Keep Bailing

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 »

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has announced that 103 individuals, the majority of whom were gang members with prior convictions, were arrested after an 18-month investigation by the California Department of Justice. The sweep was called Operation Garlic Press.

The majority of arrests took place in San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Alameda and Santa Clara counties, reports CBS News.

As part of the operation undercover Department of Justice agents purchased drugs, firearms, stolen property and vehicles from gang members and others with prior felony convictions.  To date, the operation has resulted in the seizure of more than three pounds of methamphetamine, 28.5 grams of heroin, four ounces of cocaine, 34 ecstasy tablets, 10 oxycontin pills, 44 firearms, 81 stolen vehicles and other stolen property.

Charges filed by the state 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 »

Actor Nick Nolte is well-known for his many starring roles, and is clearly comfortable portraying a police officer. This star has started on another rise it seems, with his performance in the UFC drama Warrior which opens in theaters September 9th.

That Oscar-worthy performance has people looking at Nolte with a fresh pair of eyes. And now, his upcoming supporting role in Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad is adding to the shine on this actor.

Nolte will be playing Bill Parker, LAPD’s new chief of police. In a time where so many officers have been tainted by corruption. Sean Penn will be playing Mickey Cohen, leader of a local criminal organization. Nolte’s character Read more »

Dozens of alleged drug traffickers were arrested Thursday by the El Cajon Police Department. It is believed that these suspects are linked to an Iraqi-American gang that police have been investigating for years.

“Operation Shadowbox” focused its attention on an Iraqi social club inside the city. When officers raided the club, they allegedly found evidence pointing to “attempted murder, methamphetamine and marijuana sales, sale of diverted pharmaceuticals, gambling, resisting arrest, illegal liquor sales, and illegal sale of firearms.”

The El Cajon police worked in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administrations Mobile Enforcement Team. Together, they found evidence that linked the club’s illegal activities to the Sinaloa Cartel based in Mexico, as well as another Iraqi gang out of Detroit, Michigan.

Police found more than Read more »

Officers at the Long Beach Police Department are warning residents of a “new breed” of gang activity taking place in their communities. There is a new wave of crime that involves allied and rival gang members to work together in order to commit more lucrative crimes.

In a recent press release, Chief Jim McDonnell said, “Detectives identified approximately 19 suspects that were associated with different gangs.”

Chief McDonnell tells community members, “These gangs know no borders. They will go wherever they feel is opportunity to do what they want to do, which is to make money at the expense of others.”

“It’s unusual to see gangs Read more »

Police officials have embarked on an investigation into whether officers have been intimidating other cops in order to keep them from signing the controversial financial disclosure form that is now required to join the Department’s anti-gang units.

Five officers from the 77th Street Division‘s anti-gang unit have been removed so far and will be transferred to other areas due to the roles they played in two recent situations. One incident involved a party for 77th Street officers at which a sign was posted reading “Anyone who signed financial disclosure not welcome.” About the same time, a former street gang officer for the division sent an email that ridiculed an officer who did agree to sign the form and join the unit.

Six months ago, department leaders at the 77th Street Division and a few other stations suspended anti-gang operations so that the units can be rebuilt. Several units were vacated completely by those officers who refused to sign the disclosure form.

Officers at the 77th Street Division have been more resistant than Read more »

The San Diego Police Department partnered with several other agencies in a county-wide warrant sweep Tuesday morning. In the sweep, called “Operation Second Sole,” 43 individuals were identified as suspects with ties to Mexican drug cartels, participating in drugs and weapons trafficking, robberies and extreme acts of violence.  Most of the individuals arrested during the sweep were violent criminals who were deemed armed and dangerous, according to police.

District Attorney Dumanis said, “Our office relies on law enforcement to make our cities safe places to live. The sweep shows criminals that we’re watching and that we won’t compromise public safety.”

Agencies that Read more »

101 in San Joaquin; 30 More in Tracy

One of the most notorious gangs in Northern California has been struck a hefty blow after Operation Red Zone agents arrested over 100 suspected members during a raid of over 50 properties on Wednesday and 30 more in Tracy yesterday.

The gang known as Nuestra Familia has ties with state’s prisoners and Mexican drug cartels. The gang is often controlled from within the California prison system, which houses an estimated 2,000 formal members. Tens of thousands of street-level Norteno gang members are directed by leaders in prison through smuggled cell phones and messengers, taking part in activities ranging from drug trafficking to violent crimes.

Nuestra Familia (“our family”) has been called “one of the most vicious and lethal gangs in our state,” by Attorney General Kamala Harris during an interview with The Associated Press.

This immense crackdown was conducted by Read more »

The Southeast Division of the LAPD has started a new chapter of the PAL program to keep kids out of gangs. It is said that there are more gangs within 10 square miles than anywhere else west of the Mississippi. The Southeast chapter became official in March of 2010, but it took nine more months for them to achieve recognition as part of the PAL organization and as a non-profit organization.

The PAL program or Police Activities League offers mentoring to children who are exposed to violence on a daily basis, as well as sponsoring field trips and sports teams.

Police Officer Scott Burkett said, “The kids [in our division] have a lot of challenges, so it’s hard for them to go outside and play. There’s so many negative influences, that a lot of their parents don’t want them to go outside. They are afraid to go outside, to be drafted into a gang or become an accidental victim.” Officer Burkett is one of the officers in charge of overseeing the program.

The activity league offers things to children that the schools can’t, since budget cuts are impacting them so. They also offer the supervision from adults that some parents and schools can’t offer right now. However, according to officers in the program, the kids don’t trust the cops at first.

Burkett said, “Trust is a huge issue. They don’t trust cops so they didn’t trust us at first, but by working with the kids over time you see a change in how they come to open up and trust us, which is great to see.” The officers to agree, that when showing up for a PAL event, it’s much better to show up in jeans and a police jacket instead of the full uniform with a gun and handcuffs in tow.

For the kids who attend College Ready Academy High School, they’re able to Read more »