February 2, 2012
Police Seek Public’s Help Locating Dangerous Bulldog Gang Member
Fresno police have released photos to the public of a suspect they say murdered a Fresno man on Sunday hoping someone can help lead to his whereabouts and arrest.
Police say Fernando Figueroa, a parolee and known gang member is responsible for the shooting death of Sergio Lopez, 30, who was found suffering from a gunshot wound in an apartment at 5145 E Lane in south east Fresno...
LINK - KSEE24.com
February 2, 2012
Man suspected of Bay Area crime robbery spree faces 37 felonies
A parolee suspected of committing dozens of Bay Area robberies using a chrome revolver has been charged with 37 felony counts in San Mateo County Superior Court.
In the most serious case, Ricky Renee Sanders, 34 -- known as the "chrome revolver bandit" because of the silver-barreled revolver he allegedly used in some of the holdups -- is accused of shooting a store clerk while robbing a PetSmart store in San Mateo on Oct. 8, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
The employee was shot in the leg and survived, but suffered a severed femoral artery, prosecutors said...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
February 2, 2012
Refusal to fund California prison construction could delay end of federal oversight
For six years, a federal receiver has been in charge of fixing California’s broken-down prison medical system.
The receiver says he can finish the job soon, but he needs state lawmakers to pay the full $2 billion they promised for medical facilities. The state has already spent a billion dollars on improvements. Lawmakers now say they don’t need to spend any more. The receiver worries that the improvements in prison medical care could slip away...
LINK - SCPR.org
February 2, 2012
another realignment parolee sought - this one for domestic violence, assault with a deadly weapon
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office is considering 33 year old Joshua Lee of Montague to be “armed and dangerous” after he allegedly assaulted his wife and drove her towards Hawkinsville Tuesday night, Jan. 31, 2012.
She got away and was picked up on Hwy 263 by a passing “good samaritan,” who kept driving, dragging Lee along, after he lunged into the car through an open passenger window, according to a press release from Sheriff’s Office public information officer Allison Giannini...
LINK - MTShastaNews.com
February 1, 2012
Deputy punched, suspect Tasered
Sheriff’s deputies arrested a parolee on drug and other charges on Tuesday after he punched a deputy and had to be subdued with a Taser, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies were sent to a report of a possibly wanted male sitting in his car and smoking drugs on Newlyn Street in North Salinas...
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
February 1, 2012
Tech tool helps nab parolee in stolen car
Pasadena police arrested a parolee in a stolen car last week, using a computerized license plate readers inside a patrol car. On Friday at 10 p.m. the automated license plate reader in a patrol car alerted a patrol officer to a stolen car driven by Christopher Castillo, 24, a Pasadena resident on active parole.
Castillo was arrested. The license plate reader can check thousands of license plates each day, leaving officers to focus on other aspects of their patrols...
LINK - PasadenaSun.com
February 1, 2012
UPDATE: Burglary Suspect Not Found in Search
Police continue to search for a high-risk parolee as part of a burglary investigation, Livermore Police Officer Dave Blake said.
At around 11 a.m. Wednesday, a SWAT team was called to the 700 block of Holmes Street, near Aaron Street. Officers believe the wanted parolee, Jay Marcus Johnson, was inside his home in the area.
Johnson, 22, was not found in the search. He is a suspect in a Jan. 10 burglary and is considered armed and dangerous, Blake said...
LINK - Livermore.Patch.com
February 1, 2012
Parolee booked for having drugs, stolen property
A parolee was booked into County Jail Tuesday after an officer found him with stolen property and methamphetamine, police said.
Christopher Page, 33, was seen by an officer acting suspiciously over by Laurel and Center streets late Tuesday afternoon. Page fled when the officer tried to contact him and he was eventually apprehended by the river levee. Officers found him in possession of a file of paperwork that had been stolen from a local title office. He also had a credit card belonging to someone other than himself and had an identification card belonging to yet another person, Santa Cruz Police Deputy Chief Steve Clark said. Officers also found hydrocodone in Page's possession...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
February 1, 2012
California’s youth prisons nearing an end
In January 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown announced his plan to shut down all state youth prisons by 2014. If backed by the Legislature, the governor's proposal would have counties share $10 million to develop prudent local alternatives to state custodial facilities. By January 2013, the Division of Juvenile Justice will no longer accept any new admissions, and the entire system will gradually phase out in 2014.
There is significant opposition to this proposal from many youth advocates, probation chiefs, judges and district attorneys. Some are concerned that the counties do not have the programs and resources to manage the current DJJ population, that the youth facility closure will lead to more youth being sentenced to adult prisons and jails, and that there will be wide disparities in treatment and confinement conditions across the diverse counties of the Golden State...
LINK - SFGate.com
February 1, 2012
Man arrested after short chase in American Canyon
A man was arrested at about 1:15 a.m. Wednesday after a short pursuit that ended when the suspect crashed the car he was driving near American Canyon Road and Elliott Drive, according to the American Canyon Police Department.
Steven Young, 39, of Fairfield, allegedly tried to flee on foot before he was taken into custody, Police Chief Jean Donaldson said...
LINK - NapaValleyRegister.com
February 1, 2012
Parolee arrested after fleeing from cops
Police arrested a 25-year-old man who was on parole for sex trafficking after he saw the officers and ran the other way.
The man, Von Correia, is on parole for a 2010 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon and was talking on a cell phone about 12:35 a.m. on the 1600 block of East Colorado Street when he saw a patrol car, turned around and began running, according to Glendale police reports...
LINK - GlendaleNewsPress.com
February 1, 2012
Redding parolee crashes, keeps going with toddler in car, police say
A 39-year-old Redding parolee was arrested today on suspicion of child abuse and drug charges after he crashed his car and allegedly drove off with his 2-year-old daughter inside.
Around 11 a.m., James Richard Atkinson Jr. was driving erratically when he crashed his 2001 Suzuki Esteem into a car near the intersection of Park Marina Drive and South Street, Redding police say...
LINK - Redding.com
February 1, 2012
Parolee arrested after scuffle with deputies
A Salinas man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly punched a sheriff's deputy and was subdued with a Taser, the Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies spotted the man, a parolee, smoking drugs while sitting in a car on Newlyn Street in North Salinas about 10 a.m...
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
February 1, 2012
Editorial: State must grapple with aging prisoners
California finally is making headway in reducing numbers in overcrowded prisons – enough to get the federal courts to say that the end of federal receivership "appears to be in sight."
