City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison has presented the City Manager Leadership Award for January to the Police Department’s Property and Evidence Supervisor Barbara Carpenter.

“This is a critical job in the department when it comes to prosecuting those who commit crimes in our City. Her commitment to excellence, proactive approach to challenges, and dedication she has shown for our organization and those she has served before us, is one to be commended.  I very much appreciate her expertise in this area, and I am happy to present her with this award.”

Carpenter has been in this role for the past 13 years. Her career in Property and Evidence has spanned over 25 years, where she has made lasting impacts on the multiple agencies she has served. 

Carpenter is an active member of the California Association for Property & Evidence and has served as the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Carpenter initially began her near career as a Cadet with Westminster Police Department before serving as a Community Services Officer with the Newport Beach Police Department for 10 years.

She then transitioned into the world of Property and Evidence where she worked as a P&E Technician for the Tustin Police Department before being hired as a P&E Supervisor in 2010 with the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Carpenter has excelled in maintaining a well-organized and secure property and evidence facility. Her in-depth understanding of chain of custody protocols, ensures the integrity of evidence throughout the entire process and aids in the successful prosecution of some of the most violent offenders.

Most recently, Carpenter successfully managed a large-scale project to reconfigure the agency’s offsite P&E rooms as a result of grant funds awarded to our agency through Proposition 69. She and her amazing team successfully navigated the complicated logistics of remodeling a 2,000 square foot location.

That is no easy task to safely secure and move thousands of items of evidence that are critical to the mission’s success.  In addition, Carpenter has championed to procure new P&E software for the agency which was successfully adopted and will be implemented this coming year.

Carpenter holds a bachelor’s degree in family development and family studies from Cal State Long Beach

City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison presented this month’s City Manager’s Leadership Award to Brandon Nguyen, a Senior Programming Analyst in IT.

“I really appreciate Brandon’s positive attitude,” Farrell Harrison said. “He always treats everyone with respect and genuinely loves helping his co-workers. It was his dedication that helped ensure that our new Land Management System TESSA was successfully launched. I am happy to present him with this award.”

Nguyen started at the City of Costa Mesa IT department in October 2022 as a Senior Programmer Analyst. He was assigned to the LMS project, also known as TESSA, right away, and quickly became the key person with a deep understanding of LMS Data Conversion.

Since then, he had worked on a variety of tasks under the LMS Project. His projects include migrating legacy data to TESSA, building new reporting servers, and implementing and troubleshooting the LMS system. Nguyen’s onboarding and hard work with the other LMS team staff secured a successful implementation,

Nguyen came to Costa Mesa from the City of Westminster where he worked as a Senior Application Specialist. He successfully implemented and launched LMS for City of Westminster in 2020 and utilized his LMS experience in implementing Costa Mesa’s LMS project. 

He also implemented a variety of projects for the Westminster Police Department in 2021, including WPD Audit System, Follow-up System, and Homeless Outreach.

He is a hardworking and accountable person who is always ready to learn. He works well with the team to complete tasks on time. When a team project encounters a roadblock, he is excellent at proposing work-around solutions so his team has more time to work on issues and workflow is not impeded.

Nguyen is originally from Vietnam and moved to the United States in 2010. He earned an Associate of Science degree in Computer Science from Orange Coast College in 2012 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from UCI (University of California, Irvine) in 2014.

City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison presented Parks & Community Services Executive Assistant Laura Fautua with the City Manager Leadership Award for the month of September.

“I think it is such a great story that Laura was a participant in the City’s recreation after school program when she was in grade school,” Farrell Harrison said. “That experience led her to join the Recreation Leader in Training Program. In her 13 years since, she has proven to be a huge asset in the Parks & Community Services Department and has demonstrated a love and passion for the department and the City and community. The proof of her dedication can be seen with the series of promotions she’s received over the years. I’m so happy to present her with this award.”

It was in 2010 when she was officially hired on as Recreation Leader. Ever since, she has worked for various programs including the ROCKS program, Day Camps, Youth Sports, Teens and Facilities.

