Keep Bailing

Hollywood’s favorite “good girl” Selena Gomez is ditching her squeaky-clean image and heading to jail – or at least her character in the upcoming film Spring Breakers is.

The Disney Star will be partying, drinking, and getting crazy with her girlfriends, she told US  Weekly.  In one scene, the coeds even wind up robbing a restaurant as a means of funding the trip.   Although the edgy part is a far-cry from her off-screen persona, Gomez said she was up for the challenge and embraced the role. Viewers should keep in mind that movie-set jails are quite different from what celebrity female arrestees like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan experienced when they were booked into the Lynwood Jail, the Los Angeles County women’s jail.

As far as having concerns about her younger, tween-fans Read more »

Santa Clara County jail has over 1,000 empty inmate beds but officials are still hoping to receive state funds for an overhaul and expansion of the jail system. The estimated cost of the expansion is $104 million, not including the millions in operating costs each year.

Due to the new California realignment plan, counties all across the state are taking a closer look at their jail facilities. Many of them, like Los Angeles County, are already facing severe overcrowding in the jails. While Santa Clara County does not have an overwhelming influx of inmates, they have other issues.

Jails in Santa Clara are not built to hold inmates for extended periods of time. Cells may have wooden Read more »

A lot has happened with the state’s numerous jails in the past 12 months.  Between celebrity arrests, jail over-crowding, budget cuts and prisoner realignment, state lawmakers and law enforcement officials have had their plates full. Now, with 2011 fast approaching its close, we thought we’d go back and highlight the top 10 jail headlines of the year.

#10 Santa Maria Jail And Gang Unit Faces Cuts

The Santa Maria jail and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s gang unit received notification that they were in jeopardy of being shut down as a means of helping to bridge the county’s $72 million budget gap. Sheriff’s deputies did not take the proposal lightly, although they acknowledged the need for budget cuts.  Officials estimated that closing the jail could save $1.2 million annually.

#9 LAPD Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Opens

Although many were excited about the February opening of the $84 million downtown Los Angeles facility, others pointed to concerns that the jail would take 83 officers off the street to help operate it. Once opened, the Metro Center Jail replaced the antiquated, 50 year-old Parker Center Jail.

#8 Plea Deal And No Jail Time For Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson made a plea deal with prosecutors this year which meant he did not need to face jail time for his 2010 domestic violence charges. As part of the deal Gibson pled guilty to misdemeanor battery charges for an altercation involving his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. He was, however, ordered to undergo counseling as part of that agreement.

#7 Merced Sheriff Proposes Closing Main Jail

In May of 2011, Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin suggested the closure of the main jail as a means of helping to close the county’s $20 million budget deficit.  He further proposed the early release of 150-200 inmates and the elimination of 20 correctional officers.  The closure, he said would trim $8 million from the sheriff’s $40 million budget.

#6  San Francisco County Jail Will No Longer Hold ICE Inmates

Starting June 1, the San Francisco County Jail implemented a policy which exempted it from detaining illegal immigrants who had been arrested for petty crimes. This was the first time in the history of California that this type of policy was enacted.  Law enforcement officials said that the county was not obligated to assist the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless a felony crime had been committed.

#5 Costa Mesa Considers Outsourcing for Jail

Law enforcement officials in Costa Mesa joined others from throughout the state in searching for creative solutions to help bridge budget gaps. Part of that solution involved putting out a request for proposal (RFP) to seek a private firm take over jail operations. A bid from the firm G4S to run the Costa Mesa Jail came with an approximate annual cost of $614,000. Proponents of the plan pointed out that this was a marked reduction from the $1.3 million it cost to run the facility under the city’s police department.

#4 California Jails Ordered To Reduce Prison Population

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California needed to reduce its prisoner population by 30,000.  CA Gov. Jerry Brown then proposed “realigning” prisons as a means of compliance.  Instead of low-level, non-violent non-sexual offenders serving out their sentences in state facilities, Brown proposed they be transferred to county facilities instead. The realignment concept sparked concern from sheriff’s departments throughout the state, including the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

#3 Alleged Beating at Twin Towers Spawns Internal Investigation

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department found itself under the microscope for most of 2011 after allegations that two Sheriff’s Deputies beat a Twin Towers Jail inmate unconscious.  The Jan. 24 log of the incident said the “inmate was punching the deputies until they had no other choice but to tase him”.   The American Civil Liberties Union said that charges like this are not uncommon but are hard to prove because the inmate-witnesses to the alleged crimes are not considered to be credible.

#2 LA County Board Of Supervisors: Jails Need More Oversight

After months of internal investigations the LA County Board of Supervisors agreed with suggestions that county jails needed more oversight.  As of Oct. 20, two plans were being considered.  The first proposed the instillation of surveillance cameras, eliminating the use of heavy flashlights and steel-toed shoes, and the implementation of a ban that would prohibit deputies from striking inmates on the head.  Plan number two would establish an independent review commission that would look into complaints. The supervisors hoped this would help restore public confidence in the Los Angeles County Jail system.

