Parole

Gov. Jerry Brown Attacks Carmen Trutanich For Flip-Flop On Prison Realignment

Gov. Jerry Brown has weighed in on the race for L.A. city attorney, recording a robocall attacking incumbent Carmen Trutanich for "misleading voters" on the issue of prison realignment. Trutanich supported Brown's realignment plan when he ran for district attorney last year. But now that he's runn ... More >>

Richard Bradford, Murder Parolee, Ran Drug Rehab Center Endorsed By Mayor Villaraigosa

A murder convict on parole who's been off the radar since 1980 was arrested in Monrovia over the weekend, state officials announced today. And what has Richard Bradford been up to? According to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), he's been running "a high-end drug rehabil ... More >>

Proposition 36 Three Strikes

In South L.A., former prisoners hope voters will soften law

Jason Steigerwald Casually Drove Maserati From DTLA Dealer, Cops Say

Authorities today said the guy who casually drove away with a $75,000 Maserati as a downtown L.A. salesman stood-by stunned has been identified as recent parolee Jason Steigerwald, 34. We looked him up on Facebook and it appears he fancies himself a playboy, at least by the photos he posts of himse ... More >>

Black Riders Liberation Party's General TACO Visited by Authorities After May Day Rally

Members of the Black Riders Liberation Party, self-described as the Black Panthers for the modern era, say their Watts headquarters was raided by authorities today in retaliation for the group's participation in Tuesday's raucous May Day rallies in L.A. A spokesman for the state parole agency says ... More >>

Man Goes on Burglary Spree While Wearing Parolee Ankle Monitor: Cops Track Suspect

In our copy of the How To Be A Criminal Handbook, page 6, paragraph three, is this: "Never, ever commit crimes while on parole and while wearing a court-ordered, ankle-bracelet GPS tracker. Ever." Of course, one Perry Pemberton, a 29-year-old violent felon who was indeed on parole allegedly didn't ... More >>

Prisoners, Parolees Headed to L.A. Under State Prison Downsizing: LAPD Chief Beck Says 150 Cops Will be Cut From Streets to Handle Them

Some of the worst news about L.A.'s response to the transfer of thousands of state prisoners and parolees to county jails and local police oversight is that the LAPD says it will need to take 150 officers off the streets to deal with them. In a geographically vast city with less than 10,000 officer ... More >>

Rally For Erica Evelyn Escobar, Allegedly Killed by Man Released by California on 'Non-Revocable Parole'

Patrick HealyThe victims.​The family of 27-year-old Culver City murder victim Erica Evelyn Escobar will protest a controversial policy that put her alleged killer under minimal supervision after he was released from prison last year. Thirty-one-year-old Zachariah Lehnen is accused in the earl ... More >>

Giovanni Ramirez, Bryan Stow Beating Suspect, Exonerated Upon LAPD Arrest of 2 New Male Suspects, Reports Say

Antonio Villaraigosa and Chief Charlie Beck wrongly announcing that Giovanni Ramirez was the attacker.​Updated at the bottom: Prosecutors allege the suspects cut Stow's tongue. A notably defensive Antonio Villaraigosa was unusually short on words at a press conference this hour with Chief Char ... More >>

L.A. County Probation Unions Express 'No Confidence' in Probation Chief Donald Blevins

DaR​In the wake of a rare proposal to have a sheriff's department oversee thousands of state parolees, a job that would normally go to local probation officials, union boards representing 95 percent of L.A. probation employees today announced a vote of "no confidence" in their Chief, Donald Bl ... More >>

California Prison Parolees in L.A. Might End up Under Sheriff's Supervision Because County Probation Department is so Troubled

Sheriff Lee Baca, left, with county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.​How bad is the L.A. County Probation Department? So bad that the county's leaders are actually looking at giving state parolee supervision duties, which would normally be taken over by local probation officials, to the departm ... More >>

Compton Man Duvall Mariano Accuses Sheriff's Deputies of Beating Him and Lying in Court

​From the start, it had all the makings of a Three's Company episode - a case of mix-ups and mistaken identities. In June 2010, Los Angeles sheriff's deputies were at a residence in Compton checking up on parolees when they knocked on the door of Duvall Mariano. They were looking for Michael Ma ... More >>

California Prison Release no Good For L.A. County, Which Could See 11,000 Convicts, Argues LAPD Union

​The L.A. police union isn't happy with the state's handling of a U.S. Supreme Court order to reduce the prison population by about 33,000. Already reports indicate that California could miss a court deadline for kicking off the reductions unless the state legislature comes up with cash so th ... More >>