But to get California prisons back under state control, the state will have to provide a credible plan by the end of April for tackling the other major problem in the prison system: An aging inmate population....
LINK - SacBee.com
February 1, 2012
Event celebrates Calipatria’s State Prison’s 20th anniversary
While the surrounding community has changed a lot in the past 20 years, so has Calipatria State Prison, said Robert Silvas.
Silvas, a 17-year prison employee who serves as a sergeant, said Tuesday that in addition to being one of the first California correctional facilities to feature an electrical fence, Calipatria State Prison was also the place in 2005 where one of the worst-ever prison riots occurred....
LINK - IVPressOnline.com
January 31, 2012
California cuts prison staffing
With about 14,000 fewer inmates in its prisons because most of them have been transferred to county jails, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is sending notices to 548 workers that they will lose their jobs.
The first wave of firings is set for Feb. 29. A second round is expected in the fall.
Those losing their jobs include about 140 guards...
LINK - CentralValleyBusinessTimes.com
January 31, 2012
CMC facing limited layoffs
Of the 545 layoff warning notices the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sent out last week, only seven went to employees of the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.
As part of a state prison realignment that is slated to reduce the prison population by 33,000 within two years by moving some offenders to county jails, staff numbers are also slated to decline. Throughout the state prison system, there are now 14,000 fewer inmates than there were six months ago...
LINK - CalCoastNews.com
January 31, 2012
Campaign finance watchdog highlights money behind Florida prison privatization move
The National Institute on Money in State Politics released a report yesterday that highlights the money behind the state’s renewed plans to privatize state prisons.
Even though a judge struck down the state’s plans to privatize prisons in some regions of the state last year, the Legislature has fast-tracked bills this session to allow them to take another stab at last year’s plans. In just a few weeks the state’s plans have passed through two committees and are ready for a floor vote...
LINK - FloridaIndependent.com
January 31, 2012
Barbs Fly in FL Private Prison Conflict
Florida correctional officers say a proposal to privatize some prisons amounts to the government picking winners and losers. They claim the losers will be correctional officers who would be unemployed or displaced, along with their families and communities. Proponents, including private prison operator GEO Group, counter that privately-managed prisons are money-savers for the state.
Captain Mike Riley, a corrections officer in Ocala, says private operators may throw current officers out the main prison gate...
LINK - PublicNewsService.org
January 31, 2012
Parolee leads officers on chase
A 29-year-old man wanted for an alleged parole violation was arrested early Sunday after trying to flee police, authorities said.
A Watsonville police officer spotted Iran Cota Perez behind the wheel of a white Chevrolet Sebring at an East Lake Avenue market and followed him when he left the market, deputy April Skalland said. Perez had a female passenger...
LINK - SantaCruzSentinel.com
January 31, 2012
Corning parolee arrested for allegedly carrying billy club
A 27-year-old Corning parolee was arrested early this morning by Tehama County sheriff's deputies for allegedly carrying an illegal billy club.
About 1 a.m., deputies pulled over Jonathan Michael Stamper in a traffic stop on Hall Road in Corning, deputies said...
LINK - Redding.com
January 30, 2012
Traffic stop leads to chase, crash
A parolee led police in a brief car chase Saturday evening before crashing into a truck. There were no injuries.
Police officer Joseph Silva noticed a vehicle exit the parking lot of a convenience store at 500 Rimrock Road at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday night without its lights operating, according to a Barstow police report.
Silva attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled the scene, crossing the center lane divider and nearly crashing with an oncoming vehicle, according to the report...
LINK - DesertDispatch.com
January 30, 2012
Wanted parolee leads officers on chase
A 29-year-old man wanted for an alleged parole violation was arrested early Sunday after trying to flee from police, authorities said.
A Watsonville police officer spotted Iran Cota Perez behind the wheel of a white Chevrolet Sebring at an East Lake Avenue market and followed him when he left the market, Sheriff's deputy April Skalland said.
Perez had a female passenger, Skalland said...
LINK - SantaCruzSentinel.com
January 30, 2012
Man sought for breach in second-strike parole
U-T San Diego is profiling a wanted suspect each week in an effort to make our community safer. We are partnering with Crime Stoppers and local law enforcement to profile known fugitives as well as draw attention to unsolved crimes committed by unknown suspects. This week’s most wanted suspect:
Harold Grigsby, 43
Wanted: Grigsby is wanted for violating parole. He is a second-strike parolee with a criminal history that includes armed robbery, auto theft, making threats and multiple narcotic- and firearms-related charges...
LINK - UTSanDiego.com
January 28, 2012
West Covina parolee arrested following 10-hour stand-off in Whittier
A sheriff's SWAT team, with the help of a K-9, found and arrested a West Covina parolee Friday who barricaded himself in a Whittier garage for more than 10 hours after shooting at police, authorities said Saturday.
Matthew Cloutman, 36, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer and a parole warrant, Whittier police officials said in a written statement.
He was found hiding in a crawl space and bitten by a sheriff's K-9 shortly before 11 p.m. in the garage in the 6200 block of Washington Avenue where he had remained barricaded since about 12:30 p.m., according to Los Angeles County sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker...
LINK - SGVTribune.com
January 27, 2012
Juvenile Justice Cut Would be a Mistake
One of Governor Brown’s budget trigger cuts for California is the $72 million spent on the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ, formerly the California Youth Authority). The governor is proposing to shut down the state juvenile justice detention system and send the youth back to the counties for rehabilitation. On the surface, this seems like a good move—DJJ has a horrible reputation for punishing wards and providing little rehabilitative services.
Santa Clara County is well positioned to take back the14 youth they currently have in the state facility. Its two juvenile ranches are under capacity, and one could easily be converted to a higher-level program with additional funding. Other counties are less equipped to take people back. These counties do not have ranch programs and their juvenile halls are short-term holding facilities, not treatment programs. Also, many rural counties don’t have separate juvenile facilities and kids are held in a separate part of an adult jail—not a very good alternative...
LINK - SanJoseInside.com
January 27, 2012
End of prison oversight not certain
The court-appointed receiver overseeing California's prison health care system said Friday the state must keep its promise to spend more than $2 billion for new medical facilities before the federal courts can end an oversight role that has lasted six years.
California has committed to spending $750 million to upgrade existing medical facilities, building a new medical center and converting juvenile lockups. So far, only the new medical center in Stockton is being built.
