PacoVilla Corrections blog...Paco has your back!

Oakland Tribune to DAPO: Stop the dance

2009-11-11T05:13:00.000-08:00

Note: The following Op-Ed is reprinted in its entirety, without permission of the Oakland Tribune. As a matter of policy, Paco excerpts and attributes outside sources within Fair Use guidelines. In this case, the editorial is SO on-the-mark, I opted to risk the wrath of the editors.

In that context, PLEASE click any one of the links provided, in the hope the extra traffic convinces the folks at the Trib to leave Paco be. Barring that, I am forced to note the following is ODDLY similar to what Paco has been saying here for MONTHS. Is Paco saying the Oakland Tribune Op-editors plagiarized this blog? Let's just say he's content to let it go if they are...

Editorial: California parole officials should stop bureaucratic dance on Phillip Garrido case
MediaNews editorial

AT A CERTAIN point, the bureaucratic response of public officials is simply not enough. Unless and until our government leaders own up to their mistakes and accept responsibility, they are destined to repeat them. Sometimes that's just unacceptable.

Such is the case of state parole officers' failure to unmask that sex offender Phillip Garrido and his wife were hiding kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard in their backyard near Antioch for 18 years. For the last 11 of those years, state parole officers were responsible for monitoring Garrido.

They visited him at least 60 times, yet they never noticed that something was amiss. They never bothered to read the previous federal parole file on Garrido. They never noticed the compound at the back of the property where Dugard and her two children fathered by Garrido were being held. They never saw utility wires that had been strung to the hideout. They failed to talk to neighbors or local law enforcement. They ignored information from the GPS monitor on Garrido that showed him straying too far from his home. They failed to act on information showing Garrido had violated the terms of his parole.

It was just a combination of Garrido's own stupidity and an alert police officer at UC Berkeley that eventually led to his capture. In the end, Garrido's parole officer played a role in his arrest. But that doesn't excuse the complete breakdown up to that point in the supervision of Garrido.

As we now know, thanks to an in-depth review released last week by the state Office of the Inspector General, parole agents in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation completely bungled the Garrido case.

It's appalling that soon after Garrido's arrest in August, Corrections spokesman Gordon Hinkle was bragging about the parole agent's role. "We're very proud of the work he did in uncovering this mystery," Hinkle said at the time, adding that the agent had operated "by the book."

We might be inclined to cut the department some slack now if it was showing signs of acknowledging fault in the face of the new information about its conduct — and recognizing that the case suggests widespread systemic problems in the organization. Instead, the response by Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate smacks of bureaucratize and denial. While acknowledging in his official response to the report that "further improvements in our system of parole supervision are needed," Cate then goes on to talk about the need for more money to supervise parolees.

Secretary Cate, your folks messed up — and no amount of extra money would have changed that. They visited the site 60 times. If they didn't notice something was amiss after that, they should be fired. And if you don't recognize the need to shake things up, Gov. Schwarzenegger should fire you. At a certain point, lack of money is not an excuse.

Consider, in contrast, the tone of the response by Contra Costa Sheriff Warren Rupf, whose deputies in 2006 failed to properly follow a tip that could have led to finding Dugard nearly three years ago.

"We should have been inquisitive, more curious, and turned over a rock or two. There are no excuses," Rupf said soon after Dugard was found. "... I can't change the course of events, but we are beating ourselves up over this and are the first to do so."

Whether its curing an addiction or fixing a bureaucracy, the first step to healing is admitting responsibility. Cate would do well to learn from the sheriff.

Today Marks Veteran's Day.

2009-11-11T01:22:00.000-08:00

The hostilities of "The Great War" stopped on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, even though the actual Treaty of Versailles was not signed until about 7 months later. The following year Woodrow Wilson recognized the day. Veteran's groups have successfully fought efforts to shift the day to a three-day holiday floater, which is in my opinion a good thing. There is something significant about THE DAY that should be recognized and not turned into a homogenized generic long weekend.

I hope all of Paco's readers will fly their flag today (you DO have one, don't you???) and honor, in whatever way seems appropriate to you, those among us who risked their lives, and especially to those who gave their lives, in the interest of freedom.

Freedom isn't free. When we forget that, we run the risk of loosing it. (Please, no partisan political comments from either side. This isn't the day for it.)

Prison Director Requests Furlough Exemption.

2009-11-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

The Director of the Nevada Department of Corrections (You didn't really think it was us, did you?) has requested that prison staff be exempted from the mandatory state employee furlough program.

Howard Skolnik has requested exemption for "guards" and other essential staff through the budget period ending in June 2011.

State lawmakers have ordered the one day per month furloughs in order to save $330 million during the two year Nevada budget cycle. They allowed for about $4 million in public safety exemptions, but the prison system exemptions requested would cost about $8 million.