In 2016, Fautua was promoted to Office Specialist working the recreation front counter here at City Hall. She began facilitating program registrations, special event permits, and general park inquiries. In 2018, she became Office Specialist II and was instrumental in the transitioning of the department’s responsibility for processing animal licenses as well as helping to take on block party permits.

In 2021, Fautua was promoted yet again to Executive Assistant, where she not only has been a tremendous help to the department on a number of projects but continuously is improving administrative processes and procedures for the whole department.

She also helps to manage all the departments commissions and committees (which totaled six for a period of time) with agendas, reports and minutes.

Fautua was born and raised in Costa Mesa. She attended elementary, middle and high school as well as Community College right here in the City. She has a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Fullerton, where she majored in Child and Adolescent Studies.

City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison presented Fire & Rescue Senior Management Analyst Kristin Stevens with the City Manager Leadership Award.

“Kristin has a wide range of skills and talents and is always willing to step up wherever she is needed,” Farrell Harrison said. “Her positive disposition, thoughtful intelligence, and outstanding work ethic are just a few of the many attributes that she shares every day. I’m proud to present her with this award.”

In 2015, Stevens began working for the City of Costa Mesa as a Part-Time Management Analyst in the City Manager’s office where she was a key member of the communications and marketing team.

In 2018, Stevens accepted a full-time Management Analyst position with Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue (CMFR).

During her tenure with CMFR, Stevens has been an active member with several notable achievements and accomplishments.

In 2018, she was tasked as the department’s lead in creating and compiling the Department’s first comprehensive CMFR Annual Report and continues to do so every year-end. She strengthened the CMFR brand and social media presence within the community, and oversees the ambulance operator cost recovery revenue program.

As the management analyst, Stevens is involved in every aspect of our annual budget.

If that’s not enough, Stevens also serves as a member of the City’s PIO team and events/planning team. Lastly, she completed the Leadership Tomorrow program in 2020.

Chief Stefano has recognized Stevens as one of the highest performers in multiple areas for the CMFR and the city, always willing to embrace the value of taking things from good to great!

She attended Saddleback College where she earned her Associates of Arts degree. In 2010, she earned her Bachelors of Arts in Communications degree from California State University Fullerton, and in 2015, she completed her Masters of Public Administration degree from California State University San Bernardino.

While working toward her goal of higher education, Stevens worked as an intern for TMZ, and eventually for the Orange County District Attorney’s office. Stevens worked for the City of Huntington Beach as a Public Aide in the Public Information office.

After 31 years of service, which includes five years in the United States Marine Corps and a distinguished 26-year career with Costa Mesa, Chief of Police Bryan Glass announced on Wednesday, April 7, that he will retire from his position in September 2021.

Chief Glass, who is highly respected by his peers and the Costa Mesa community, climbed the department’s ranks, rising from officer to Chief of Police in October 2019, when he was appointed by City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison.

“I have had a blessed career with Costa Mesa that has been highlighted by the opportunity to lead the organization through 2020, which was a year like no other,” said Chief Glass. “I’m grateful for the support I have received from the community, City Council, City Manager, City staff and my family. Time and again, I have been honored and humbled by the support I have received and continue to receive from the members of the Costa Mesa Police Department. I am proud to serve with the members of the Costa Mesa Police Department and the department’s success is a result of their professionalism, resilience, hard work, and dedication.”

When Chief Glass assumed his role as leader of the organization in October 2019, his goal was to ensure stability and continuity within the Costa Mesa Police Department and continue the legacy of community policing.

“I’m so proud of the work Chief Glass has done during one of the most challenging times in history,” City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison said. “When I appointed him to the role of Police Chief, we needed his steady leadership, extensive knowledge and expertise. Chief Glass has been a guiding light for us during some dark and uncertain times this past year as we faced multiple challenges including a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and civil unrest. I am honored to work with him, and while I will miss his friendship considerably, I am happy he will be able to retire and spend time with his beautiful family.”

