California county DA warns public of 'dangerous and high-risk' sex offenders released amid coronavirus pandemic
ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: The Orange County District Attorney has issued a community warning to residents after seven "dangerous" registered sex offenders were released from custody amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
DA Todd Spitzer said the convicted men were released on April 7 because of a decision by appointed Court Commissioner Joseph Dane and that they had spent "just days" in jail instead of six months required by law for those registered as sex offenders.
Each of the seven men who were set free had also been charged with cutting off their GPS monitors or tampering with their tracking devices and were branded as "the most dangerous kind of criminal and the most likely to re-offend" by Spitzer.
The men released were:
Luis Joel Ramirez, 27, whose criminal history includes sexual battery, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting a peace officer, burglary, and possessing of a leaded cane, a deadly weapon. He was released on April 7 after serving 20 days on a parole violation for cutting off his GPS, then released again on April 24 after serving 16 days on a parole violation for failing to report.
James Franklin Bowling, 50, who has been convicted repeatedly of lewd conduct in a public place, failing to register as a sex offender, being a sex offender on school grounds, and possession of controlled substance and paraphernalia. The DA's office said he has had two parole violations since February and was released on April 9 after serving 14 days on a parole violation for failing to charge his GPS monitoring device.
Rudy William Grajeda Magdaleno, 39, whose criminal history includes child molestation, indecent exposure, assault, battery, criminal threats and inflicting injury on an adult, and who has had five parole violations since 2017. He was released on April 13 after serving 142 days on a parole violation for failing to charge his GPS monitoring device.
Kyle Albert Winton, 40, who has been convicted of annoying or molesting a child, criminal threats to cause great bodily injury or death, resisting a peace officer and DUI and hit and run with property damage. He was released in April after serving just 10 days for failing to charge his GPS device and has had one previous parole violation.
Jose Adrian Oregel, 46, whose criminal history includes unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, oral copulation of a person under the age of 18 and causing great bodily injury. He was released on April 22 after serving 18 days for failing to charge his GPS device.
Mario Ernesto Sandoval, 45, who has been convicted of sexual battery, touching for sexual arousal, indecent exposure, assault on a peace officer, and assault, and who was released on April 22 after serving 16 days on a parole violation for failing to report to charge his GPS device.
And Calvin Curtis Coleman, 52, who has been convicted of lewd conduct in a public place and who has had three parole violations since 2019. He was released on April 13 after serving 18 days on a parole violation after failing to charge his GPS monitoring device.
Spitzer said the men who were released were "not the kind of people who should be getting a break" and vowed his office will not appear in front of Dane on parole violations involving registered sex offenders.
“It is not the court’s responsibility to control the jail population by releasing these dangerous criminals back into our communities," he said. "The residents of Orange County deserve to have the peace of mind that registered sex offenders are being held accountable and not just let out the front door of a jail by a court commissioner who refuses to follow the law."
The situation was a similar one in Illinois, where nearly 4,000 inmates either saw their sentences commuted by Governor J.B. Pritzker or being released because of the pandemic.
Prison release records obtained by Illinois Senate Republicans showed that these inmates include those who had been convicted of violent crimes like second-degree murder, armed robbery, child sexual abuse, attempted murder, rape, kidnapping, domestic battery, reproducing child pornography, manslaughter, and aggravated assault.