The Director has stated that requiring furloughs would strain his agency, which is already understaffed, and would jeopardize safety of staff and inmates within the system.

A board consisting of the Governor, the A. G. and the Secretary of State will meet today in Carson City to consider the Director's request.

It must be nice to have an agency director that understands what is actually happening within his agency and has the courage to stand up and say what he needs. Wish we had one of those.

Thanks to Centurion for the heads up on this one.

ADDENDUM: He got his exemption.

Beds Cost Money, Money Means Voters.

2009-11-10T09:24:00.001-08:00

San Joaquin County, like many others, has a critical shortage of jail bed space. Relatively minor offenders serve a small portion of their sentence, some serve virtually none. The jail is operating under a population cap. When that cap is reached, people are kicked out. Some of them are pre-trial, some are people serving a sentence. There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that this sad state of affairs is having a serious negative effect on the crime rate in San Joaquin County. Criminals are often busted or one thing or another during time when they should be locked up but were kicked out for lack of a bed.

San Joaquin County could have a much larger jail in 4 years, it the tax payers have deep enough pockets to pay for it, and the political will to do so.

The taxpayers turned down a tax increase in 1989 to pay for a larger jail. The current jail opened in 1992 and, from the day it first opened, was kicking out prisoners due to overcrowding.

The county Board of Supervisors is hopeful. This year they let a contract for architectural services and construction management. Funding is the issue.

San Joaquin County has a sales tax that varies from 8.75 to 9.25 percent, depending on exactly where in the county you are. The closer it gets to 10 percent, the more public resistance there is. A parcel tax is being considered, which would tack $222 on each parcel of land within the county. They are also considering formation of a community facilities district, which would have the same effect as a parcel tax though the tax would be larger or smaller depending on the size or use of the parcel.

It's hard to ask the taxpayers for more money during the current economic situation. It is also hard to put up with repeat criminals who know that they are unlikely to actually serve much jail time even if they are convicted except for the most serious crimes.

We will pay up front, or we will pay later. The choice is ours.

Clicking on the title will link to an article in todays Stockton RECORD on this subject.

SAC CO popped for gun & conspiracy to mule

2009-11-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

CDCR Officer Faces Weapons Charges
California Corrections Officer Accused Of Bringing Drugs, Weapons Into Prison

UPDATED: 4:47 pm PST November 4, 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A California state correctional officer allegedly brought drugs and weapons into a prison facility...Domingo Gardea Garcia, 39, bailed out of jail Wednesday after being arrested on several counts.

Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran confirmed Garcia was arrested Monday at California State Prison, Sacramento. Curran identified Garcia as a state correctional officer.

In addition to charges of bringing drugs and weapons into a prison facility, Garcia was also booked on suspicion of conspiracy to bring drugs into a prison facility...(Full text at KCRA.com)

Public Employees Benefit Reform Act.

2009-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

The California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility re-filed its proposed ballot measure last week. If successful, it would create a two tier pension system for public employees in California, with new hires by all CalPERS participants being in the new, far less generous second tier.

The president of this group is Marcia Fritz. Their attempt to do this in 2007 did not make it to the ballot. She thinks she can do it this year if she can raise $2 million. She has some hopes that Meg Whitman may take up the cause on her behalf. She might be right.

The proposed formula would change POFF (Peace Office Fire Fighter) benefits from the current 3% at 50 to 2.3% at age 58.

It would also change Public Safety retirement (Park Rangers and similar) from the current 2.5% at 55 to 1.8 % at 60.

Other retirees would be tied into the federal standard. Those who are under Social Security would be based at 1.25%. Those who do not contribute to social security would get no more than 1.65%.

Pensions would cap at 75%, would be based on a 3 year average instead of the current 1 year, and would exclude longevity, uniform allowances and bonuses as well as overtime (which we don't get credit for now anyway).

It would also require that any future retirement enhancements go to a vote of the public.

This is a big deal. I think that, in the current economic climate, it has a very real chance of passing IF it makes it to the ballot. If Ms. Fritz can get her $2 million, it will almost certainly get to the ballot. In general, POFF employees (other than "prison guards") have a pretty good connection to the voting public. The opposition will come from many arenas. Some people just plain resent the fact that public employees get decent pensions. Some people have no problem with the concept but don't think the public treasury can continue to support the level of pensions that exist now. Some people just don't want to spend public money on anything.

This will not have a major direct impact on current employees, especially those getting close to retirement. Many people will still gravitate towards public employment just on general principles. New hires, however, will have to work much longer for a much less generous pension. This will certainly result in some recruitment and retention problems for state jobs in general and especially for the less glamorous jobs (like "prison guards") in particular.