In addition to the pandemic and unprecedented civil unrest, Chief Glass also dealt with the fiscal challenges posed by the pandemic.

“I respect and admire Chief Glass,” Mayor John Stephens said. “He’s been an exemplary Chief during a very challenging time in Costa Mesa.  I wish Chief Glass the best in his retirement.  He has served our community well over his distinguished career.”

Chief Glass placed an emphasis on recruitment and hiring efforts to fill department vacancies and elevated staffing to levels not seen since 2012. He has been an advocate for professional development and succession planning through various promotions and assignment transfers throughout the organization and was instrumental in lobbying for two more police officer positions that were added to the budget this year.

During his tenure, Chief Glass strengthened and maintained the department’s overall collaborations and relationships with an emphasis on community engagement, interaction, and partnerships. He ensured the replacement of several critical infrastructure systems, including a new in-car video and body-worn camera system and the department’s current new mobile data computers project.

Chief Glass was originally hired by the Costa Mesa Police Department in October 1995 and attended the Orange County Sheriff’s Regional Training Academy. Chief Glass graduated from the academy in March 1996 and promptly began his career as a Costa Mesa Police Officer.

In September 2015, Chief Glass was promoted to the rank of captain. He was assigned as the Support Services Division Captain, overseeing the Investigative Services, Records & Evidence, and Telecommunications Bureaus. In December 2018, he became the Field Operations Division Captain, where he oversaw the Patrol Services, Field Operations Administration, Traffic Safety Bureaus and the department’s elite SWAT Team.

Prior to his role as captain, Chief Glass was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in January 2010 and was assigned as the Field Operations Administration Lieutenant. This was followed by assignments overseeing the Telecommunications Bureau, Patrol Services – Area 2 Command, and Professional Standards Bureau. He also served as the SWAT Commander for a time.

His prior roles were as a sergeant assigned to Patrol Services until being selected as the Chief’s Adjutant and department Press Information Officer. As an officer, Chief Glass had the opportunity to work a variety of assignments throughout the department. Those assignments included Patrol Services, Gang Unit, SWAT, Master Police Officer & Field Training Officer, Area 2 Problem Oriented Policing Officer, Narcotics & Vice Detective, and Property Crimes Detective.

Chief Glass is a veteran who served five years in the United States Marine Corps and was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin. During his enlistment, he was deployed twice to Okinawa, Japan and once to Somalia, Africa for Operation Restore Hope. In September 1995, Chief Glass was honorably discharged at the rank of sergeant.

Chief Glass has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science from Chapman University, a Master of Science in Emergency Services Administration and a Master of Public Administration degree from California State University Long Beach. He is also a POST Command College graduate.

City Manager Farrell Harrison will be hiring an executive search firm to conduct a national recruitment to replace Chief Glass in September. Chief Glass will work closely with the City Manager to ensure a seamless and successful transition.

Chief Glass’ last day with the City is anticipated to be Sept. 2, 2021.

City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison is pleased to announce that acting Chief Bryan Glass will be the City of Costa Mesa’s new Police Chief.

“Acting Chief Glass has been a consummate professional from the first day I met him,” Farrell Harrison said. “He is highly regarded within the Police Department rank and file. He will be a guiding force in the Police Department as he embodies the crucial leadership qualities we need in the city’s team such as creativity, teamwork, responsiveness and innovation. Working with Bryan during the past four months has been a pleasure and I look forward to what he will bring to Costa Mesa and the region in the coming years.”

Mayor Katrina Foley expressed her strong confidence in Chief Glass.

“I’m pleased with the decision to promote Acting Chief Bryan Glass to be our new Costa Mesa Police Chief,” Mayor Foley said. “Over the last four months Chief Glass has shown he has what it takes to effectively run a police department. He understands the budget and needs of his department as well as the community.  The leadership team as well as our rank and file respect him. He works collaboratively and is responsive to residents. His leadership during the COVID-19 situation demonstrates he is ready. What our department needs most right now is stability.  Chief Glass can bring stability back. I look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Glass has served in the Costa Mesa Police Department for 24-years. He was originally hired by the department in October 1995 and attended the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy. Chief Glass graduated from the academy in March 1996 and began his career as a Costa Mesa Police Officer.

