misdemeanor count of trespass, the Orange County district attorney's office said. "This crime is an example of people taking advantage of the current real estate environment," said Pete Pierce, the prosecutor who originally asked for the Duncans to be charged with a felony.

A priest convicted of abusing two boys he met in the 1980s remains in Orange County jail after he was arrested for violating his probation at the Resort at Pelican Hill, according to OC Weekly and jail records. In 2007, Michael Stephen Baker, 64, pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts of oral copulation with a person under 18 in a Los Angeles Superior Court, OC Weekly reports. The magazine reported Baker arrested at the pool of Newport Beach's Pelican Hill resort Aug. 17. --Lauren Williams

The Sage Hill School boys’ and girls’ athletic programs have been placed on probation for two years after the CIF Southern Section discovered a lack of administrative oversight last spring involving the boys’ volleyball team. Boys’ Athletic Director J.R. Tolver said the boys’ volleyball program’s decision to withdraw from the CIF Southern California Division III Regional Championship opening-round match on June 2 at Francis Parker of San Diego forced the section to put Sage Hill on probation.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light-heavyweight title holder Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was sentenced to three years’ informal probation Friday for hitting three vehicles with his truck in 2008 and fleeing police. The sentence dismissed his felony evading police charge and upheld his conviction for misdemeanor reckless driving because he completed 200 hours of community service, submitted to random drug testing and underwent psychological counseling. Jackson, 31, was suffering from delirium from a lack of food and sleep July 15, 2008, when he sped his lifted truck with his likeness painted on the side up the 55 Freeway onto Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa.

Stephen Leece, son of Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece, is on three years informal probation and must participate in a domestic violence program after being convicted of violence against his girlfriend. Leece, 28, pleaded guilty Friday to misdemeanor corporal injury to his girlfriend following his arrest June 3 on suspicion he had beat her and her 9-year-old son during an argument at the girlfriend’s home. Prosecutors dropped child abuse and vandalism charges against Leece “in the interest of justice,” said Orange County District Attorney spokeswoman Farrah Emami.

The son of a Costa Mesa city councilwoman arrested for misdemeanor assault and battery was sentenced to probation and community service, court records show. Andrew Dixon, son of Councilwoman Linda Dixon, pleaded guilty to battery Wednesday and had the assault charge dismissed. Dixon was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and given three years of informal probation. Dixon was arrested Monday night after an argument at the Dixon family home in the 200 block of Princeton Drive turned physical.

A priest convicted of abusing two boys he met in the 1980s remains in Orange County jail after he was arrested for violating his probation at the Resort at Pelican Hill, according to OC Weekly and jail records. In 2007, Michael Stephen Baker, 64, pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts of oral copulation with a person under 18 in a Los Angeles Superior Court, OC Weekly reports. The magazine reported Baker arrested at the pool of Newport Beach's Pelican Hill resort Aug. 17. --Lauren Williams

Irvine police arrested a registered sex offender last week who had gone to Citrus Glen Park to play tennis, officers said. Jean Pierre Nguyen, 51, of Garden Grove was arrested for violating a July 2011 Irvine law that prohibits certain sex offenders from visiting city parks or recreational facilities, according to the Irvine Police Department. Nguyen was on probation after a conviction earlier this year for indecent exposure in Garden Grove, police said. The Orange County Probation Department contacted Irvine police believing Nguyen was at the park on Thursday.

Red was not Juan Becerra's favorite color during his first season as coach of the Costa Mesa High boys' soccer team. At the start of his debut, the color turned up in the form of red cards. In one tournament, Becerra said the Mustangs received four red cards. Becerra said the fourth put Costa Mesa on probation because it violated a CIF Southern Section rule. Bylaw No. 2413.5 in the section's Blue Book states that any program receiving a fourth red card (excluding soft reds)

A couple accused of "fairly sophisticated squatting" at an ocean-view mansion in Newport Coast was sentenced to three years of probation Wednesday in Santa Ana. Chris Wayne Duncan, 43, and Robin Ann Duncan, 37, both of Newport Beach, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit trespass and one misdemeanor count of trespass, the Orange County district attorney's office said. "This crime is an example of people taking advantage of the current real estate environment," said Pete Pierce, the prosecutor who originally asked for the Duncans to be charged with a felony.

Former Newport Beach City Attorney David Hunt received probation this week for his recent drunk driving conviction, according to court records. Hunt, 54, of Santa Ana, pleaded guilty Monday to driving under the influence of alcohol, and was sentenced to three years informal probation, restitution, $390 in fines and three months of a first offender alcohol program, according to court records. A second charge against Hunt of driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more was dismissed.

Michael Stephen Baker, a former Roman Catholic priest convicted of molesting two boys and released on parole in late September, was arrested on a parole violation Wednesday in Costa Mesa. Baker served more than five years of a 10-year prison sentence for his 2007 conviction and was scheduled to be released in August. But the Los Angeles district attorney's office filed a petition to have him committed to a state hospital indefinitely as a sexually violent predator. He was held until Sept.

At the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, there are signs scattered throughout the venue reading, "Patrons disrupting the performance for others will be subject to removal from the theater. " Many other venues throughout the region offer similar warnings. Get too loud and you are kicked out and not allowed to return. At UC Irvine, though, disruption gets you a national platform for your pet cause. Last week, 10 of the so-called "Irvine 11" were each convicted of conspiring to and then disrupting the Feb. 8, 2010, speech of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren.

SANTA ANA - An Orange County Superior Court jury on Friday convicted 10 of the so-called Irvine 11 on two misdemeanor charges to conspire and then disrupt a February 2010 speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at UC Irvine. Charges against one defendant had been tentatively dismissed, pending completion of 40 hours of community service at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa. The remaining 10 were sentenced to three years of informal probation and 56 hours of community service.

SANTA ANA — A man convicted of ejaculating twice into a co-worker's drinking water has been sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years probation. Michael Kevin Lallana was convicted Feb. 24 of two misdemeanor counts of battery. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. Lallana worked with the victim, identified only as Tiffany G., at Northwestern Mutual in Newport Beach. Lallana "felt that was as close as he could get" to the 29-year-old executive assistant, said Deputy District Atty.