#1 Read more »

Death Row mom Donna Larson-Doolin said that DNA and ballistics testing has finally exonerated her son.

Her son, Keith Doolin, was arrested and charged with the 1995 killing of two prostitutes and the attempted murder of four more.  He was 22 years-old at the time of his conviction and was eventually transferred from the Fresno County Jail to the San Quentin State Prison.

Keith has spent the past 17 years of his life awaiting state execution for a crime he says he did not commit.

DNA and ballistics testing have been requested since 1998.  Donna said that “after 17 years of wrangling with the courts, that DNA testing was finally done” and the findings clearly showed that it was not Keith’s.   The results of the ballistics testing also Read more »

The Fresno Bee last week reported that the Fresno County Sheriff Department parole violators will no longer be held at the Fresno County Jail.  The decision, the Sheriff’s Office said, is due to a lack of room based on recent overcrowding and the need to keep open beds reserved for more dangerous inmates.

Parolees are now considered to be a lesser threat and although those violating the terms of their release by doing things such as consuming alcohol will not be sent back to jail, those who commit new crimes while out on parole may “qualify for jail time depending on their on their offense.”

Fresno joins a growing-number of counties who are scrambling to deal with fast-growing inmate populations under the state’s prisoner realignment program.  On Nov. 8, 139 state parolees were being held at the jail, which was more than all the inmates the county was expecting to hold at this stage of realignment.

Parolees had previously been remanded to state prison if they violated the terms of their release.  State parole officials have since said Read more »

The “Operation Clean Streets” warrant sweep led to a whopping 38 arrests in Lemon Grove last weekend.

Lemon Grove Patch has reported that members of the Sheriff’s Department, the San Diego Fugitive Task Force, the Court Services Bureau-Field Unit worked jointly to apprehend suspects.   Those taken into custody, they said, had both misdemeanor and felony warrants.

Sheriff Sgt. James Blanton said that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department had stepped up its efforts in the past year to bring those with warrants into custody.  That effort, he said, can be expected to continue.

People who have outstanding warrants are encouraged to Read more »

We try to avoid the LiLo stories, but every now and again, we have to cover it. So, you probably already know that yesterday Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner sentenced Lindsay Lohan to 300 days in the Los Angeles County women’s  jail for violating the terms of her probation, but will require only 30 days if she meets immediate requirements of the judge..

The judge said full sentence, which she described as “putting the keys in the defendant’s hands“, requires Lohan serve just 30 days with the remaining time being temporarily stayed.  If Lohan completes a mandated 12-days of community service at the county morgue and four sessions with a psychotherapist before her next scheduled court hearing in December, the stay will extend through mid-January.

Lohan is scheduled to Read more »

The owner of a Modesto Bail Bonds business, Aleo John Pontillo of AJ’s Bail Bonds, was arrested and charged with suspicion of grand theft, insurance fraud and criminal conspiracy. Mr. Pontillo has a bail set at $2 million dollars.

Also arrested for suspicion of conspiracy to commit grand theft and perjury was Mark David Davis and Janelle Marie Llorens. Llorens was also charged with insurance fraud. It is not clear whether Davis and Llorens were employed by AJ’s Bail Bonds or what their connection might be to Pontillo. In 2008, AJ’s Bail Bond business was the concentration of a federal investigation.

Sergeant Anthony Bejaran, the Stanislaus County Jail sheriff’s spokesman, said Pontillo, Davis and Llorens were arrested without incident and being detained at the Stanislaus County Jail.

The arrests were sparked by a California Department of Insurance (DOI) investigation. The bail industry in California is regulated by the DOI. Dave Althausen, spokesman for the Department, said they couldn’t release any details yet, as they were “still coming in from agents in the field.”

The bail set for Davis was $500,000, and Llorens had a bail of $1 million.

FBI agents and gang task force members served a federal warrant and conducted a search at AJ’s Bail Bonds on December 23, 2008. They also searched the home of Pontillo for paperwork and files. There were no arrests made during this search.

The Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force Read more »

What does it take to get a DUI? Well, take your precautions this weekend and each time you drive. Additionally, the Daily News has published Sobriety (“DUI”) checkpoints for the Los Angeles Police Department for Labor Day Weekend:

Friday, September 2, 2011 Sobriety Checkpoint from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

- Venice Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Wilshire Area
- Topanga Boulevard and Califa Street in Topanga Area

Saturday, September 3, 2011 – Sobriety Checkpoint from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

• Venice Read more »

With the upcoming release of Johannes Mehserle on Monday from an LA County Jail, Mayor Jean Quan is confident that the city is fully prepared to handle any protests that will follow.

 Johannes Mehserle, a former BART police officer, was sentenced to two years after he shot and killed Oscar Grant, an unarmed train passenger, in 2009. A judge ordered that Mehserle be released from jail on Monday after serving less than half of his two-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Quan said in a written statement: “Although we expect Read more »