“I am proud of the exceptional work and services provided by the members of the Costa Mesa Police Department,” Chief Glass said. “It is an honor to be part of this department and I am grateful for the trust, confidence, and support City Manager Farrell Harrison has given me in the opportunity to be the next Chief of Police for the Costa Mesa Police Department.”

“The department is focused on responsiveness and providing quality services to the community,” he said. “We are progressively addressing multiple infrastructure projects and succession planning that requires stability and consistency for success.”

Chief Glass said one of the highlights in his career has been being a part of the team responsible for rebuilding the department after cutbacks and retirements. Over the last five years, the department has increased its number of police officers and professional staff and strengthened specialty assignments.

Key leaders from the Police Department were happy with the news.

“The Costa Mesa Police Management Association would like to thank City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison for promoting Bryan Glass to Chief of Police,” said Lt. Ed Everett, the president of the association. “Chief Glass has a working knowledge of the issues the community and the department are facing. The management association is excited and knows Chief Glass will be progressive in his approach and will keep the department moving in a positive direction. He has the support of the management staff as the department moves forward in addressing city wide issues.”

The leaders of the Costa Mesa Police Association echoed that confidence in Chief Glass.

“We would like to congratulate Chief Glass on his promotion,” said association President Officer Jerad Korte. “We are excited to continue serving the City of Costa Mesa and developing the future of the Costa Mesa Police Department under the accomplished leadership of Chief Glass.”

In September 2015, Chief Glass was promoted to the rank of Captain. He was assigned as the Support Services Division Captain, overseeing the Investigative Services, Records & Evidence, and Telecommunications Bureaus. In December 2018, he became the Field Operations Division Captain, where he oversaw the Patrol Services, Field Operations

Administration, and Traffic Safety Bureaus. Since his promotion to Captain, he oversaw the department’s SWAT team.

Prior to his role as Captain, Chief Glass was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in January 2010 and was assigned as the Field Operations Administration Lieutenant. This was followed by assignments overseeing the Telecommunications Bureau, Patrol Services – Area 2 Command, and Professional Standards Bureau. He also served as the SWAT Commander for a time.

His prior roles were as a Sergeant assigned to Patrol Services until being selected as the Chief’s Adjutant and Department Press Information Officer. As an Officer, Chief Glass had the opportunity to work a variety of assignments throughout the department. Those assignments included Patrol Services, Gang Unit, SWAT, Master Police Officer & Field Training Officer, Area 2 Problem Oriented Policing Officer, Narcotics & Vice Detective, and Property Crimes Detective.

Chief Glass is also a veteran and he served five years in the United States Marine Corps and was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Tustin, in Tustin, Calif. During his enlistment, he was deployed twice to Okinawa, Japan and once to Somalia, Africa for Operation Restore Hope. In September 1995, Chief Glass was honorably discharged at the rank of Sergeant.

Chief Glass has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science from Chapman University, a Master of Science in Emergency Services Administration and a Master of Public Administration degree from California State University Long Beach. He is also a POST Command College graduate.

He begins his new role as Police Chief effective immediately.

A new Costa Mesa City Council was sworn in Tuesday, Dec. 4.

This brought with it several firsts; Mayor Katrina Foley as the first directly elected mayor, and the first council members to be elected to represent distinct council districts—Andrea Marr, Manuel Chavez and Arlis Reynolds.

In addition, the formation of this City Council brings with it a majority of women (Foley, Genis, Marr and Reynolds), the first Latino/a council members (Chavez, Marr and Reynolds) and the youngest person to hold office in Costa Mesa (Chavez).

“I am extremely honored to serve as the city’s first directly elected woman mayor,” Foley said. “I look forward to working alongside my fellow council members—especially our newly elected members that bring such diversity, youth and excitement to the dais. We know residents elected us to ensure that they can live, work and thrive in our great City of Costa Mesa. We will do that through a spirit of collaboration and civility, while prioritizing public safety, neighborhood improvement and community services for our youth, families and seniors.”

