CDCR Star

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmate who escaped Salinas Valley State Prison apprehended in Gonzales

Tom Wright, Monterey Herald

Soledad >> California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials said minimum security inmate Brian Martin, 22, was apprehended Monday after walking away from the minimum-support facility at Salinas Valley State Prison on Sunday.

Martin was apprehended at about 11:30 a.m. by police in Gonzales. He was taken into custody without incident and authorities returned him to Salinas Valley State Prison.

Convicts at San Quentin State Prison are learning to code — and some land jobs in tech when they get out

Michael Newberg, CNBC

Walking through the yard at California's historic San Quentin State Prison, the oldest in the state, it's difficult to keep movie clichés from popping into one's head.

Surrounded by high barbed-wire-topped walls and amidst groups of men playing basketball and doing push-ups under a blue sky, a line from the quintessential 1994 film "The Shawshank Redemption" came to mind. In the film, Tim Robbins' character Andy Dufresne, falsely imprisoned for murder, extols the virtue of hope upon his prison pal Red, played by Morgan Freeman. "Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

For a select group of motivated inmates at San Quentin, located just outside of San Francisco, hope comes in the form of an intrepid non-profit called The Last Mile, which is teaching convicts how to code and working with Silicon Valley companies to give hardened criminals a shot at success once they're released.

DEATH PENALTY

Former Northern California tribal chair gets death penalty for shooting, stabbing spree

Jane Braxton Little, The Sacramento Bee

ALTURAS- The former head of a Northern California Indian tribe was sentenced to death Monday for a 2014 rampage inside the tribal hall that left four people dead.

In sentencing Cherie Louise Rhoades, Judge Candace Beason called the killings at the Cedarville Rancheria Tribal Headquarters “intentional, premeditated and willful.” Beason rejected the option to modify a Placer County jury’s death sentence to life in prison.

Dressed in a gray-striped prison jumpsuit and orange plastic shoes, Rhoades, 47, shook her head as she listened to the judge read the sentence during a three-hour hearing in Modoc County Superior Court.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Building up East Palo Alto with the David Lewis Re-entry Program

Alejandra Salazar, Peninsula Press

In 2009, José Cabrera was stuck. He had recently been released from prison, returned to his hometown of East Palo Alto, and was trapped in a constant battle between his personal willpower and the systematic oppression of minority communities like his own. He’ll tell you that his life could have gone in a lot of different directions. Many of them would have landed him back behind bars.

“All I knew is I didn’t want to go back, but I didn’t know how I was going to do that change,” Cabrera said. “This turned out to be a blessing.”

By “this,” Cabrera means meeting David Lewis and participating in his East Palo Alto re-entry program. He will tell you that it took a few tries to get into it, that he was resistant at first (participation was mandatory for parolees like him living in EPA at the time, which made him skeptical). But the program eventually did what it was supposed to: it kept him away from prison and effectively changed his life.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Escaped convict found in Alhambra, 2 schools on lockdown during search

Ruby Gonzales, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

ALHAMBRA - A car thief on the run since last week was arrested Tuesday after a search involving state and local law enforcement.

Authorities found 39-year-old Benedict Romero hiding in heavy brush near the north athletic field at San Gabriel High School at 12:55 p.m. A police dog bit Romero, police said.

Alhambra police spokesman Sgt. Steven Carr said was hiding and had no contact with faculty or students prior to his arrest.

Suspected Fugitive Taken Into Custody on San Gabriel High School Campus Amid Lockdown: Police

Tracy Bloom, KTLA

A suspected fugitive was apprehended on the San Gabriel High School campus Tuesday afternoon during an intense search that prompted the lockdown of three area schools, the Alhambra Police Department said.

Authorities had been looking for Benedict Romero, who had walked away from an alternative custody program last week, according to Krissi Khokhobashvili, the public information officer for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He had apparently tampered with his ankle monitor and had been in the alternative custody program since January, officials said.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Salina Police and KHP SWAT arrest wanted kidnapping suspect

Rocky Robinson, Salina Post

Matthew Collier, 30, was arrested by Salina Police and Kansas Highway Patrol SWAT teams last night at a Salina apartment complex. Collier was being sought by authorities after he allegedly kidnapped two Salina women at gunpoint last week.

Just after 8:30 p.m. on April 5, police responded to a home in south Salina following a report of a possible kidnapping. Two female acquaintances of Collier told authorities that he kidnapped them at gunpoint, returning them to the residence several hours later. Police Capt. Paul Forrester said that Collier used a shotgun that he took from the home. They have yet to recover the weapon, he added.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Corcoran prisoner evacuation plan scrutinized

Seth Nidever, The Sentinel

HANFORD – As Corcoran prepares for the possibility of flooding, the question has come up: Where would Charles Manson and the thousands of other hardened criminals be taken to if the prisons were evacuated?

