California Pens :: March 2011

Avenal

March 10 – An inmate jumped a fence into no-man’s land and was caught before jumping over an electrified fence area.

Paroles

March 31 – Two Long Beach parolees led CHP officers on a high speed chase. The pair were traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour in a Jaguar sedan. Officers were able to eventually catch the vehicle. The officer determined that the driver had a suspended driver’s license and was a parolee wanted on a felony warrant. The warrant also considered her armed and dangerous. The parolee had been convicted and served time in prison for attempted murder, kidnapping and torture. Due to the notification, the officer called for back-up before investigating further. A search of the Jaguar, which belonged to the passenger, who was also a parolee, allegedly revealed more than six-and-a-half ounces of methamphetamine. Both parolees were arrested for alleged transportation, possession and possession for sale of a controlled substance.

March 30 – A Stockton parolee is accused of lying in wait with an AK-47 assault rifle to murder an 84-year-old man. The shooting occurred during a robbery at the victim’s rural home. The parolee is also charged with two counts of attempted murder for shooting his son, who survived a gunshot wound and another woman who was not physically injured. The parolee was released on parole from state prison less than two months before the killing.

March 29 – Long Beach SWAT arrested a wanted parolee on weapons charges who had barricaded himself in a residence.

March 23 – A sex offender who was sent to prison and later released on parole allegedly cut off his electronic foot bracelet and fled the state. A tip was received that the parolee was living in Maine, so police set up surveillance and located the parolee. After a short foot chase the parolee was arrested.

March 17 – Fresno police received a panic button call and responded to a check cashing business. An officer fatally shot one robbery suspect who was a parolee and another was arrested following the robbery.

Also on March 17 – Three teenagers were home in Presidio Heights when they heard an unusual noise. The 17-year-old boy checked the bedroom and saw a nude man masturbating on the bed. The teens fled to a neighbor’s home and called 911. Police responded and took the man, a 28-year-old parolee into custody. Police noted signs of forced entry and the parolee was found in possession of marijuana and also charged for burglary and felony indecent exposure.
 
March 12 – A Monterey County parolee was arrested on suspicion of trying to kill his grandmother by banging her head on the ground, punching her and choking her. The parolee also allegedly held a knife to his 72-year-old grandmother’s throat and told her he was going to kill her. The woman was able to distract the parolee and escape from the home they shared.

March 10 – Arizona State University police and a task force from the U.S. Marshals Service arrested a wanted California parolee for allegedly robbing an ASU student at gunpoint. The PAL was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon when he managed to cut off his GPS monitor in November 2010 and had been missing ever since.
 
March 9 – A Redding parolee was beating a woman in a parked car when a man tried to intervene. The wanted parolee began stabbing him with an eight-inch knife. The man tried to run away but the parolee caught up with him and stabbed him in the arms, hands and head. The parolee ran off before police arrived. The victim was taken to the hospital in stable condition. Witnesses provided police with the parolee’s license plate number. Officers tracked him down and the woman he was alleged to have beaten was also with him. The parolee was charged with domestic violence resulting in injuries to the female and for attempted homicide.

Also on March 9 – Sacramento detectives with the Sheriff’s Department’s Gang Suppression Unit attempted a traffic enforcement stop but the driver failed to yield to officers and fled, leading officers on a pursuit. The parolee eventually stopped his vehicle and was taken into custody.

March 8 – Costa Mesa officers noticed a man driving with his high beams on and tried to pull him over, but the driver instead began to increase his speed. The driver soon lost control of the car and crashed into a curb. The man ran out of the car and into a nearby shopping center where he ran through the parking lot. Police continued to follow the man until he failed to climb over a wall. The driver was a parolee with previous theft charges. Police found methamphetamine on the parolee and he was taken into custody on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and violation of parole.

Also on March 8 – A woman riding in a car stopped by Glenn County sheriff’s deputies was found to be a parolee-at-large and was booked into jail on multiple violations. The PAL was found in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, including hypodermic needles. The PAL also gave a false name to deputies. The driver was also found to be on parole and arrested on multiple violations.

March 5 – A Lomita parolee was arrested on suspicion of killing his girlfriend’s two-year-old son. The parolee was taken into custody hours after the toddler was found dead in an apartment.

March 4 – A convicted sex offender out on parole on a separate drug conviction was arrested on suspicion of fondling himself in front of an apartment building.

March 1 – A parole agent went to the home of a Bakersfield parolee and found several boxes of ammunition. Authorities came back with a search warrant and the SWAT team and discovered more than a dozen rifles.
 