In November of 2016, Costa Mesa voters adopted Measure EE, which created six councilmember districts and a directly elected mayor. This year, Council Districts 3 (Marr), 4 (Chavez) and 5 (Reynolds) were on the ballot.

Districts, 1, 2 and 6 will be up for election in November of 2020. Council Members Sandy Genis, John Stephens and Allan Mansoor still have two years left on their terms.

Foley served as Mayor in 2016-2017, and has been on the City Council for 10 years. She was first elected in 2004 and served through 2010, when she was elected to the Newport Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees. She served on the school board until 2014, and then ran successfully for the council in 2014. That term expired in November of 2018.

As the first directly elected mayor, she will serve a two-year term that will expire in 2020.

Foley is an employment law attorney and business owner.  She graduated from Seattle University School of Law and UCLA as an English major with Women’s Studies emphasis.

For more information click Mayor Foley’s webpage here.

Prior to being elected to City Council District 3, Marr served on the city’s Cultural Art Committee, where she helped spearhead a number of different community art projects and events. She also previously served on the Bikeway and Walkability Committee where she focused on cyclist and pedestrian safety.

Marr is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy of which she was nominated to attend by Vice President Al Gore. During her time at the Academy, she held multiple leadership positions and competed with the Academy Karate team. She was recognized for her leadership by the Naval Academy Superintendent and graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Marr also holds an M.S. in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University where her coursework focused on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building program. She was a 2013 recipient of the White House Champion of Change award for her work in energy as a veteran. She is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Washington and is a Director at Willdan Group, a publicly traded energy solutions company.

For more information click Council Member Marr’s webpage here.

At the age of 23, District 4 Council Member Chavez is likely the youngest person to serve on the Costa Mesa City Council.

Chavez grew up on the Westside of Costa Mesa and attended local public schools through high school. While a student at Estancia High School, he became heavily involved with the Save Our Youth program (SOY).

After graduating from Estancia High School, Chavez attended UC Irvine where he studied Political Science and became very involved with both the UCI College Democrat Club, where he was elected President his senior year, and the Orange County Young Democrats.

For more information click Council Member Chavez’s webpage here.

District 5 Council Member Reynolds served as Vice Chair of Costa Mesa’s Parks and Recreation Commission and as Commission liaison to the Fairview Park Steering Committee.

Reynolds grew up in the Freedom Homes neighborhood of Westside Costa Mesa where she attended local schools. After graduating from Estancia High School, she went on to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. She is currently a member of the Executive MBA Program at the UCI Paul Merage School of Business. She works as a consultant in the clean-energy industry, specializing in evaluation of energy efficiency and clean energy projects and technologies.

For more information click Council Member Reynolds’ webpage here.

City Manager Tom Hatch named Communications Officer Ann Barrett as the recipient of his monthly Leadership Award at the employee Meet and Greet Thursday Dec. 7 at City Hall.

“Ann is known for her exemplary work ethic, commitment to service and professionalism as well as her dedication to the development of new communication officer trainees,” City Manager Hatch said. “She is viewed as a leader within the Telecommunications Unit and her co-workers rely on her knowledge and experience daily.”

Barrett began her career with the City of Costa Mesa in February of 2010, when she was hired as a communications officer. Prior to that she had worked the year before as a part time communications officer for the city of Downey.

But her experience in the field goes back even further. She originally began her career as a dispatcher in 1981 with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. She worked there for eight years and in 1989 left that job to raise her children.

During her seven years with the city, she has diligently applied herself to expanding her knowledge with the aim of providing the highest level of service to the public safety profession and the community. Regardless of the task assigned, Barrett approaches it with a very positive attitude.

In August of 2013, Barrett earned the title of communications training officer.  This position is critical to the training of new employees.

Her experience in dispatch also helped police officers and detectives recently to solve what at first seemed like a call from an assault victim, but it was later discovered that the alleged victim had instead been involved in a homicide.

