Keep Bailing

A fire in the City of Vista allegedly set by 3 teen vandals has been estimated to have caused $50,000 in damages. San Diego Sheriff’s deputies in Vista are investigating the three teens  boys as the cause of the August 19th blaze.  The boys, ages 16 and 17 were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sheriff’s investigators reported the youths were booked into juvenile Hall on suspicion of arson and vandalism.

A reward of $10,000 Read more »

They say hindsight is 20-20 and almost all of us can pinpoint one pivotal moment in time that has entirely changed our lives.  For S.E. Missouri school teacher, Healther Ellis,  it was the moment she switched checkout lines in her local Wal-Mart store, three years ago. (Perhaps it was the same moment for the “Walmart Slapper“.)

Ellis’ alleged line-cutting launched what she claims is a racially charged dispute between herself, white customers and police, that could land her a 15-year prison sentence for assaulting two officers.  She has since filed a formal written complaint with the NAACP.

Heather Ellis goes on trial in the Dunklin County Circuit Court this month.  Several groups Read more »

There’s a new crime wave in LA — geriatric taggers!  Sheriff’s deputies recently arrested a 73-year-old local man for allegedly putting slap tags — stickers with a printed message — inside MTA buses and stations.

Perhaps the aged tagger had had it with ‘teenage tagger-hooligans and their misspellings and their naughty language’.  He certainly showed those ‘young whipper-slappers’ a thing or two by eluding deputies for over half a year.  Witness descriptions of an old man seen around LA’s Westside, plastering orange and black stickers that asked “Who Is John Scott?”  deepened the mystery.

According to the Los Angeles Times, deputies answered his question on November 13, when Read more »

Another Saturday night’s all right for a reality show diva to bite the DUI arrest dust. This time, it comes by way of  Shayne Lamas (“Leave It to Lamas,” The ‘Bachelor’). The daughter of actor, Lorenzo Lamas was pulled over on November 15th and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol in Los Angeles’ Venice district.

Feeling confident, Shayne diliberatly drove through an LAPD  Read more »

Ahh, our lovely social networking websites. How did we ever live without them? These days, looks like they can even save our butts and keep us out of jail.

Case and point, one Rodney Bradford – arrested and jailed for robbery. But his lawyer brought about a good argument after he was arrested. How could Mr. Bradford be at the location that was robbed when at that exact very moment, Rodney was updating his status on his Facebook page?

Rodney had important things to say like, “Where my IHOP?” messaging his pregnant girlfriend and referring to his pancakes.  Seems his Facebook update was generated from a computer located within his fathers Harlem apartment.  The update was listed exactly one minute prior to the robbery in a public housing apartment in Brooklyn.

I guess Facebook was the exact flavor of syrup Rodney needed for his pancakes that day. I prefer maple myself…

Former heavy weight champ, Mike Tyson may find himself back in jail if he’s found to be in violation of a 2007 drug case in which he was given probation. 

This time, Iron Mike was in a bout with an L.A. paparazzi. Looks like the diligent photog was hanging out at LAX hoping to catch a photo of someone famous–perhaps peddle it to a rag mag. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong person join the fight club with.

The scuffle  took place at LAX on Wednesday at around 4:40 PM. The person on the other end of Mighty Mike’s fist was photog, Tony Echeverria, who made a citizen’s arrest. Police say both men claimed the other struck first. They were both booked on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. Mike Tyson was released at 8:24 p.m. upon posting a $20,000 bail.

Mr. Tyson continues Read more »

Typical Hollywood? It’s sounds like a scene from a movie as LAPD officers cuff a man dressed as Spiderman and place him in a squad car.

According to the Los Angeles Times, LAPD patrol officers received a call reporting an incident between a tourist and a a man in a Spiderman costume. When they arrived, they encountered four different people dressed Spidey.  

“They stopped one, it wasn’t him,” LAPD Lt. Beverly Lewis said. “They stopped the second, and it was the suspect.”

The victim, who said he was hit in the face and arms, refused to press charges. But Lewis said that when they discovered the warrants, he was booked at the LAPD Hollywood Station Jail. Christopher Loomis, 39, was being held on outstanding misdemeanor warrants in lieu of $5,500 bail.

I think this LA Times photo is priceless; look at the woman’s face: Read more »

Last week, AccreditedBail had a post called “Accountability and Transparency for Pretrial Release Programs“. They reviewed the dollars and cents cost to Orange County Florida’s government for what we know as “Release On Own Recognizance” or basically a defendant who is released with a promise to appear in court.

Surprising was the $1.7 million in taxpayer funds that it takes to screen, release and supervise defendants out on the county’s pretrial release program. You would want to balance that against bail bonds: cost to the tax payer Zero ($0.00).

Pretrial release has a purpose which is codified by law: to help the indigent who have no prior record and are accused of non-violent crimes. Again, balance that with our prior post on Van Nuys Jail “Bail vs. O.R.” Clearly, Read more »

A PROBLEM WITH AUTHORITY OR IS AUTHORITY THE PROBLEM?

Sometimes an officer’s reaction to a potentially dangerous situation is pretty clear cut.  Wading into fights, stopping domestic violence, and running across wanted suspects often requires a stronger response  than the spoken word. But an officer who is too hasty to jump to conclusions only serves to fan the fires of police-distrust, especially among minorities. 

Reportedly, several hundred times a year, small interactions between  San Jose Police and the public, like jay walking or failing to signal in traffic, turn violent.  Even more surprising: it’s being alleged that it is the police who strike the first blow.  While many continue to debate whether or not the officers’ actions are excessive, detractors say the San Jose Police Department  routinely dismisses complaints and limits real public investigation — strong and reaching allegations.

In 2007, over 117 complaints about the use of excessive force during resisting arrest were filed in San Jose, but the department sustained just two cases.  A Santa Clara County civil grand jury report cited widespread community concern about racial profiling in San Jose.  It concluded that citizens feel too discouraged by the city’s rubber-stamp rejection of their complaints  to continue reporting perceived officer  misconduct.

The San Jose Mercury News recently investigated Read more »

Just a few hours after taking 6 rebounds from the Atlanta Hawks and scoring 14 points for his team, Andres Nocioni,  the Sacramento Kings forward was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

After the officer detected a strong odor of alcohol in his vehicle, they requested he take a breathalyzer test.  The South American basketball star didn’t have much to say after that. He was booked into jail on DUI charges and released from a Sacramento jail early Thursday morning on bail.

Upon the 29-year-old Argentinan star’s release, he Read more »