Strategically, this could be one of those things that CCPOA wants to oppose, but not too loud. If it looks like "those greedy bastard prison guards" are working too hard or spending too much money to hang on to their current admittedly good pensions, it could be counter-productive.

More On Stockton Prison Hospital Project.

2009-11-08T20:54:00.000-08:00

The project is considerable. Building the Kelso hospital as proposed will spend $1.1 billion in the local economy, that does not count the DeWitt Nelson conversion. Both projects together combined with existing facilities will make CDCr the largest employer in San Joaquin County, with a total of 8,200 workers compared to the next largest employer, the county itself, with 6,500. Considering the massive unemployment problem in San Joaquin County the state people are surprised that the locals are angry (if the article is to be believed).

The locals want to pretend that Stockton is the garden spot of central California and would be a somewhat larger version of Mayberry ONLY IF the prison (DVI) and DJJ facilities were not there. It's not true of course. Stockton is a violent place. Much of the crime revolves around drugs and gangs. If you avoid the drug culture and it's participants (which is not that hard) and the gang bangers and their wannabes (which is harder, but possible) your chance of becoming a serious crime victim is not much larger (if any) than that in any other major city. Virtually all murder victims in Stockton in recent years have extensive criminal records themselves and were, for the most part, someplace they should not have been doing something they should not have been doing when they became victims themselves.

In any event it's a good article and has a couple of large pictures of Z-dorm in it, so go ahead and check it out. Clicking on the title will link to the article.

Direct Examination

2009-11-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

"And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:1-15, NIV)

The End of Forgiveness

A friend of mine (who recently became a Christian) has two adult sons who profess to be atheists. In October 2009, one of the woman's sons became curious about her new found faith and began asking her questions about God. Many of his inquiries were paradoxical in nature, intended (I suspected) to expose contradictions about God and, thus, argue for the impossibility of God (as presented by Christianity.) At her request, I spoke with her son by phone for about one half-hour and answered his first round of inquiries to the best of my abilities.

The gist of his questioning centered around the issue of forgiveness. Assuming God was (and is) as Christianity presents Him, could Satan apologize to God before the end of time and, if Satan did so, would God forgive him and then receive Satan back into Heaven? After all, if God is a god of love, wouldn't He pursue Satan and continue to offer forgiveness in the hope Satan would turn back? The second turning of the issue came in the person of Jesus and the atonement for all sins. If Jesus truly died for the sins of the whole world, who will Jesus have left to judge on Judgment Day, since the slate was wiped clean for everyone by the sacrifice God sent?

Both of these questions were well-worded and thoughtful. I commended the inquisitor for his excellent supposition. Here, in brief, is my response to his question:

Scripture reveals that angels are created spirit-beings whose primary purpose is to serve God. The first of those created spirit-beings was an angel named Lucifer, who fell from God's favor by way of open rebellion. In fact, Lucifer convinced one third of the angels to follow him in revolt against God.

'His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.' (Revelation 12:4, NIV)

In other words, Lucifer's defection from Heaven was much more than a disagreement with the Creator over personal differences. It was a declaration of independence by Lucifer that he would no longer abide with the rule of the King. As such, Lucifer declared God to be his enemy and made a violent attempt to overthrow God. Hence, God had a fight on His Hands.

'And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.' (Revelation 12:7-9, NIV)

It is pointless to speculate what the "god of love" might have done under the circumstances. The account clearly indicates God was not about to allow Lucifer to succeed. Not only did Lucifer lose his standing in Heaven, he was immediately expelled and exiled to Earth as a punishment. The record of Scripture reveals the fallen angel Lucifer (referred to on Earth as Satan) was unrepentant for his blasphemous attitude toward God. So it is not surprising to discover Satan lurking about the Garden of Eden, intent on ruining anything God found joy and pleasure in: especially mankind.

From the beginning of Satan's descent from Heaven through the evils of the present day and into the future, Satan will never repent. God knows it. Satan confirms it. Meanwhile mankind bears the brunt of Satan's destructive drive to discredit and disparage God. By all accounts, Satan is Hell-bent on taking as many human souls down into the darkness as possible before Judgment Day arrives. As the account of Revelation, Chapter 20 predicts, Satan will never repent.

So the answer to the first part of the question is a resounding, "No!" God cannot forgive Satan because Satan does not want God's forgiveness. Satan's exercise of free will by way of open rebellion and intransigence has no point of return, nor any possibility of forgiveness by God. Period.

Which brings us to the second part of the question concerning Jesus and the atonement: if, as the gospels declare, Jesus already died for the sins of all mankind, whom will Jesus judge come Judgment Day? The answer is all humanity. If Jesus died for the sins of all the world, then Jesus is compelled by the Law of God to judge everyone for whom Christ suffered and died. Every human being from Adam and Eve to the last living human on Earth will stand before the mercy seat of God, at the end of time. All accounts will be opened and reviewed. Jesus will be the arbiter and will determine who stands in the Presence of the Living God and who will fall away to join Satan in eternal torment.