Receiver J. Clark Kelso told The Associated Press that the state must begin all the upgrades before it should be allowed to retake control of a prison medical system once deemed so poor that it was found to have violated inmates' constitutional rights. They are his first public comments since a federal judge last week told officials to begin preparing for an end to the receivership...
LINK - FoxNews.com
January 27, 2012
Man arrested on suspicion of drugs
A 30-year-old man on parole was arrested at about 2:35 a.m. Friday on the 900 block of Main Street on suspicion of being in possession of a controlled substance, police said.
Kurt Breiten, a known parolee with no fixed address, was standing near a vehicle in a parking lot on Main street, police said. Police found a small quantity of suspected methamphetamine in the vehicle, authorities said....
LINK - NapaValleyRegister.com
January 27, 2012
Skinheads arrested after chance encounter with deputies
Two white supremacist gang members — one a parolee at large — were arrested as authorities investigated what first appeared to be a vehicle burglary, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Hesperia station officials said Friday.
Hesperia SMASH Gang Team members on Thursday arrested transient Jeremy Hagen, 31, and Glenn Petrak, also 31, of Victorville after Petrak was found allegedly trying to break into a vehicle in the 13000 block of Trona Court.
At about 3 p.m., officials spotted Petrak outside a vehicle, according to Susan Rose, spokeswoman for the Hesperia station. It turned out Petrak — a documented skinhead gang member on parole — was working on the vehicle, she said....
LINK - HesperiaStar.com
January 27, 2012
Man barricaded in Whittier house, wanted in connection to a West Covina crime
Residents in the quiet historic Uptown Whittier neighborhood said they heard gunshots Friday afternoon on Washington Avenue just south of Beverly Boulevard.
Whittier Police officials said that at approximately 12:15 p.m., U.S. Marshals were shot at during the surveillance and attempted arrest of a male parolee wanted for carjacking in Whittier.
The incident took place in the 6000 block of Washington Ave in Uptown Whittier...
LINK - SGVTribune.com
January 27, 2012
Parolee barricaded after allegedly firing on U.S. marshals in Whittier
U.S. marshals trying to arrest a parolee in Whittier early Friday afternoon were fired on by the man, who then barricaded himself, police said.
The incident took place in the 6000 block of Washington Avenue, where marshals had been conducting surveillance of the man, who was wanted for a carjacking in the City of Industry.
When they tried to arrest him about 12:15 p.m., the man allegedly opened fire on them, according to a Whittier police statement...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 27, 2012
Parolee linked to six Altadena burglaries
A man who deputies say was caught in the act of burglarizing a home Jan. 20 has been linked to five other burglaries in Altadena.
Jeremiah Billingslea, 20, was arrested by sheriff's deputies during an attempted burglary of a home on the 300 block of East Calavaras St. according to Lt. Duane D. Allen of the Altadena sheriff's station. Subsequent investigation linked Billingslea to five other burglaries clustered in the Morada Place neighborhood in recent weeks...
LINK - AltaDenaBlog.com
January 26, 2012
Female parolee arrested following police pursuit
A wanted parolee led police on a chase through Whittier on Wednesday before she ultimately pulled over and surrendered, authorities said.
Monique Ramos, 30, was booked on suspicion of evading police and violating parole, Whittier police Sgt. Gregg Hamilton said.
An officer tried to stop her car for running a red light about 9:35a.m. at Whittier Boulevard and Mar Vista Street, police said...
LINK - WhittierDailyNews.com
January 26, 2012
‘Puffy Coat Bandit’ suspect indicted for seven bank robberies
A federal grand jury has indicted a 46-year-old parolee known as the "Puffy Coat Bandit" for seven bank robberies across Southern California.
Steven Dwayne Paulson was arrested Jan. 10 by an Upland police detective who spotted him driving shortly after authorities released a description of the "Puffy Coat Bandit," the Press-Enterprise reported.
The nickname was created by FBI agents because of a ski parka worn by the robber in several heists...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 26, 2012
Pair arrested on drug, weapons charges in Santa Rosa
A Santa Rosa gang member, out of prison on parole, was back in custody Wednesday after police detectives found he was carrying a gun and drugs for sale.
Mario Ochoa Gonzalez, 26, was known to police as a parolee and a gang member, reported Sgt. Ray Navarro.
Gonzalez was seen driving Wednesday in Santa Rosa, followed by a car also registered to him...
LINK - PressDemocrat.com
January 26, 2012
Police looking for missing registered sex offender
Local law enforcement is searching for parolee and registered sex offender, Gilbert Avalos Jr., who removed his GPS tracking ankle monitor and his whereabouts are unknown.
Avalos is a Hispanic male, 23 years old, 5’8” tall, 195 pounds with black hair, brown eyes...
LINK - KGET.com
January 26, 2012
Visalia standoff with parolee in garage ends
A standoff with parolee at a southwest Visalia home ended about 11:10 a.m. today when police found Michael Nash, 35, hiding in the back of a car in a garage.
An ambulance took Nash to a hospital because he was in "some sort of medical distress," police Sgt. Amy Watkins said.
Visalia animal control was called to the home to deal with a vicious pit bull dog...
LINK - FresnoBee.com
January 26, 2012
Yuba rape suspect released in December
An Olivehurst man accused of sexually assaulting a woman at knife-point last week served seven months of a two-year sentence, with credits for time served, and was released in late December, authorities said, but Joseph Scott Mason did not recieve an early release from prison, the California Department of Corrections said Thursday.
“Realignment did not have anything to do with (Mason’s) release date,” said Luis Patino, spokesman for the state corrections department. “He would still have been at exactly the same time.”
Mason, 48, was arrested Monday after Yuba County sheriff’s deputies said he raped a 46-year-old woman at least twice last week...
LINK - Appeal-Democrat.com
January 26, 2012
Bill on media access to prisoners advances
The Assembly voted 47-22 today to pass a Bay Area lawmaker’s bill that would lift the ban on media interviews with specific inmates in California’s prisons.
Since the ban on pre-arranged inmate interviews went into effect in 1996, bill author Tom Ammiano noted, eight versions of this bill have been vetoed by three governors.
“Independent media access to prison inmates is a critical part of keeping our prisons transparent and accountable while providing information to the public,” Ammiano, D-San Francisco, said in a news release...
LINK - iBaBuzz.com
January 26, 2012
New acting Warden at CCI
Kim Holland is the new Acting Warden at the California Correctional Institution. Mike Stainer, the former Acting Warden who was formally appointed to the Warden’s position by Gov. Jerry Brown on Jan. 17, is on assignment as Acting Associate Director of the California Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation in Sacramento. Holland was introduced at a recent meeting of the CCI Citizens Advisory Committee.