Bryan Stow Beating Suspect Giovanni Ramirez a Member of Eastside Gang: Tattoos Weren't Listed at All in State Parolee Database

Ramirez.​The one man so far suspected in the beating of Bryan Stow on Dodgers' opening day has a lot of distinctive tattoos. But none of them, it seems, was entered into the state's parolee database, designed to help cops quickly identify potential suspects. That according to the San Francisc ... More >>

Michael Toplin, L.A. County Inmate, Re-Arrested for Riding Little Girl's Stolen Pink Bicycle Along Sidewalk in Prison Jumpsuit

Glendale Police DepartmentMichael Toplin: Ridin' dirty​If anyone has video of 31-year-old parolee Michael Toplin riding down Central Avenue on a pink bicycle fit for a 10-year-old last Wednesday night -- still outfitted in his grisly black prison jumpsuit -- please, PLEASE send it our way. As ... More >>

Zachariah Timothy Lehnen, Accused in Double Murder of Culver City Pair, Could Have Been in Prison Until 2013 But Was Released Early

Patrick HealyZachariah Timothy Lehnen.​The transient accused of killing two people in Culver City this month was let out of prison late last year -- with three years cut off his time -- via a controversial early-release program. Thirty-one-year-old Zachariah Lehnen's parolee information sheet ... More >>

Glendale Man Who Stole From Church's Haiti Donation Box Arrested At Mother's House

Glendale Police DepartmentEnemy of the church Peter Manuel Galindro​Might as well steal a one-way ticket to hell. Glendale police have proudly announced their capture of the L.A. County Church Bandit: 52-year-old parolee Peter Manuel Galindro (he also calls himself Paul sometimes... being the ... More >>

Earl Ellis Green, Man Accused Of Killing Riverside Officer, Could Have Been Kept Behind Bars Until 2012

Riverside Press-EnterpriseEarl Ellis Green could have been behind bars. Instead he was allegedly shooting a cop.​Updated after the jump with a response to Green's arrest from the Los Angeles police union. First posted at 3:09 p.m. The man suspected of killing a Riverside police officer with h ... More >>

(Map) Los Angeles' Homeless Sex Offenders Increase 200 Percent

​An unintended effect of strict laws about where convicted sex offenders can live: Many of them have simply given up and gone homeless. That's according to the Los Angeles Daily News, which found that homeless sex offenders in Los Angeles have increased more than 200 percent, from 191 in Octo ... More >>

LAPD Officers Take Automatic Weapon Fire Near Downtown, Kill A Suspect

​Updated after the jump with alleged shooter's ID, fact that he was a parolee-at-large, and response from the police union. First posted at 6:37 p.m. Tuesday. A person was fatally shot by cops when the suspect in a reportedly stolen car opened fire on police with an AK-47-type rifle, accordin ... More >>

Chere Osmanhodzic Murder Case Inspires LAPD Union To Say We Told You So: Suspect Saw An Early Release Despite Record

Loera.​The union that represents Los Angeles police is fuming over the case of 34-year-old Omar Armando Loera, the man recently named as a suspect in what authorities described as a brutal murder of a bride-to-be in Valley Village. The union is mad because, it states, Loera has a long criminal ... More >>

New California Website Warns Public When Sex Offenders Bolt

Paul Pellerito via Flickr​ A site to warn the public when sex-offender parolees remove GPS ankle monitors has been created by the California Department of Corrections, according to a statement by the department. Member of the public can sign up to get email alerts about the parolee violation ... More >>

Suspect Released Early From Prison Shot At LAPD Officers; Police Union Pissed At State Prison System

​The union representing Los Angeles police decried what it argued was a state practice of releasing prisoners early. Pointing to the apparently premature release of a man who shot at officers last week, wounding one, the union called the state's unleashing of some felons a "fraud." On Saturda ... More >>

Charles Manson Follower Leslie Van Houten Denied Parole Again

​For the 19th time, Leslie Van Houten, a convicted killer and former follower of Charles Manson, was denied parole and told her freedom could be considered once more in three years. Van Houten, who is now 60 years old, was convicted of murder and conspiracy for her role in the 1969 murders of ... More >>

L.A. Police Union Urges Denial Of Parole For Female Cop Killer

Officer Daniel Pratt.​The union representing Los Angeles Police Department officers this week urged a state parole board to deny freedom for a woman convicted in the 1988 murder of a Los Angeles police officer in South L.A. Raylene Brooks was the 17-year-old driver of a vehicle that made a u- ... More >>