In addition to honoring Barrett, City Manager Hatch congratulated several new employees or newly promoted employees as well as four employees who are retiring. He also had a special recognition for outgoing Interim Finance Director Steve Dunivent, who is leaving the city at the end of December.

The new employees include Ellen Medalle, a new human resources analyst and from Economic and Development Services new hires include Ryan Bohr, building inspector, Courtney Harvey office specialist II, Sheila Larson, building technician, Kim Martinez intern and Aaron Thompson combination building inspector.

In the Parks & Community Services Department the new hires include Caitlin Knight recreation leader II, Amanda Mansfield recreation leader III, George Mosqueda recreation leader III and Vanessa Romero instructor guard.

Police Department new hires include Sarah Davila, crime scene specialist, Danielle Whitehead police records technician and Oscar Nichols police aide and in the Public Services Department Elliot Huang assistant engineer was welcomed.

The newly promoted employees are Ameerah Ghaznavi management aide in the City Manager’s Office, Jon Neal who has been promoted to assistant fire marshall, longtime employee Mike Tucker who moved from Code Enforcement to Parks and Community Services as a new management analyst and Catherine Pimentel, who was promoted as a new community service specialist for the Police Department.

Those honored for their retirements included Fire Captain Lenny Goodsir, who started his career in 1985 as a fire prevention intern, Ronald Penley who spent 28 years with the city as an equipment mechanic, Jody Gonzalez a police training assistant who started with Costa Mesa in 1987 and Liz Wright, a senior records technician who began her Costa Mesa career in 2004.

And finally, City Manager Hatch thanked Steve Dunivent for his four years of dedicated service to Costa Mesa. Dunivent took on the role of interim finance director in 2013 after retiring from the County of Orange, where he had a distinguished 30-year career.

At a recent Energy Partnership meeting, the City of Costa Mesa received its award for reaching Silver Status within the partnership.

The Partnership, formed in 2010, currently consists of the cities of Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Westminster, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, and Irvine.

Staff representatives meet monthly to discuss long-range energy efficiency goals and projects that are relevant to each city.  Costa Mesa recently completed the direct install program sponsored by Southern California Edison.

The program allowed for all City facilities, with the exception of the City Hall campus, to receive lighting upgrades at no cost, thus saving Costa Mesa approximately $60,000 in onetime general fund expenditures.

Assistant to the City Manager Dan Baker is the liaison to this committee and is always interested in projects that seek energy efficiency.

City Manager Tom Hatch named Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Pierce the winner of the May City Manager Leadership Award at the monthly Meet and Greet this Thursday May 25.

“Under Jeff’s supervision, service levels increased in every area of Public Services,” City Manager Hatch said. “That equates to more potholes filled, more catch basins cleaned, more sidewalks ground, more signs installed and more debris removed from the public right of way, making Costa Mesa a safer and more aesthetically pleasing environment for residents and businesses. I want to thank Jeff for his dedication to our residents and the community.”

Pierce joined the City of Costa Mesa as a part time general aide in 2006 and became a a full-time maintenance worker in January 2007. His hard work and dedication resulted in a promotion to Senior Maintenance Worker in May 2009. As a Senior Maintenance Worker Jeff proved to be a team leader and was an integral part of many projects including the creation and installation of the blue and white street names signs and the downtown area custom signs. His affinity for sign design, attention to detail and creativity made him a perfect fit to be promoted to the position of Sign Technician in July 2010. His work as the City Sign Technician can literally be seen on every street corner.

He was promoted to Maintenance Supervisor in May of 2015.

In addition to honoring Pierce, City Manager Hatch welcomed several new employees to the city, including Anthony Nocerino as a new Video Production Aide for the City Manager’s Office, Brontee Stevens, permit processing specialist for Development Services and Christian Valle, recreation leader II in Parks & Community Services.

Also honored were Jenette Martinez, a communications officer with the Police Department and Luis Martinez Mendez, an intern with Public Services.