Newly appointed Acting Warden Kim Holland was introduced at the Jan. 17 meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee at the California Correctional Institution.
Holland replaces Michael Stainer who has temporarily been stationed in Sacramento as Acting Associate Director. Stainer had been Acting Warden since December 2010 and was formally appointed as Warden at CCI by Gov. Jerry Brown on Jan. 17...
LINK - TehachapiNews.com
January 26, 2012
Number of Older Inmates Grows, Stressing Prisons
The number of Americans in prison older than 55 is growing at a faster rate than the group’s share of the population at large, and many prisons are unprepared to provide them with health care, which can cost as much as nine times more than for younger inmates, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Friday.
The complications in handling the swelling number of aging prisoners range from making allowances for those with Alzheimer’s or dementia and finding sufficient ground-floor cells for inmates in wheelchairs to ensuring that older prisoners are not exploited or robbed by younger inmates...
LINK - NYTimes.com
January 26, 2012
SFPD arrests 20 CDCR parolees
The San Francisco Police Department announced Thursday that it led a multi-agency operation the previous evening that target wanted suspects throughout the city, netting 70 arrests.
According to a press release issued Thursday, the operation was led by the department's violence reduction team and utilized officers from all ten district stations in partnership with the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, state parole agents, and San Francisco adult probation officers...
LINK - KTVU.com
January 25, 2012
Parolee arrested in theft from 104-year-old coast man
The son of a 104-year-old Little River man's care giver was arrested Tuesday for allegedly charging thousands of dollars to the elderly man's credit card, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
A deputy was assigned to investigate the reported fraud and responded to the man's home in the 5000 block of Albion Little River Road at 3:20 p.m.. Friday.He learned that the victim, William Wesatfall, had a caretaker who managed his credit card, according to the MCSO...
LINK - UkiahDailyJournal.com
January 25, 2012
Parolee arrested in Santa Cruz on suspicion of possessing drugs, firearm
A 28-year-old man was arrested after officers conducting a parole compliance search turned up ammunition, a firearm and drugs, according to Sheriff's deputy April Skalland.
Officers conducted the search at the Santa Cruz residence of Daniel James Mendoza just before 1 p.m. Tuesday. Mendoza was suspected of being under the influence when officers arrived at the residence...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
January 25, 2012
Parolee convicted of murder for killing his wife in front of children
A paroled rapist who shot his wife to death in front of her two young children in Oceanside as the family prepared to go to church was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder.
After a day of deliberations, a jury found Dontaye Henderson guilty in the Jan. 1, 2011, death of his wife.
Henderson, 29, was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a gun. He faces up to 82 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 23 by Superior Court Judge Robert Kearney....
LINK - 760kfmb.com
January 25, 2012
Parolee arrested after car chase in Fairfield
Fairfield police arrested an El Sobrante parolee Monday night after a short car chase through the city that ended with the suspect running from the car, which had been reported as stolen, and apprehended by a Fairfield K-9, authorities said.
An officer spotted Kevin Panlaqui, 34, in the Travis Boulevard area at about 8:30 p.m., said Fairfield Sgt. Matthew Thomas. The officer attempted to stop Panlaqui, who was driving a 1994 Acura Integra, after he noticed one of the car's lights were out, Thomas said.
Rather than pulling over, Panlaqui led officers on a pursuit that wound through the streets of Fairfield, during which an officer had to dive out of the way to avoid being hit, before he was finally boxed into the Chamberland Drive area by seven Fairfield officers, Thomas said...
LINK - TheReporter.com
January 25, 2012
CDCR’s Matt Cate talks to Sacramento Press Club
California's enormous budget problem is making it difficult for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to comply with the court-ordered reduction in its prison population, Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate told 80 Sacramento Press Club luncheon guests Tuesday.
But, said Cate, "It's getting done."
Cate said the inmate population is 200 percent over capacity, and the goal is to reduce that to 137.5 percent. The major effort now --called Realignment-- is aimed at moving less violent inmates into county facilities. But the state budget problem is getting in the way. Cate said some counties want remuneration from the state for their added costs, and the state doesn't have the money...
LINK - CapitolMR.com (Subscription Only)
January 25, 2012
VSPW inmates opposed to prison conversion?
Inmates at Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW) have flooded the office of Madera County District 2 Supervisor David Rogers with letters expressing their concerns and fears over the state's plan to convert the prison to a men's facility.
"These concerns," Rogers said, "range from losing valuable rehabilitative programs and the potential of being housed near women who have threatened their safety."
Recent numbers show about 3,000 women are housed in VSPW, Rogers said, which is 150 percent of design capacity. At Central California Women's Facility (CCWF), the second women's prison located in Chowchilla, there are about 3,400 inmates, 180 percent of design capacity, Rogers said. The only other women's facility, California Institute for Women (CIW), houses almost 2,000 inmates and was designed for 1,200...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 25, 2012
Chowchilla gets temporary restraining order on state’s plan to convert female prison to male
The city of Chowchilla said it was granted a Stipulation and Order temporarily prohibiting the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) from proceeding with the conversion of a women’s prison to a men’s prison as a part of the state’s prison realignment plan.
On Jan. 6, a petition for a Writ of Mandate was filed for CDCR’s failure to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Later, the city said it learned that CDCR was moving forward with the conversion. On Jan. 24, the city filed a Temporary Restraining Order against CDCR...
LINK - MercedSunStar.com
January 24, 2012
Testimony starts in grand theft trial of Westlake Village parolee
Testimony began Monday in the trial of a parolee on charges he stole thousands of dollars from a woman.
Prosecutors allege Daniel R. Coffman, 57, convinced the woman his wife froze his assets and that he needed to pay an attorney to free up his account, which had $700,000, including money to run his Agoura Hills business....
LINK - VCStar.com
January 24, 2012
Investigators: Man shot in Selma was a wanted Parolee
Action News has acquired cell phone video showing what happened at a Selma hotel right after police shot and killed a suspect.
A resident of the Villager Inn Motel shot the video after hearing gunshots. Officers can clearly be heard yelling at a woman who was in the room with 32-year-old Clayton Cass.
Fresno County Sheriff's investigators are looking into the officer-involved shooting. They say Cass was a wanted parolee out of Tulare County. That agency asked Selma Police to find Cass...
