Boeing retiree faces conspiracy charges Federal officials...

Boeing retiree faces conspiracy charges

Federal officials on Tuesday charged a former Boeing engineer, a

65-year-old Newport Beach resident, in two separate conspiracies

involving the theft of trade secrets from rival Lockheed Martin

Corp., which was competing with Boeing to secure a U.S. Air Force

rocket contract, officials said.

Prosecutors accused Larry Satchell of conspiring to steal trade

secrets, violating the Procurement Integrity Act and obstruction of

justice. A U.S. magistrate judge in Los Angeles issued an arrest

warrant for Satchell, who is expected to surrender himself to federal

authorities Thursday, officials said.

They say Satchell plotted with two former Boeing engineers --

Kenneth Branch and William Erskine -- who were charged last year with

conspiracy. Branch, who had left Lockheed to work for Boeing,

allegedly brought with him information about a multibillion-dollar,

satellite-launching project the two companies were competing for,

officials said.

Boeing’s satellite-launching program was based in Huntington

Beach. In 1998, Boeing and Lockheed submitted bids for 28 U.S. Air

Force contracts worth about $2 billion, of which 19 contracts went to

Boeing, officials said.

The indictment alleges that Branch gave information about

Lockheed’s presentation to Erskine in exchange for a job at Boeing.

If convicted, Satchell faces up to 25 years in federal prison.

Teen dies retrieving her skateboard

A 13-year-old girl died of brain injuries suffered after being

struck by an SUV near Downtown Friday.

Lauren M. Yowel-Frontino of Rancho Cucamonga died Saturdayat UC

Irvine Medical Center. The accident near the intersection of Pacific

Coast Highway and Huntington Street was reported to police at 11:43

p.m.

The girl and a friend were skateboarding along Pacific Coast

Highway when Frontino’s board slipped and rolled into traffic, police

said. Frontino walked onto the highway to retrieve the skateboard and

was hit by a Ford Expedition driven by a Huntington Beach woman.

Police would not identify the driver.

Several witnesses saw the crash, police said. The SUV’s driver was

not arrested.

“It was just a tragic accident that appeared to be unavoidable,”

Sgt. Dave Bunetta said.

Teen shoots at gas station clerk

Police arrested a teenager the day after he reportedly shot at a

clerk during a hold-up at a gas station.

The 16-year-old Mansfield, Texas resident, along with Christopher

Reynolds, 18, of Huntington Beach, allegedly robbed the Chevron at

the corner of Goldenwest Street and Yorktown Avenue at about 1 a.m.

on May 5. Police believe the boy fired a handgun at the clerk before

both ran off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police watched the station’s surveillance video, and an officer

recalled seeing one of the suspects Downtown, Lt. Ed Deuel said. The

detective passed a description of the suspect’s car to other

officers.

At about 10 a.m. Thursday, an officer saw the car with the robbery

suspects and two others inside. The officer pulled the car over and

ran the license plate, discovering the car was reported stolen after

a carjacking in Texas on April 28. Police arrested all four people in

the car.

The 16-year-old was charged with attempted murder, robbery,

conspiracy and driving a stolen car. Reynolds was charged with

robbery and conspiracy.

A third passenger, Jordan Rotenberry, 18, of Mansfield, was

charged with giving false information to a police officer. A woman

was arrested and released without any charges being filed.