Forgiveness will be granted to those who believed in God, heard his message of salvation, and responded affirmatively to it. The end of forgiveness will come for those who held God at bay, refusing to accept his atoning sacrifice and offer of reconciliation. Those who will be judged as "forgiven" will no longer have need of forgiveness, for their faith and trust in God (at His word) was already secured in the person of Christ though the cross and resurrection.

The free will choice of each human being, while they walked upon this Earth, has and will determine the measure of forgiveness they will receive from God come Judgment Day. Jesus holds the power of resurrection and reckoning. It is incumbent upon each human being, therefore, to choose well.

(copyright 2009, Gregory Allen Doyle)

Bob's Armory, Chapter 11 and Last.

2009-11-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

(This originally ran in June, 2008)

Chapter 11. Use of force and the law.

Massive disclaimer here. These thoughts are mine and mine alone. I am not a lawyer. I have never been a street cop. I have done a lot of research on the subject, and have studied the law on the use of force in California. I am offering these thoughts as a personal informed opinion, not as legal advice.

The laws regarding the use of deadly force by you as a private citizen on the street are considerably different than those at the institution specifically or on the job in general. Here are a few things that you should know.

Generally speaking the law does not permit the use of deadly force to protect personal property. You do have some rights to use deadly force to protect real property and to protect yourself and others from death or serious bodily harm. You are also justified in using reasonable force to protect yourself or others from the commission of "forcible or atrocious crimes" such as robbery or kidnapping, as these acts are considered by the law to be dangerous to you personally.

That being said, using deadly force to protect others is an incredibly risky thing, legally speaking, for a private citizen to do. When you are protecting yourself (and others immediately with you) you have a pretty good idea of what is going on. When you stick your nose into somebody elses business you can be surprised big time as to what the facts really are. If you do so you are risking your freedom and every nickle you own or can ever hope to own on you being right, and a judge and jury agreeing with you. A case in point.

A young girl, maybe 12 or 13 years old, is riding her bicycle down the street. A much older man in a ratty pickup truck pulls in front of her to stop her and has a few words with her. She appears to be yelling at him. He physically grabs her and forces her into the pickup truck, throws her bicycle in the back and drives off. What really happened? What, if anything, do you do about it?

What actually happened is that her mother sent her uncle to bring her home for dinner and she didn't want to go, she wanted to keep riding her bike. This real incident kept most of the police force of a major California city busy for the better part of a day. The people involved were immigrants, did not speak English and didn't know every cop in the county was looking for them until a friend who saw the 6:00 o'clock news mentioned it to them in passing that evening.

Let's say for the sake of argument say that you elected to intervene. The uncle sees someone (you) trying to stop his truck, doesn't know what's going on and keeps going. You pull a gun. He tries to run you down in self defense, you shoot at him, maybe hit him, maybe hit the girl. Whose ass do you think is going to be in jail that night?

Since there is no desire try to turn Paco Villa into a firearms speciality web site this is the last installment of Bob's Armory for the foreseeable future. I may (and in fact have) rerun them from time to time but I have said what I have to say. What I am trying to get across is pretty simple.

1) In this day and age I think that it is smart to carry a gun if you can do so legally.

2) If you choose to do so, buy a quality weapon that you can handle and shoot well.

3) Generally speaking, you are better off with the biggest, nastiest thing that you are comfortable with, can handle well and can conceal effectively.

4) Think seriously about caliber and ammunition type.

5) If you can, get some real training. It will cost you about $100 per day, plus ammo, plus incidental expenses. It's worth it. (That cost figure is old information. $150 to $200 is more realistic now. )

6) You will probably never need your off-duty weapon but if you do, you will need it very badly.

7) Recommended reading: There are a BUNCH of decent books, magazines and articles on this subject out there. There is an even bigger bunch of crap. You will need some time and experience to sort one from the other. I recommend these highly. SHOOTING TO LIVE WITH THE ONE HAND GUN by Sykes and Fairbairn and PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL DEFENSE by Jeff Cooper. The former is the oldest serious work on the subject, being written shortly before the start of WW II. The two guys who wrote it had a lot of been-there done-that time having been in charge of the police in Shanghai during the 1920s and 1930s. Some of what they say is not applicable to here and now, but the thought processes and much of what they have to stay still is. The latter was written by the father of the modern technique of the pistol and is as much interested in mind set as equipment and methods. These are both very small books, pamphlets really, and are therefore relatively cheap. I believe that Paladin Press still prints them.