LINK - ABCLocal.go.com
January 24, 2012
Suspect killed by Selma cops was wanted parolee
Fresno County authorities say the man fatally shot by police officers at a motel over the weekend was a parolee wanted for burglary and sexual assault.
The coroner on Monday identified the man as 32-year-old Clayton Cass of Exeter.
Cass was wanted by the Tulare County Sheriff's Department, who alerted Selma police that he was staying at a motel in town...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
January 24, 2012
Parolee Cruises Sierra Madre
An officer stopped a 26-year old Los Angeles motorist for a Vehicle Code violation in the Orange Grove Ave. and Orlando Dr. intersection at 11:35 p.m. on Thursday January 19.
Further investigation revealed that the driver had three outstanding no-bail warrants. Also, the 26-year old passenger was a parolee-at-large...
LINK - SierraMadre.Patch.com
January 23, 2012
Suspect was recently released from prison
A man Butte County Sheriff's deputies arrested Thursday night following a brief vehicle and foot chase is a low-level offender recently released to the area from prison.
Officials said Stephen Clifford Miller, 28, is currently suspected of selling methamphetamine.
A confidential informant revealed details of his activities to sheriff's investigators, and said the man was driving a light-colored Chevrolet Impala...
LINK - ChicoER.com
January 23, 2012
Police briefs: Man arrested after foot chase
Salinas police and county probation officers captured a parolee Thursday after a chase that started when he climbed out a second-story window.
Probation officers went to an apartment in the 900 block of Rider Avenue about 2 p.m. They spotted a man climbing out of an upstairs window, then someone threw a backpack to the man, and he jumped down and started running, police said.
Salinas police joined the chase and cornered the man at Gee Street and Rider, taking him into custody after a struggle...
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
January 23, 2012
Milpitas parolee arrested, three handguns seized
Milpitas Police Department officers arrested 53-year-old Milpitas resident Johnny Munoz on charges of being a felon in possession of weapons and drugs on Jan. 17 at about 11 a.m.
Munoz, a known parolee, and Ramon Garcia, a 21-year-old transient, were stopped by officers on the 900 block of Jacklin Road. Officers allegedly found brass knuckles in Munoz's possession. He was arrested for possession of an illegal weapon.
Garcia, who was also on parole, was allegedly in possession of several baggies of methamphetamine, police said...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
January 23, 2012
Newark burglary suspect involved in fatal crash dies
One of three burglary suspects involved in a police chase and car crash that killed a Pleasanton man last week has also died, police said.
Rajwaun Watkins, 20, of Oakland and Hayward, died Friday at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley of injuries from the crash, according to a Newark police press release.
The two other burglary suspects, Deshon Collier, 20, and Jabrie Watts, 20, are in jail on probation and parole violations, according to the release. Watts lived in Oakland and Hayward; Collier listed addresses in San Leandro, Union City and Hayward....
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
January 23, 2012
Man arrested in Facebook threat on ex-girlfriend’s family
A 22-year-old parolee was arrested Sunday when he allegedly made threats via Facebook to “put a hit” on his 15-year-old girlfriend’s family after they forbade him from seeing her, police said.
Raul Reinoso of Glendale was arrested at his home in the 300 block of East Chestnut Street on suspicion of making a criminal threat, unlawful sex with a minor and oral copulation with a minor, according to Glendale police.The girl’s parents told police that Reinoso threatened them on Facebook after they logged into their daughter’s social network account and sent him a message saying that he was not allowed to see her again, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 23, 2012
Inmate Death at SATF in Corcoran Being Investigated As A Homicide
Officials at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (SATF) are investigating an inmate death as a homicide.
Jeffrey Lynn Goodwin, 43, was found on the institution’s recreation yard with an apparent head injury Thursday, January 19. Goodwin succumbed to his injuries at approximately 12:40 p.m. Sunday, January 22.
Officials from the prison and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office have named inmates Cedric Jerome Mills, 47, and Charles Morris, 41, as suspects in the case. Both inmates have been placed in administrative segregation while the investigation continues...
LINK - CDCRToday.Blogspot.com
January 23, 2012
Shooting death of unarmed parolee being investigated
An investigation was under way today into the death of a wanted parolee and suspected gang member who turned out to be unarmed when he was shot and killed by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies in Lancaster while allegedly running away and appearing to reach for a weapon.
The man killed late Saturday night was Christian Cobian, 26, of Lancaster, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said this morning.
Cobian was on probation following felony convictions and was wanted on a narcotics warrant, according to the Sheriff's Department...
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
January 23, 2012
Parolee and Companion Arrested, Guns and Drugs Seized
Two men were arrested in Milpitas this week, and police officers seized firearms, other illegal weapons and drugs in their possession.
On Tuesday, Jan. 17 at approximately 11:06 a.m., Milpitas Police officers performed a traffic stop on the 900 block of Jacklin Road. The vehicle they stopped contained 53-year-old Johnny Munoz of Milpitas - a former convicted felon out on parole - and 21-year-old Ramon Garcia, a transient...
LINK - Milpitas.Patch.com
January 23, 2012
Parolee pleads no contest in Hillsborough slaying
A parolee faces seven years in prison after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of his longtime friend in Hillsborough.
Bradley Kleiman, 31, entered his plea Friday in San Mateo County Superior Court while pretrial motions were being heard in advance of his trial in Redwood City.
Kleiman also admitted a firearm allegation in connection with the June 15, 2010, slaying of Christopher Calvache, 30, who was shot at the De Sabla Road home where Kleiman lived with his parents, authorities said...
LINK - SFGate.com
January 23, 2012
Man suspected of DUI to face trial in woman’s death
A 39-year-old man will be tried in Napa Superior Court in connection with a fatal collision in March at the intersection of the Redwood Road and Linda Vista Avenue that killed a local woman, a judge ruled Thursday.
Christiaan Dewet faces charges of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence causing injury with special allegation in connection with the death of 59-year-old Sandra Hamilton when he allegedly ran a red light, according to court records and court testimony...
LINK - NapaValleyRegister.com
January 20, 2012
Video: Meet a Town Bankrupted by Private Prisons
Real video from the town of Littlefield, Texas and the story of how the town was left with $10 million in debt by GEO Group after they built and abandoned a private prison in the community...
LINK - TheRealNews.com
January 20, 2012
Parolee pleads no contest to auto theft, evading arrest
A Taft man arrested after a high speed car and foot chase has pleaded no contest to two felony counts.