Five of the 12 new Fire Department recruits were also honored. The recruits are Lucas Anderson, Shant Bartemian, Craig Bates, Kyle Brosamer, Matthew Chavez, Jordan Kiesz, Thomas Foskarino, Maurilio Torres, Angel Ordaz, Kyle Myszka, Bryan McMahon and Nicholas Nihiser.

Hatch also recognized two recent promotions in the Parks & Community Services Department. Laura Gomez has been promoted to Office Specialist and Edgar Rosales to Recreation Specialist.

 The Costa Mesa Police Department in a press conference Thursday morning identified the suspect in the 1997 cold case rape-murder of 26-year-old Sunny Adrienne Sudweeks.

The identity of the suspect has been unknown until recently and after extensive follow-up investigation and exhausting all avenues to capture the suspect, CMPD hopes to bring the suspect to justice by making his identity known.

Felipe Vianney Hernandez Tellez, 43, has been identified as the homicide suspect who raped and murdered Sudweeks in 1997.

Click here for a Spanish language version of the press release.

CMPD was assisted in this investigation by the Orange County Cold Case Task Force, the Orange County Crime Lab, the Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) TracKRS Unit, U.S. Marshals Service, Santa Ana ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Unit, Santa Ana School Police, and the California Department of Justice.

“While we can never make up for the loss associated with this heinous and vile crime, my hope is that we can provide some sense of closure and make life a little easier for the Sudweeks family,” said Chief of Police Robert N. Sharpnack. “My staff worked hard to get to this point but we will not stop until this despicable individual is behind bars.”

Felipe Vianney Hernandez Tellez

At the time of the murder, Hernandez, then 23 years old, was living in Santa Ana but had previously lived in Costa Mesa from approximately 1991 to 1993.

Two years prior to the murder, Hernandez was arrested on Dec. 4, 1995, by Newport Beach Police Department and his fingerprints were collected. He was subsequently charged and convicted of second-degree burglary.

He was also arrested on May 20, 2000, by the Santa Ana Police Department and subsequently charged and convicted for domestic violence. His fingerprints were placed in the fingerprint database in 2000.

In 2006, Hernandez fled the United States, and returned to Mexico. It is believed that he currently lives somewhere in the state of Oaxaca with his new family to include his wife and three children. He is possibly living near the resort town of Puerto Escondido. He previously worked as a painter and currently delivers rotisserie chickens to customers. Hernandez frequents his mother’s home in Huitzuco, Guerrero.

Murder of Sudweeks

Sudweeks was a 26-year-old photography student at Orange Coast College and worked part-time at an Aaron Brothers. At the time of the murder, she was living with her boyfriend and a roommate, who both worked night shifts as cab drivers.

On the night of Feb. 22, 1997, Sudweeks was home in her upstairs apartment in the 1000 block of Mission Drive in Costa Mesa. That night, she had several phone conversations, and evidence shows that her last conversation with a girlfriend took place around 11:00 p.m.

On Feb. 23, 1997, between 12:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., it is believed that Hernandez entered Sudweeks’ upstairs apartment where the victim was sleeping in one of the three bedrooms and raped and murdered Sudweeks by strangling her. It is believed that Hernandez then subsequently fled the scene.

Sudweeks’ boyfriend and roommate returned early that morning to find Sudweeks’ body lying in her bed. Her boyfriend immediately called 911.  At approximately 4:55 a.m., CMPD officers and detectives arrived at the scene and began their investigation.

Click here to see a slideshow from the press conference.

Investigation and Identification of the Suspect

Over the course of the initial investigation, CMPD collected over 130 DNA samples and 265 pieces of evidence. They canvassed the area and conducted extensive interviews, passed out police bulletin fliers, and distributed a press release regarding the murder. A month after the homicide, fingerprints from the crime scene were input into the fingerprint database but returned no match. The DNA sample that was collected returned a profile but no name in the DNA database. With no leads to pursue, the case went cold.

Between 1997 and 2009, CMPD conducted due diligence reviews of the case file but found nothing new to advance the case.