There are other good ones out there, you'll find them if you are really interested. IN THE GRAVEST EXTREME by Massad Ayoob is good and goes into some of the legal ramifications of the use of deadly force. It is available from his web site at the Lethal Force Institute.

I hope you have enjoyed reading these small articles, and I hope they have given a few people some good ideas, or at least some things to think about seriously, in the realm of firearms and personal defense.

Be smart and be careful out there. Keep your eyes open and your brain's auto-pilot turned off. Being alert will avoid most trouble. Avoidance is better.

Gun Of The Week.

2009-11-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

The Gun of the Week this time around is what is almost certainly the most crude firearm ever produced by a major government, the Liberator pistol.

The idea for this little jewel initiated in the O S S, the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the CIA. They wanted 1 million cheap but effective handguns weighing less than 1 pound that could be produced quickly and delivered easily to resistance movements.

This weapon went from inception to production in 13 weeks. The final cost was less then $2 per weapon. They were made of sheet metal stampings and a few springs. The O S S viewed them as a weapon a resistance fighter could use to shoot an enemy soldier and take his weapon from him. They came in a small cardboard box with a 12-step comic strip type instruction sheet and 10 rounds of ammunition, which stored in the hollow butt of the gun. The "extractor" was a wooden rod. The sights are incredibly basic and the trigger pull is awful. It has no manual safety. The barrel is not rifled. As far as I know there are no reliable records of it ever having been used for it's intended purpose.

You do see these every now and then at gun shows however since they were not originally serially numbered and are not rifled there can be legal problems with possession of them.

If any of Paco's readers have a gun they want featured here, please let me know. It would be helpful if you could send along a decent quality jpeg photo.

Merced Sun-Star Op-Ed: Parole agents failed Jaycee Dugard-GPS not the solution

2009-11-07T05:23:00.000-08:00

Our View: How did parole agents fail Jaycee?
Inspector general's report offers valuable ideas where system fell short in Garrido case.

Though it contained little new information, the state inspector general's report on Phillip Garrido's parole supervision still is stunning.

Incompetence in the oversight of the man who is accused of kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard, and holding her captive for 18 years, defies belief.

We agree with most of the report's recommendations on actions to prevent this kind of outrage from happening again.

However, we have problems with the call for more aggressive GPS monitoring. And we think there's one key issue that both the report -- and the corrections system -- doesn't address...(Full text at Merced Sun Star)

SEIU Local 1000 Members Accused Of Playing Rough.

2009-11-07T04:21:00.000-08:00

Mike Hamadi is a member of SEIU 1000. He works at the Franchise Tax Board. He attended a meeting of SEIU 1000 last night that ended up with him in the Emergency Room.

Hamadi is also a reporter (unpaid) for a cable access show and a critic of what he calls corruption within SEIU. He showed up at the meeting with a videographer. He alleges that he was attacked by "three or four" who thumped him

No charges have yet been filed in the case. SEIU Local 1000 leadership has declined to comment.

Clicking on the title will link to a KOVR Channel 13 piece on this subject.

State Submits Prison Hospital Plan.

2009-11-07T03:15:00.000-08:00

The state submitted it's mandated construction plan to the court yesterday. The plan includes the almost 1800 bed Kelso prison as well as conversion of 3 DJJ facilities and infill beds at various locations.

The hospital will cost about $1 billion to build. This will come out of a pool of money the state set up 2 years ago to pay for prison expansion.

Clicking on the title will link to a very brief A P story on this subject.

SecrAttorney Spinning

2009-11-06T05:39:00.000-08:00

November 4, 2009
Secretary Matthew Cate Issues Statement on Inspector General’s Special Report on Parole Supervision of Phillip Garrido

“The circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and 18 year disappearance of Jaycee Dugard are horrendous. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is committed to improving its operations every day to ensure an incident like this never happens again. The Department appreciates the efforts of the Office of the Inspector General to assist in our mission.”

“After 10-years on federal parole, Phillip Garrido’s parole supervision was turned over to California in 1999, under an antiquated parole system. The Department will continue to work to improve the system. In March, the Administration began seeking comprehensive parole reform that focuses supervision and resources on the high-risk offenders, like Garrido. These reforms will become laws in January and help us better protect the public while helping offenders to reintegrate successfully into society.

How times change. In August, DORC saw the situation quite differently:

For Immediate Release
Contact: Gordon Hinkle / Paul Verke
(916) 445-4950

August 27, 2009
CDCR Parole Agents Help Uncover 18-year-old Mystery Concerning Kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard

SACRAMENTO - The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's (CDCR) Division of Adult Parole Operations helped to uncover a nearly 18-year-old mystery concerning the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was 11 years old when she was last seen as she walked to her bus stop in South Lake Tahoe, California, on June 10, 1991.