Anthony James Lemler (also known as Anthony James Grajczyk) entered the pleas to felony evading arrest in a motor vehicle and auto theft charges in Taft branch of Kern County Superior Court on Tuesday.
Lemler, who was also wanted on a no-bail parole hold, was arrested just after midnight on Jan. 3 after he led Kern County Sheriff's deputies on a high-speed chase east from South Taft on Petroleum Club Road where the stolen car he was driving overturned...
LINK - TaftMidwayDriller.com
January 20, 2012
Parolee arrested for depositing stolen check
A parolee was arrested Wednesday after trying to pass a fraudulent check at a local bank, police said.
Jacinto Marquez, 31, entered Chase bank, 17599 Monterey Road, Saturday and tried to deposit an "obviously forged or altered" check, Morgan Hill police Sgt. Troy Hoefling said.
Marquez allegedly attempted to deposit the $550 check into his own account...
LINK - MorganHillTimes.com
January 20, 2012
Parolee Arrested After Foot Pursuit
Monterey County Probation Officers were preparing to contact one of their clients at an unrelated residence when they saw Abelardo Rodriguez, 31, climb out of a second story window at 942 Rider.
At that time, someone threw a backpack to Rodriguez from inside the apartment. Rodriguez jumped down and began running with probation in pursuit. When Salinas Police officers arrived they began looking for Rodriguez.
Officers found Rodriguez hiding and another foot pursuit began. He was cornered at Gee and Rider. He struggled with officers, but was quickly arrested...
LINK - KIONRightNow.com
January 19, 2012
Assm. Grove complains about CCPOA?
Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, issued the following response to Governor Jerry Brown’s State of the State address:
Governor Brown’s remarks today were essentially identical to past years and years of liberal Democrat speeches and promises. While the Governor talks a good game of reigning in spending and getting our fiscal house in order, his actions demonstrate a much different agenda.Governor Brown has given pay raises on the backs of taxpayers to the high-paid prison guards and other unions who helped put him in office, granted taxpayer subsidies to illegal immigrants for college loans and scholarships under the “Dream Act,” pushed an expansive “green” energy mandate which has and will continue to raise taxpayer energy costs, and most recently put his stamp of approval on the $100+ billion and growing high-speed rail disaster that epitomizes the incompetence and waste that results from a massive government. Governor Brown signed 745 bills into law from last year. This does not lift burdens off of our struggling economy, but instead adds more through increased government bureaucracy....
LINK - RidgecrestCA.com
January 18, 2012
Florida again seeks to privatize 29 state prisons
Florida lawmakers are reviving the largest prison privatization plan in the country, with a Senate committee Wednesday voting to file two bills that would turn over 29 correctional facilities in an 18-county region — including Southwest Florida — to private companies.
The vote by the Senate Rules Committee — which was opposed by two Democratic members — is aimed at reversing a court ruling last year that negated the Legislature's effort to carry out the massive privatization plan through the state budget.
Rules Chairman John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, said the new legislation would "remedy" the objections raised by the courts, including the argument that lawmakers should have used separate legislation — not the budget bill — to authorize the private prisons...
LINK - TheLedger.com
January 18, 2012
Parolee gets tasered at Riverside Mall
Guy David Reed, 31, was arrested after a confrontation Tuesday afternoon at the Tyler Mall.
Reed is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
According to Riverside police, mall security guards requested help from patrol officers around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after Reed allegedly brandished a knife at them...
LINK - SWRNN.com
January 18, 2012
Another “Non-Non-Non” parolee gang member arrested for burglary
A 21-year-old woman and a reputed gang member who was recently released on unsupervised parole were charged Wednesday with receiving stolen property, officials said.
Ryan Ogden, 24, of Canoga Park and Christina Holliday, 21, of Tujunga both face two felony counts of receiving stolen property, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint.
The pair, along with a 16-year-old girl, were likely driving around Glendale and breaking into cars early Monday before they were stopped by police, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said...
LINK - GlendaleNewsPress.com
January 18, 2012
Lynwood Shooting Victim Declared Dead
A good Samaritan shot at a Lynwood meat market during a weekend robbery has died, authorities said today. George Alvarado, 43, of Lynwood died about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Francis Medical Center, said coroner's Chief Craig Harvey.
Alvarado was one of two good Samaritans shot about 7 p.m. Sunday in the 11800 block of Atlantic Avenue, the Sheriff's Department reported. The other survived.
Two men and a woman were arrested and held without bail. They were scheduled to appear in court in Compton today...
LINK - BaldwinPark.Patch.com
January 17, 2012
Michael Stainer appointed warden at Tehachapi
SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Michael Stainer, 48, of Tehachapi, has been appointed warden at the California Correctional Institution. Stainer has been chief deputy warden at the California Correctional Institution since 2008. He has worked with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in multiple positions since 1987. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $129,108. Stainer is a Republican.
January 17, 2012
Covina parolee accused of removing GPS ankle bracelet
Police arrested a wanted parolee with convictions for home-invasion robbery and auto theft early Tuesday on suspicion of removing a GPS tracking device, officials said.
Francisco George Munoz, 30, of Covina was being held without bail at the Covina Police Department's jail following his 3 a.m. arrest at 7-Eleven on Rowland Street, just west of Barranca Street, according to Covina police and county booking records.
Covina police received word last week that Munoz had removed or tampered with a court-ordered GPS ankle bracelet, Covina police Lt. John Curley said. Police and state parole officials carried out a search for him with no success...
LINK - SGVTribune.com
January 17, 2012
Private Corrections Institute Opposes Prison Privatization Effort
The Private Corrections Institute, a Florida-based non-profit watchdog organization that actually opposes the privatization of correctional services, has -- as would be expected -- “sharply condemned” the latest state effort to privatize correctional facilities in 18 South Florida counties.
“While private prison companies will profit from expanded prison privatization contracts, should the legislature prevail in its mass prison privatization plan the loser will be Florida’s taxpayers, as public funds will be diverted from the state into the coffers of for-profit prison firms with no discernable (sic) benefit to the public,” Private Corrections Institute stated in a release...
LINK - SunshineStateNews.com
January 17, 2012
Sex offender arrested after failing to register
A 40-year-old parolee remained today in Tehama County jail after being arrested on Friday for failing to register as a sex offender, deputies said this morning.
Dwayne Lawrence Dillman, who had resided in Redding, allegedly failed to register with authorities as a sex offender after moving from Shasta County to the Bowman Road area of Cottonwood, deputies said...