In 2009, the case was reviewed due to new developments in DNA technology. CMPD and then-Deputy District Attorney Camille Hill, who specialized in DNA, conducted a DNA review. The case remained cold with no leads to a suspect.

Between 2010 and 2016, CMPD routinely reviewed the case file. In 2011, 2012, and 2014, the suspect’s DNA was run in a state database for a familial match but no match was made.

In November 2016, Parabon NanoLabs provided CMPD with a detailed “Snapshot Prediction Results Composite Profile” including physical identifiers of the suspect such as a facial composite, skin color, eye color, hair color, freckles, sex, and ancestry. Around that time, CMPD ran fingerprints in the fingerprint database, which returned a hit to Hernandez from a prior arrest and conviction. With that promising lead, CMPD focused on Hernandez and pulled his 2000 booking photo. The snapshot provided by Parabon NanoLabs and the booking photo of Hernandez were strikingly similar.

In January and February 2017, CMPD detectives conducted interviews of Hernandez’s family members and obtained DNA from a relative. Both the relative’s DNA and the DNA collected from the 1997 crime scene were tested and returned with a high likelihood that the relative and the perpetrator who killed Sudweeks were related. The investigation, including DNA and fingerprints, led CMPD detectives to believe that Hernandez is the suspect that raped and murdered Sudweeks.

CMPD will submit the case to the OCDA for charges and will continue to work with law enforcement partners to locate Hernandez and extradite him back to Orange County to face justice.

Three new members of the City Council were sworn in Tuesday night Dec. 13 and the council chose Katrina Foley as the new mayor and Sandra Genis as the new mayor pro-tem.

Joining the council for four-year terms is returning Council Member Genis, former Councilman and Assemblyman Allan Mansoor and longtime community leader and attorney John Stephens.

The trio of new council members join Mayor Foley and Council Member Jim Righeimer on the five-member body.

“I am so honored and blessed to be serving as mayor in a city that I love so dearly,” Mayor Foley said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on the council to create an inclusive environment at City Hall for residents and businesses alike. I look forward to partnering with the business, tourism and arts community to enhance and further define our community as the City of the Arts.”

Foley, who was elected to the council in 2014, has a long history of community involvement and was first elected to City Council in 2004 and re-elected in 2008 before running successfully for the Newport-Mesa school board in 2010.

Foley is president of The Foley Group, a Professional Law Corporation in Newport Beach. The Foley Group, PLC provides services in artist and athlete management, employment litigation, family law, education advocacy and non-profit compliance matters.

Genis, who was raised in Costa Mesa and attended Estancia High School, was first elected to the City Council in 1988 and served as mayor from 1989 to 1990. She was re-elected in 1992 and ran again in 2012 and re-elected in 2016 and both times was the top vote getter.

She is a retired city planner and has worked on a number of community causes, such as the preservation of Fairview Park and keeping the OC Fairgrounds in public ownership.

Mansoor was first elected to the City Council in 2002 and was appointed mayor in 2005 and again in 2007 and 2009. Also an Estancia graduate, Mansoor served as an Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy. He was elected to the 74^th District of the State Assembly in 2010 and served until 2014.

This is Stephens’ first stint on the City Council after a narrow loss in 2012. As a resident of Costa Mesa since 1989, he has deep community ties and has served on the city’s Pension Oversight Committee, the Costa Mesa High School Foundation, Costa Mesans for Responsible Government and is a founding member of the St. John the Baptist Finance Council and Pastoral Council.

He was a leader of the “No” on the Charter campaigns in 2012 and 2014, including intervening in a lawsuit between the City of Costa Mesa and the Orange County Registrar of Voters in 2012 and is a member of the Orange County Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee, which evaluates judicial candidates for the governor.

A longtime attorney, his firm Stephens Friedland LLP employees four full‐time lawyers and a staff of 10 employees.

Both Stephen Mensinger and Gary Monahan officially ended their council terms on Tuesday. Mensinger was most recently mayor beginning in 2014, and Monahan was appointed mayor three times in 1998, 2003 and 2011.