On August 26, 2009, a CDCR parole agent brought in parolee Phillip Garrido for questioning. The day before, suspicious activity had been reported when Garrido, a registered sex offender, was seen with two small children at U.C. Berkeley.

CDCR involved the Concord Police Department to assist in determining the identity of the two children and an adult female who accompanied Garrido to CDCR's parole office in Concord. The diligent questioning and follow up by the parolee's agent of record led to Garrido revealing his kidnapping of the adult female. It was further revealed by Garrido that she was Jaycee Lee Dugard and that the children were his.

Garrido and his wife were arrested and transported to the Concord Jail. The FBI with the full cooperation of CDCR and local law enforcement officials are conducting a full investigation surrounding Garrido and further information is pending those investigations.

On June 8, 1999, Garrido was paroled from a Nevada state prison. Garrido, 58, served time in federal custody and in Nevada for sexual assault. Garrido's prior arrest history consists of possession of marijuana. While on parole supervision in California, Garrido was subject to: anti narcotic testing, to refrain from alcohol, and global positioning system (GPS) monitoring.

Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Division of Adult Parole Operations will be holding a briefing to answer questions on the matter today.

Thus, we see the inherent value of waiting until the facts are in before issuing ANY press release, much less one of the self-congratulatory variety.

Beyond that, Paco is amazed at just how little SecrAttorney Cate had to say--What he does say is outrageous. Cate passes the tragedy off as the product of an "antiquated parole system" as though the system has improved since Garrido's intake. Nowhere does he acknowledge mistakes were made. Rather, Cate presents the incident as though it was an unfortunate incident that simply happened.

The SecrAttorney assures us DORC is "committed to improving its operations every day to ensure an incident like this never happens again." Yet, he offers no explanation, apology and, most importantly, no solutions.

Could it be ANY clearer Matt Cate is in WAY over his pointy head? Isn't it LONG past time this incompetent boob moved along?

CAN CATE.

...And Speaking Of Spinning...

2009-11-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

Scott Kernan and J. Clark Kelso dropped in to the editorial offices of the Stockton RECORD yesterday. They had a nice chat with those folks and, if headlines could be believed, PRISON OFFICIALS VOW TO WORK WITH LOCAL LEADERS.

However, once you actually get into the article, it makes it pretty clear that isn't going to happen unless the courts force it to happen.

Kelso said, "I understand they were shocked because there were no meetings."

Kernan said, "It's only really until the boss makes the final decision that you do the outreach."

It sounds to me that the big boys up in Sacramento make up their mind what they are going to do and who they are going to do it to, then they come down to talk to the local yokels and tell them how bad they are going to get screwed.

There is a difference between "working with" local leaders and telling local leaders that they are going to get reamed in advance of actually doing it. An open dialog and meaningful discussion are not the same thing. They SHOULD BE, but they are not.

The state has to have the hospital. They have to put it somewhere. The state already owns the property and there is a certain amount of infrastructure already in place. It's close enough to Sacramento the movers and shakers can visit, but they don't have to look at it on a daily basis. For them, that's ideal.

The conversion of DeWitt Nelson isn't nearly so much of a done deal, but the state does need the prison space. You either need more cells or less criminals locked up. The idea that the presence of the prisons is, in and of itself, damaging to Stockton is idiotic. Stockton has a reputation of being a crime-ridden cesspool because of crime on the streets, not because of criminals in prison.

Mitigation is a valid concern. The state should pay for things like road improvements. They should help the locals out with increased costs to local operations. Increasing the local tax base through bringing in lots of high paying jobs will help that.

I admit I am bothered by the cavalier attitude towards what this prison hospital will do to the local and even regional pool of available medical staff. The new facility will have more hospital beds in it than exist in the entire county right now. I have been told by people who study such things that it will have an impact on the national medical labor market. If the feds are stuffing it down the throat of the local people that needs to be addressed in a meaningful way. So far it hasn't been. That's why the locals are going to court.

Honors Student Killing Probably Collateral Damage.

2009-11-06T04:46:00.000-08:00

Police now believe that the shooting of a Wilson High honors student in Long Beach was collateral damage from a gang shootout.

Melody Ross, who was also a track athlete, was shot down as she and some friends were leaving a football game. The shooting occurred in a crowd of people outside Long Beach High School near Ximeno Ave and 10th Street about 10 PM last Friday.

Two unnamed gang members were arrested in connection with the shooting.

The no-snitch culture, even in the relatively affluent area of Long Beach made it difficult for the police to get information even though there were dozens of witnesses to the shooting. On Monday, after the urging of school officials, some information was finally forthcoming.

Two men, 18 year old and 20 year old, were wounded in the shooting.

Attempted Murder Of Off-Duty LAPD Officer.