LINK - Redding.com
January 17, 2012
SAN JACINTO: Shooting wounds 2, jails parolee
Gunfire at a San Jacinto home last night led deputies to a hospital where two victims – both reluctant to talk – were being treated, including a parolee who was jailed in connection with the incident, sheriff's officials say.
The shots were reported at 7:50 p.m. Monday along the 600 block of Mistletoe Avenue and is being investigated as a negligent firing of a gun, rather than an intentional attack...
LINK - PE.com
January 17, 2012
Murderer paroled to Susanville area found dead from hanging
Convicted killer, Loren Herzog was found dead around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to corrections officer Terry Thornton.
Thornton said the parole agency supervising Herzog was alerted when his GPS device had a low battery. When officials checked on Herzog at his trailer just outside of the High Dessert State prison property, they found him hanging.
No suicide note was found at the location said Thornton...
LINK - RGJ.com
January 17, 2012
Oft-released nonviolent offender now accused in mail-theft ring
The accused woman at the center of a recently busted fraud and mail-theft ring has spent the last decade in and out of prison for forging checks.
Tracy Lynn Cross benefited from a state law that allows people who are convicted of less serious, nonviolent crimes to receive one day credit for each day in prison.
As California struggles to reduce its prison population, Cross is just the kind of person who public safety officials talk reassuringly about releasing — a nonviolent offender...
LINK - MyDesert.com
January 17, 2012
Parolee shot in struggle with deputy booked on firearm, resisting arrest charges
The man shot during a violent struggle with a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy last weekend has been booked into jail, according to authorities.
After treatment for his non-life-threatening injuries, 23-year-old Lonnie Hammett, pictured at left, was arrested and booked on suspicion of resisting a peace officer, possession of stolen property, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and violating parole, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.
On Sunday morning, a deputy patrolling the Arden-Arcade area saw two men walking away from a closed county building on Fulton Avenue, Ramos said. As the deputy tried to talk to them, one of them, later identified by authorities as Hammett, punched the deputy and ran, Ramos said...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 17, 2012
Arrest Made in ‘Rolls Royce’ Murder of Prominent Nightclub Owner
A parolee and reputed gang member was charged with capital murder Tuesday in the 2011 slaying of an Inglewood nightclub owner.
Alonzo Ester, 67, also known as Dicky McKnight, was found shot to death inside a Rolls-Royce in front of his Baldwin Hills home last May.
Police say he was driving home from his club, Dynasty, around 3 a.m. when he was shot several times from the passenger side of the car...
LINK - KTLA.com
January 17, 2012
Judge to end Calif. prison receiver
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered California officials to prepare for the end of a six-year, court-ordered oversight of the prison system that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars and helped force a shift of lower-level criminals from state prisons to county jails.
U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson cited improving conditions in the prison system in a three-page order that says "the end of the Receivership appears to be in sight."
The ruling marks an important milestone in a process that began nearly six years ago when the judge appointed a receiver to run California's prison medical system after finding that an average of one inmate a week was dying of neglect or malpractice. He cited inmate overcrowding as the leading cause, but said in Tuesday's order that conditions have improved...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 16, 2012
Legal Scholar: Jim Crow Still Exists In America
Under Jim Crow laws, black Americans were relegated to a subordinate status for decades. Things like literacy tests for voters and laws designed to prevent blacks from serving on juries were commonplace in nearly a dozen Southern states.
In her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, legal scholar Michelle Alexander writes that many of the gains of the civil rights movement have been undermined by the mass incarceration of black Americans in the war on drugs. She says that although Jim Crow laws are now off the books, millions of blacks arrested for minor crimes remain marginalized and disfranchised, trapped by a criminal justice system that has forever branded them as felons and denied them basic rights and opportunities that would allow them to become productive, law-abiding citizens...
LINK - NPR.org
January 16, 2012
Calif. inmate should get kosher meals, appeals court rules
The California prison system is violating a Messianic Jewish prisoner's constitutional rights by denying him kosher food, a state appeals court ruled.
A three-justice panel of the California 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 11 that Margarito Jesus Garcia, who is serving 15 years to life for a conviction on second degree murder, should receive kosher meals from the state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, reversing a lower court ruling...
LINK - JewishinStLouis.org
January 16, 2012
Behind the Badge: Rise in burglaries a sign of prison realignment failing
My wife went to her exercise class last Monday but found the gym was closed for the day as they repaired the damage from a burglary during the night. An hour later she tried to take our van to the mechanic, but found he was not going to open for business because someone tunneled through a wall and burglarized his shop. A few days later a neighbor came up to my door and wanted to know what he could do about the guy who broke into four cars on the street near his house.
People want to know what's happening and who is responsible for the increase in theft-related crime. A couple of incidents over the past few weeks might help answer those questions....
LINK - LodiNews.com
January 16, 2012
Police arrest parolee after high-speed chase ends in Sacramento
A parolee led officers from three police agencies on a high-speed chase this morning that ended in Sacramento when the suspected carjacker pulled over and surrendered on eastbound Interstate 80 at El Camino Avenue, according to Fairfield Police Officer Cleo Mayoral.
Jamaal Storms approached a parked car occupied by three young women about 7:45 a.m. in a commercial strip on North Texas Street in Fairfield, pounded on the driver's window and yelled at the women to get out of the car, Mayoral said...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 16, 2012
Cutler parolee sought in drug possession
Tulare County sheriff's detectives are looking for a Cutler parolee after they said a search Friday evening found an ounce of methamphetamine in his home.
The suspect, Angel Alonzo, is also believed to be sought by the California Department of Corrections, according to reports filed with the Tulare County Sheriff's Department...
January 15, 2012
Gov. Jerry Brown plans $1 billion in prison cuts
Gov. Jerry Brown wants to cut state prison spending next fiscal year for the first time in nearly a decade, a departure from the goals of recent administrations, which consistently increased corrections spending and pushed for prison expansion.
Brown's budget would save California $1.1 billion on housing inmates and hundreds of millions more by allowing the state to halt some prison construction - savings largely due to his administration's recent overhaul of the state's criminal justice system.
General fund spending on prisons nearly doubled under Brown's Republican predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, from $5.2 billion in 2004 to $9.5 billion in 2011, when Brown, a Democrat, took office. The increase in spending was largely caused by an exploding inmate population and a court order to improve medical care in prisons...
