Arcadia, CA is a peaceful, upscale suburban community just East of Pasadena in Los Angeles' San Gabriel Valley.  Also nearby are Altadena, South Pasadena, Alhambra, Duarte, Monrovia, Temple City, El Monte and San Gabriel.  Criminal cases originating in Arcadia are heard at the Pasadena Courthouse.  The Arcadia Police Department provides law enforcement services in the area, with the California Highway Patrol enforcing laws on the 210 Freeway.

Arcadia has a residential population of over 55,000 residents, and is home to the LA County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens and the Santa Anita Park racetrack.  With its quaint location and upscale population, Arcadia does not suffer from many of the types of crime that plague many other areas in Los Angeles.  Nevertheless, criminal charges are not uncommon, and citizens find themselves having to appear in court to defend against misdemeanor or felony charges.  DUI and drug charges are the most common criminal offenses charged in Arcadia.  Domestic Violence and theft crimes are also not uncommon. 

If you or a loved one has been arrested by Arcadia Police and now must appear at the Pasadena or Alhambra Courthouse, contact the Law Offices of Nicholas Loncar now for a free consultation with a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney.  With experience handling a wide range of criminal matters from DUI and Petty Theft to Aggravated Assault and Homicide, our office has the experience you need.  Attorney Nicholas Loncar is passionate, aggressive and fights hard for clients' rights.  Call us now to discuss your case, your defenses and the possible and likely outcome(s) in your Arcadia criminal case.  Also serving: Pasadena, Alhambra, Altadena, Monrovia, Glendale, El Monte, Pomona, Burbank, and the rest of Los Angeles County.

Here are some examples of criminal cases in Arcadia:

1.  Jane is an Arcadia resident who works in nearby Pasadena.  After work one day, she joins some co-workers for dinner and drinks in Old Pasadena.  In all, she has 2 glasses of wine and a sip of a cocktail.  She makes it most of the way home, when she is stopped getting off at her exit on the 210 Freeway.  The CHP officer who stopped her accused her of making an unsafe lane change to get over and get off at the exit.  The officer smells alcohol on Jane's breath and asks if she has been drinking.  Jane admits to having two glasses of wine and is asked to step out of the car.  the officer has Jane perform a series of field sobriety tests, starting to build the DUI case against her.  After having Jane follow a pen with her eyes, stand on one leg, tilt her head back and count to 30, and walk 9 steps out and back, the officer has her blow into a preliminary alcohol screening device.  This test is VOLUNTARY, but police are trained to get people to feel like they have to blow.  The tests come back with Jane's BAC at .087 and .090.  Jane is arrested for DUI and taken in to the station.  At the station, Jane gives another breath sample, on a bigger breathalyzer machine, with a .10 result.  Jane has several defenses here.  First, her lawyer may be able to successfully challenge the stop after viewing the dash cam footage and showing that the lane change was in fact not unsafe.  In addition, Jane's BAC appears to be on the rise when she is tested.  This means that her BAC at the time of driving might very well have been below the legal limit.  There are many, many defenses to DUI and it takes a skilled, intelligent and experienced attorney to find the best defenses and attack the case.

2.  Evan is a 20 year old college student home for the holidays with his parents in Arcadia.  He borrows his mom's BMW to go visit some friends who are home for the holidays as well.  At his friend's house, he smokes marijuana and drinks 3 beers.  On his way back home, he loses control of the car and side-swipes two parked cars.  Evan continues home, not stopping to report any damage to the vehicles.  A neighbor writes down the license plate number and calls the police.  Arcadia police locate Evan's parents as the registered owners of the vehicle.  When Evan gets home, he tells his parents what happened.  Wisely, they immediately involve a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney, who contacts the PD, letting the officers know that his client (the mom, registered owner of the car), has retained counsel and that she will not be giving a statement.  Evan was technically guilty of several different crimes here, including DUI-alcohol, DUI-marijuana, and hit and run, but will avoid criminal charges in this case if handled properly by his mother's attorney.  He will not face a conviction, jail time, a license suspension or any other negative consequences.  Had the police gotten an opportunity to question him, he could have been convicted of all of those offenses.

3.  Mary has a party at her apartment in Arcadia, and invites several friends (who invite some more people).  Eventually, the party is loud and out of control, with people going in and out with open alcohol containers.  Police come in response to a noise complaint and tell Mary to keep the noise down.  Most of the party guests leave, but a few stick around.  A neighbor calls the police again, and they come back out a second time.  This time, the officers enter the apartment and find an eight ball of cocaine on a coffee table, with several lines set up on an iPhone screen.  The officers ask Mary about it and she denies any involvement or knowledge.  It turns out later that the iPhone belongs to her.  Based on the quantity and the number of party guests, the officers arrest Mary and charge her with possession of a controlled substance for sale, a felony.  Mary immediately hires a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney to represent her in this important case.  Her lawyer has a few defenses to work with, including: challenging the search in the first place, challenging whether Mary had any knowledge that there was cocaine at the party, and of course challenging whether it was possessed to be sold or furnished to others.

Being arrested and charged with a crime is scary, stressful and can have devastating consequences for your life, career and future.  In addition to facing jail or prison time, criminal convictions can have consequences for immigration, employment, education, professional licensing, your driving privilege and more.  If you have been arrested in Arcadia, Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale, Alhambra, El Monte, Pomona, West Covina or anywhere else in Los Angeles, contact the Law Offices of Nicholas Loncar now for a Free Consultation.  213.375.3775.