2009-11-06T02:41:00.000-08:00

An off-duty undercover vice officer was fired on at 4:12 PM yesterday in L. A. The assasilant fired several shots at him, then fled in a green Chevrolet Tahoe. The shooter pulled up next to the officer then started blasting. The officer was not hit and the shooter was not caught.

Thoughts On Garrido Report.

2009-11-05T11:05:00.001-08:00

Today's Sacramento PRAVDA has a pretty decent piece in it by Sam Stanton on the I. G. report into the Garrido mess. It's worth the read. Clicking on the title will link to it.

This Dropped Ball Resulted In A Wounded Cop And A Dead Parolee.

2009-11-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

Juan Carlos Aguilar was a parolee. He is now a dead former parolee. There is good reason to believe his parole agent failing to arrest him (which might very well have been within policy) had a lot to do with it, as well as a cop being shot.

Aguilar's family called his parole agent and told her had he was acting out, was under the influence and had a gun. His parole agent however chose NOT to arrest Aguilar on Tuesday evening but instead scheduled an appointment with him for Wednesday morning.

Aguilar couldn't keep the appointment. He had been flying on meth for about a week and at 10 PM Tuesday night, about 5 hours after parole agent Mary Rush had met with him, he was involved in a shootout with the local constabulary in the middle of Prairie Avenue. A deputy was injured in the shooting, a through-and-through wound to the shoulder. Aguilar was killed.

Maria Franco (yes, that Maria Franco) confirmed that agent Rush visited the Aguilar home as reported. She also stated that policy is that parole agents do NOT make solo arrests for safety reasons.

Margarita Fox, Aguilar's cousin, stated that her mother had called the parole agent. Ms. Fox and her mother live in a separate house on the same property where Aguilar lived with his mother. Agent Rush arrived about 5 PM Tuesday and declined to take Aguilar into custody. She instead scheduled a return visit for 10 AM the next day when she would have assistance. At 10 PM that evening the drug-induced paranoia overtook Aguilar who instructed his mother to pack a bag so they could flee the people who were "after him". When Aguilar pulled a gun on his mother, she took off to an unspecified police station, where she was allegedly told that they could not assist her. Aguilar's mother then returned home, noted that her son was still hallucinating, and called 911 from the house. Aguilar fled when he hear his mother call the cops. She reported that he was high and armed.

Aguilar was then involved in two shooting incidents. The first time he was contacted he pulled a gun on the cops and they fired. He beat feet, traveling about 200 to 300 feet along Prairie Avenue. There was then a second shots fired incident involving Sheriff's deputies as well as Hawthorne and Glendale police officers. Aguilar was shot numerous times and a deputy was wounded. The deputy was hospitalized over night.

At the same time Aguilar's mother was making her 911 call Agent Rush was submitting a request for an arrest warrant for Aguilar. Aguilar was a known Lil Watts gang member and has an extensive arrest and police contact record, primarily involving drugs and DUI but also a sprinkling of battery, spousal abuse and theft.

As you might expect, the matter is under investigation.

Thanks to Caroline for the heads up on this one. Clicking on the title will link to an item in the Daily Breeeze.Com on this subject.

Quintin Watts Sentenced.

2009-11-05T05:09:00.000-08:00

Quintin Watts, the parolee bus driver whose roll-over wreck in Colusa County killed 11 people was sentenced yesterday. He was given 26 years and 4 months. That means the 56 year old just may get out of prison at about the limit of his normal life expectancy, assuming he hits is minimum early parole date. Of course, with the excellent health care and nutritious meals provided for him free of charge, he might exceed the normal life expectancy considerably.

Prison must be a good place. So many prisoners just keep on coming back.

I G Interviewed On KCRA.

2009-11-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

David Shaw, the Inspector General, was interviewed on KCRA (Channel 3 Sacramento) today. The interview was long by TV standards.

These are the highlights.

Garrido was misclassified from the get-go, and nobody reviewed it or caught it for years and years. His classification was just in the process of being reviewed when this whole mess hit the fan.

The federal parole file had an excellent layout of the Garrido property. It showed the property BEFORE the fence and additional outbuildings were added. It appears that no CDCr people ever bothered to look at it.

There was semi-permanent mickey-mouse wiring going to the back of the property which was clearly visible but nobody bothered to check where it was going or why.

GPS information indicated Garrido was spending a LOT of time in his back yard for no obvious reason. Nobody ever bothered to check it out. (I admit I am surprised that the GPS tracking is that detailed. So much so I am just a tad suspicious of the way it is being presented.)

There is at least one parole note indicating a 12-year old girl in the house during a parole visit. That detail was never followed up on.

Nobody ever talked to the neighbors about Garrido. They were aware that there were young children in and around the house quite a bit. (I admit to ignorance of parole procedures. I didn't know that agents were EXPECTED to interview neighbors.)