LINK - SFGate.com
January 14, 2012
Washington: Lawmakers likely to reject prisoners’ early release as money-saver
With lawmakers showing little interest in letting hundreds of prisoners out early to save money, Washington State Reformatory's future as a medium security prison appears less in doubt.
Gov. Chris Gregoire put forth the idea of releasing inmates early, and, as those beds emptied, the state could close one unit at the reformatory and convert three others into less costly minimum security facilities. Roughly $12 million could be saved in this budget.
Lawmakers are giving her proposal a cold shoulder so far in a session that runs through early March...
LINK - HeraldNet.com
January 14, 2012
Prison officials remain quiet on details of October riot in Sayre facility (by Calif. inmates)
A lack of charges filed against inmates involved in an Oct. 11 riot at the North Fork Correctional Facility highlights an ongoing issue between private prisons and authorities, a local prosecutor said.
More than three months after the riot, private prison officials have yet to release details about what exactly caused the melee.
The nature of the injuries suffered by dozens of inmates also remains a mystery...
LINK - NewsOK.com
January 14, 2012
Disabled inmates denied crucial access, judge says
California prison officials have failed to monitor and protect hundreds of disabled parolees in county jails, some of whom have been denied such basic aids as canes and wheelchairs and aren't allowed to file grievances, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland said she first pointed out the state's failure to meet the needs of parolees with disabilities in a ruling more than a decade ago. But officials have done little to comply and are now trying to duck responsibility, she said.
There is "overwhelming and disturbing evidence" that disabled inmates are being "denied access to housing, programs and services" because of the state's violations of disability laws, Wilken said...
LINK - SFGate.com
January 14, 2012
SWAT, standoff, shooting, sex crimes, speedsters and other incidents encountered Jan. 8 to 14.
Relax, Livermore. The week is over.
Along with an arrested local teacher, a mid-town shooting and a drag-racing collision on the east side, the Livermore Police Department also nabbed a wanted parolee deemed armed and dangerous on Elizabeth Court.
A reportedly stolen vehicle, spotted in a driveway on the 300 block of Elizabeth Court Jan. 9 at 1 p.m., led police to determine wanted suspect Eric Ontiveros, 24, was inside the residence, authorities said...
LINK - Livermore.Patch.com
January 14, 2012
Parolee Arrested After Sexual Activity With Teen Girl
Officers responding to reports of shots fired Friday night instead found a parolee engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl inside a vacant Sacramento home, according to police logs.
Sacramento police officers responded to a residence in the 2600 block of Altos Avenue shortly after 8 p.m. and found a man in his 30s with the girl. They reportedly told officers the sexual conduct was consensual...
LINK - CBSLocal.com
January 13, 2012
Tulare County taking state to court over suspended payments for juvenile offender programs
Tulare County is taking the California State Controller to court to stop plans for the state to suspend payments totaling more than $890,000 to support juvenile offender programs here.
If the county loses the lawsuit, it may have to eliminate the jobs of up to 16 full-time probation correctional officers at the Tulare County Juvenile Detention Facility, north of Visalia.
In addition, the Tulare County Probation Department, which runs the facility, could lose the use of nearly a third its 150 beds to house youths charged with crimes or serving sentences for convictions...
LINK - VisaliaTimesDelta.com
January 13, 2012
Parolee arrested in Gilroy
A parolee was arrested in Gilroy Wednesday after a brief attempt to flee from police.
The Gilroy Police Department reports that members of the department’s Anti-Crime Team spotted known gang member James Bob Lucio, 35, allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen car....
LINK - Examiner.com
January 13, 2012
Two Arrested After Being Discovered With Stolen Car
Glendora Police arrested a man and woman around 7:15 a.m. Friday after officers discovered the vehicle they were in as having been stolen.
Officers arrested Falecia Pinces, 33, from Pomona, and Shannon Mendoza, 45, from Glendora, on suspicion of possessing known stolen property.
Pinces was a parolee and was also booked on suspicion of possessing brass knuckles and methamphetamine. Additionally, Pinces had a grand theft auto warrant, said Lt. Rob Lamborghini of Glendora Police...
LINK - Glendora.Patch.com
January 13, 2012
Parolee arrested after removing ankle bracelet
A convicted sex offender who removed his ankle monitor and failed to report to his parole officer was arrested at a Santa Cruz motel Thursday night, Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark said.
Kevin Allen, 45, was on parole for felony sexual battery, false imprisonment and corporal injury to a spouse. He was being monitored via ankle bracelet...
LINK - SantaCruzSentinel.com
January 13, 2012
Parolee arrested in connection with drug violations
A 49-year-old man on California State parole was arrested at about 4 a.m. Thursday at Walmart Supercenter in American Canyon on suspicion of being under the influence, according to the American Canyon Police Department.
An officer at Walmart investigating another case found Kenneth Gatchek, of Benicia, displaying symptoms of being under the influence, acting erratically, sweating profusely and jerking his arms around, American Canyon Police Chief Jean Donaldson said...
LINK - NapaValleyRegister.com
January 11, 2012
L.A. County youth camps fail to meet U.S.-ordered reforms
The Los Angeles County Probation Department has not fulfilled seven federally ordered reforms at its youth camps.
A report released late last week by federal monitors found that the agency still needs to improve staffing levels at some of its 14 camps, improve how it identifies youths who have mental problems and do a better job of evaluating and treating youths with medical problems, among other issues.
The probation department, which houses and works to rehabilitate about 2,200 of the area's most troubled youths, has been under federal oversight for almost a decade. As part of a 2008 deal, federal officials threatened to take over the department unless it complied with 41 reforms...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 11, 2012
Stopping Prison Construction Important First Step (?)
Governor Brown’s surprised Californians by unveiling his 2012-13 budget five days early on January 5th. The Budget has Californians calling for additional cuts to the corrections budget to prevent even further slashing of welfare, childcare, health care, education, and job opportunities. The 2012-2013 proposal, which includes $8.887 billion in General Fund spending for Corrections, comes the same week as severe trigger cuts from last year’s budget and just days before 25 Counties are due to submit funding requests to build $602 million worth of jails across the state.
Until this year, when many of the state’s corrections needs were outsourced to the county level with Brown’s Public Safety Realignment, General Fund spending for prisons had climbed steadily from $604.2 million in 1980-81 to $9.6 billion in 2010-11, or from 2.9 percent to 10.5 percent of the state’s General Fund. This year’s Budget projects $8.9 billion of General Fund expenditure on corrections, down from $9.6 billion last year...
LINK - CaliforniaProgressReport.com