Pelican Bay

Pelican Bay State Prison

March 31 – A pod search was being conducted when staff observed two inmates ingesting and destroying inmate-manufactured notes. The two inmates refused numerous orders from staff to stop. As they continued to tear up the notes and ingest them, they placed several torn up strips of paper in the toilet. One of the inmates then placed a sheet in front of the other inmate, obstructing staff’s view of the second inmate. An officer and Lieutenant gave an order to take the sheet down with negative results. The officer used pepper spray striking the inmate in the hip and back as the inmate continued to destroy the notes. The other inmate was still obscured from staff. A second burst of pepper spray was used, striking the inmate in the head. This had a positive effect as the inmate removed the sheet and both inmates complied with staff orders and submitted to handcuffs without further incident.
    
March 28 – An inmate was given a direct order to stop kicking a cell door, and the inmate complied. The inmate was then separated from his cellmate and taken to a holding cell for a medical evaluation. The inmate immediately began to kick the holding cell door. The inmate was again given a direct order to stop, but the inmate continued to kick and strike his head against the door presenting an immediate threat to the safety of himself. The inmate refused orders to stop so pepper spray was used to stop his violent actions. The inmate was restrained and escorted out of the cell for decontamination and a medical evaluation.

March 25 – Two officers were escorting an inmate to his cell when the inmate became agitated. The inmate quickly turned toward one of the officers and lunged at him forcefully striking the officer using his head and shoulder. The officer reacted by raising his forearm up and blocking the inmate’s strike. The two officers responded to the attack and forced the inmate down to the floor and held him as the inmate resisted them by trying to turn from side to side. Responding staff arrived and placed the inmate into a Stokes Liter and then up on a gurney as a precautionary measure because the inmate was highly volatile. One of the officers sustained pain to the forearm and the other officer sustained bruising to his knee. Both officers returned to work.

March 18 – An inmate made threatening statements to an officer. The inmate was charged with Threats of Force and Violence Against a Public Official.

March 12 – A Floor Officer was in the process of conducting a standing count, when she observed an inmate in a sole occupant cell laying on his bunk with his boxer shorts pulled down to his knees, masturbating as he made eye contact with her.

Also on March 12 – An inmate refused to exit his cell to allow staff to search the cell. A Sergeant was notified and ordered the inmate to exit the cell. The inmate refused to comply. An extraction team was assembled. The inmate informed the Sergeant that there would be a fight, as he applied a towel around his face in preparation of the extraction. The Sergeant seeing the inmate attempting to prepare for the extraction used immediate force to stop the inmate by opening the food port and placing one grenade in the cell. The inmate recovered the grenade and placed it in the toilet. The inmate refused to remove the towel, so the Sergeant used a second grenade in the cell. The inmate refused orders to stop, so the Sergeant deployed another grenade in the cell. The inmate was unable to recover the grenade before it deployed. This had the desired effect and after several minutes the inmate complied with staff. This is the same inmate who was involved in the March 11 incident of threatening an officer.

March 11 – An inmate threatened an officer during count. The inmate threatened to “get ready for the next time you open the expletive port. I am going to expletive you up bad, just wait and see.”

March 3 – During medical pass an inmate threatened to gas an unknown substance on an officer. The officer deemed the inmate’s threat to be viable and the inmate was subsequently removed from his assigned cell with no further incident.

March 2 – An officer ordered an inmate to submit to restraints for the purpose of a cell search and refused. A Sergeant responded and ordered the inmate to submit to handcuffing and he again refused. A Captain responded and authorized the use of Controlled Force to gain the inmate’s compliance. A Sergeant deployed one grenade through the cuffing port. After several more orders were given to the inmate he submitted to an unclothed body search. Two officers responded and placed the inmate in handcuffs and leg irons. The inmate was escorted to the unit rotunda and examined. No staff were injured.

March 1 – During a search of Facility B Unit 5 an officer discovered a state-issued razor blade hidden in a Bible in an inmate’s locker. The blade was approximately 1.5 inches long by .25 inches wide.

Also on March 1 – A Sergeant was searching a cell and discovered an inmate-manufactured deadly weapon. The Sergeant secured the weapon and processed it into evidence.
 

CSP-Pleasant Valley

March 15 – In Bravo Facility Building 1 an officer was rehousing an orientation inmate in another cell. Once the cell door was opened the inmate that was already housed in the cell rushed out and grabbed the officer. The officer was able to pull away and use pepper spray to stop the inmate. The inmate was then placed in mechanical restraints with no further incident. The officer was taken to medical for evaluation and released.