I said earlier that I could understand how parole agents missed the stuff behind the fence. If you see a more-or-less standard size lot with a fence at the back you are inclined to believe that is the end of the property. If that was all we were dealing with, that would be one thing. It appears that we are dealing with a LOT more than that.

The question then becomes what gets covered up and who gets thrown to the wolves. The slinging of whitewash and the pointing of fingers will commence almost immediately. With a bit of luck some honest self-evaluation will also come, sometime, resulting in meaningful change of procedure.

ADDENDUM: Below is a link to the entire 45 page report.

http://www.oig.ca.gov/media/reports/BAI/reports/Special%20Report%20on%20CDCR's%20Supervision%20of%20Parolee%20Phillip%20Garrido.pdf

Spectre General to issue Dugard case report today

2009-11-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

Inspector general to issue report on state's handling of Jaycee Dugard's alleged kidnapper

November 4, 2009 | 6:54 am

The inspector general for California's prison system is set to issue a report today on the way the parole division handled Phillip Garrido, the alleged kidnapper of Jaycee Dugard, while he was harboring her.

David R. Shaw will release his findings and recommendations at a news conference scheduled for 10 a.m. in Sacramento, following a two-month investigation.

Garrido was under state control for 10 years as a convicted rapist and under federal parole supervision for eight years.

Authorities say he hid Dugard in the backyard of his Antioch home after kidnapping her outside her South Lake Tahoe home in 1991, when she was 11, and then fathered two daughters by her. (-LA Times)

Insofar as DORC's preliminary reaction to this incident was the canonization of Phillip Garrido's Agent of Record, it will indeed be interesting to see if OIG tells the ugly truth or simply adds a flourish or two to the Agency's fairytale.

As Paco has emphasized repeatedly, Agent Hot Potato (HP) is not to be made the scape goat for this inexcusable outrage. CONVERSELY, he is not to be lionized for effecting the arrest once Garrido's crimes all but caved in around him. The latter is DORC's plan--Perhaps the Spectre General will see it differently.

For the record, HP was given the choice to relocate to any district in the state shortly after the media frenzy hit the fan. He did so, transferring to the most desired area ahead of literally hundreds of agents on the ostensibly frozen "hardship" list. Now, it is understood HP had to moved out of the frying pan but moving him to another region, to such a plum area...it sure seems like an atta boy, doesn't it?

The report will be posted here once it has been made available by the OIG.

Arnie Gets To Appoint New Lieutenant Governor.

2009-11-04T06:28:00.000-08:00

Now that John Garamendi, perpetual politician, has moved on to a realm where he does not need to sweat term limits (the California 10th congressional district), our Governor will have the opportunity to appoint his replacement, should he care to exercise that option. Whoever he picks will be subject to confirmation by the legislature, which has 90 days to act on the appointment.

There have been several names run up the flag pole. With the Dems in control of the legislature he can't appoint anybody too conservative (not that that would occur to him in the first place) and have any real chance of having that appointment confirmed.

Personally I think he should appoint Don Novey. I doubt Don would do it, he probably wouldn't take the pay cut. It would, however, be fun to watch.

Locals Agree To Sue CDCr And Feds.

2009-11-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

The City of Stockton and San Joaquin County both decided yesterday to join the Stockton Chamber of Commerce to file a lawsuit against the feds and CDCr with regards to the proposed Kelso hospital and the DeWitt Nelson conversion. Not being stupid, they realize they have almost zero chance of derailing the hospital and small chance of stopping the DeWitt Nelson conversion. They are, however, reasonably hopeful that they can get a significant amount of mitigation money from the projects, which has been sorely lacking up until now.

The county is estimating that they would be out $105 million in one-time costs and $25 million per year in ongoing costs if these facilities go ahead. This includes road improvements of $63 million in the one-time cost figure and $17 million per year in salary bumps to compete with state wages. The Sheriff-Coroner is estimating they will need $11 million to expand the pathology facility and $6 million per year in additional staff.

Louis Patino, a spokesman for Kelso, replied, "The people of the Central Valley need jobs, not more lawsuits." The construction would require about 1,700 workers. The completed facility would employ at least 2,400 people, maybe more. These figures do not include the DeWitt conversion.

Clicking on the title will link to a Stockton RECORD story on this subject.

Ron Dellums Owes Feds $239,000.

2009-11-04T03:23:00.000-08:00

Ron Dellums, a long-time Congressman who followed Jerry Brown into the dubious honor of being the Mayor of Oakland, has been slapped with a tax lien by the I R S.

Mayor Dellums had admitted to the debt, and has said it is being dealt with.

I admit I am puzzled by that. I thought Democrat politicans were not required to pay taxes.

Clicking on the title will link to a S F GATE (CHRONICLE) story on this subject.