Attorney General Jerry Brown Slows Down Early Releases

Jerry Brown.​California Attorney General Jerry Brown effectively tapped the brakes on early releases from local jails by issuing an opinion that a parole reform law designed to get convicts out earlier does not apply retroactively to time served. As a result, those behind bars will have to wai ... More >>

Sheriff Will Monitor Parolees That State Won't

​The union representing Los Angeles Police Department officers made a rare move this week in praising the Sheriff's Department for stating it would essentially do the job of the state and monitor those convicts set free under state parole reform. " ... We thank Sheriff Lee Baca," reads a stat ... More >>

Parole Denied For Ailing 'Onion Field' Killer

CDCRGregory Powell.​Onion Field killer Gregory Powell was denied parole this week after nearly 47 years behind bars, despite his plea for more freedom before he dies from terminal prostate cancer. The 76-year-old reportedly told a parole board in San Luis Obispo, "I've done enough time. I'm a ... More >>

Coroner: Los Feliz Teen Lily Burk Died from Fatal Wound to Neck

A Los Angeles County Coroner testified today in the brutal murder of Lily Burk, the 17-year-old Los Feliz teen who was allegedly kidnapped and killed by a parolee. Dr. Jeffrey P. Gutstadt testified at a preliminary hearing that the Oakwood School student had injuries from head to toe, including a ... More >>

Rodney Alcala: The Fine Art of Killing

One man’s murderous romp through polite society

Today In WTF: Geezer Allegedly Uses Stun-Gun To Rob Own Bank, Gets Arrested

LAPDThe suspected 'stun-gun bandit' on tape.​If anyone out there is compiling a list of pitfalls for bank robbers, you might add robbing your own bank to the list. It's not clear, however, that familiarity among his victims brought the 68-year-old suspect believed to be the "stun-gun bandit" d ... More >>

LAPD Preparing To Deal With Nearly 6,000 Freed Prisoners In Area

​The Los Angeles Police Department seems to be taking the possibility of a state release of prisoners starting Jan. 25 seriously. California is under a federal order to release 40,000 prisoners, nearly one in four in the state, to relieve overcrowding, and the U.S. Supreme Court this week reje ... More >>

Release Of Thousands Of California Prisoners Set For This Month

​Batten down the hatches. The state is scheduled to release thousands of prisoners, with at least 5,000 coming to California, starting Jan. 25, according to a statement from the union representing rank-and-file Los Angeles police officers. "The county of Los Angeles will be dramatically impac ... More >>

L.A. Police Union Livid After Ban On Body Armor For Violent Felons Overturned; Law Was Inspired By North Hollywood Shootout

LAPPLPaul M. Weber​The union representing rank-and-file Los Angeles police was livid over the weekend after a judge overturned California's prohibition on body armor for many of those convicted of violent felonies. After a second district state appellate court judge overturned the 11-year-old ... More >>

After Washington Ambush, L.A. Police Union Says Attacks On Cops Are Up

Ted SoquiA vigil for Lily Burk, who was allegedly killed by a parolee.​Crime is down, particularly in Los Angeles, but if you wore a badge, you wouldn't be breathing easy right now. In a strange paradox, attacks on officers are up across the nation. The Los Angeles Police Protective League, th ... More >>

Murder Was the Case: L.A. Homicide No. 124: LAPD Officer Involved in Fatal Shooting

Details are scant but the Los Angeles Police Department confirms that one of its officers was involved in a fatal shooting on June 5. California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation Shooting Victim: Ricardo Cabrales LAPD officers were assisting California state parole officers in a com ... More >>

Parole Anyone? Chilling Details Emerge from Susan Atkins’ Last Prison Hearing

Children of the Revolutionary

Former black revolutionary Watani Stiner turned himself in to San Quentin so his children could come to America. Was it worth it?

Tia Maria Torres

Underdogs

Who’ll Stop the Reign?

The big trial is over, netting several convictions -- read last year's story on the U.S. versus the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang

Family Analysis: A Fragile Family

Lessons from a year with Frances, Luis and their children

Move, Quit or Die

Pomona cops looking for a little payback after killing of CHP officer

An American Family: Jail Time

A police raid threatens everything

An American Family: Living on the Verge

Chapter One: Starting all over — again

Once Is Not Enough

Bad Cop, Bad Cop

The troubled careers of two LAPD officers

Ghetto Star

'Monster' Kody Scott and the Culture of Ornament

Test on Trial

Drug-testing patch is suspect, as is its main proponent

Straight Time

The Battle for Drug Treatment in California Prisons