There's been some concern that the state might try to take inmates to the Kings Fairgrounds, according to Joe Neves, Kings County Office of Emergency Services director.

"That was a plan that they had a few years ago, and we kind of complained about it," Neves said. "I'm not sure if they ever adjusted that."

Neves said there is "no way" county officials would support putting prisoners on the fairgrounds.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Re-entry facility in Santa Fe Springs helps women get back on their feet

Anabel Munoz, abc

SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. (KABC) -- Many women laughed over lunch, combed each other's hair and played on a swing set. They spent years in prison cells before calling a Santa Fe Springs facility their home and each other family.

The Custody to Community Transitional Re-entry Program is one of several state facilities where dozens of women, including those with violent offenses, can finish their prison sentences.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Green is the old black: California looks to phase out private prison partnerships as Trump administration doubles down

Students lobby Sacramento State to divest from businesses that benefit from for-profit incarceration

Scott Thomas Anderson, Sacramento News & Review

A bill to end California’s reliance on for-profit prisons jumped a major hurdle last week, passing the Assembly Public Safety Committee just days before students demanded that Sacramento State University divest its financial ties to those very corporations.

According to Assemblyman Rob Bonta, California is still contracting to house 6,000 state inmates inside private prisons.

“I don’t agree with this philosophy,” Bonta told fellow lawmakers on April 4. “These companies have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders to maximize profits around incarceration.”

CDCR NEWS

New prison parole overhaul guidelines win initial approval from California state regulators

Jazmine Ulloa, The Los Angeles Times

California state regulators have given their initial approval to a new set of guidelines that expand the credits inmates can earn for demonstrating good behavior and completing rehabilitation programs behind bars.

The regulations are the first step to overhauling the prison parole system under the widely debated Proposition 57, which is expected to cut the statewide prison population by 9,500 inmates over the next four years.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

California inmates take on Shakespeare

Aja Seldon, Clemence Robineau, and Jeff Pierce, KRON 4

VACAVILLE (KRON)– Inmates at Solano State Prison put their talents to the test during a performance of Shakespeare’s King John for visitors and fellow inmates.

The performers were from the prison’s level three unit, and most were serving life sentences.

“I’ve been in prison since I was nineteen years old. I’ve never had a job, and I’ve never done nothing like this as a team like this so this gives me an opportunity to work with other people,” said Joseph Jackson.

Religious Tobacco Protection in Prisons Uncertain

Helen Christophi, Courthouse News

SAN DIEGO (CN) – A California appeals court dealt a blow Thursday to a Native American prison inmate who petitioned for the right to use pure tobacco during religious ceremonies.

A three-judge panel for California’s Fourth Appellate Division found that Imperial County Superior Court Judge Raymond Cota improperly ruled in favor of inmate Gregory Rhoades. Cota should have held an evidentiary hearing before handing down his decision, the panel concluded.

Sending the case back to Cota, the panel ordered him to hold a hearing so that both Rhoades and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation can present factual evidence to support their positions. After the hearing, Cota will need to issue another ruling.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Parole denied for man convicted of sexually assaulting woman

Dom Pruett, The Reporter News

A Vallejo man convicted of breaking into the residence of the estranged mother of his children and sexually assaulting her was denied parole Tuesday.

Matthew P. Cortez, 37, was convicted of sexual penetration by a foreign object with force and violence during the commission of a burglary. He entered a plea to the charges before trial, receiving a sentence of 15 years to life, according to the Solano County District Attorney’s Office.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

STEVE FLORES: Inmate-made Millennium Falcon helps community

Steve Flores, The Californian

Made famous by the galactically successful Star Wars film franchise, the Millennium Falcon was known as the fastest ship in the galaxy. Despite her unassuming beginnings and rough exterior, the Falcon has made its mark in the epic space opera film series — and in an unexpected place in Wasco.

When I walked onto the yard last Monday and saw the newest version of the Millennium Falcon being built for her next adventure, I felt like I had walked into a makeshift hobby shop instead of a guarded fenced area at the Wasco State Prison.

And although the detailed work wasn’t quite done, like a parent watching his or her child ride a bike for the first time, all seven inmates stood and proudly gleamed at the large Millennium Falcon model they built from prison refuse.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Charges filed against Charles Holifield in Christina Williams case, arraignment expected May 9

James Herrera, Monterey Herald

Salinas >> Charges were filed Friday morning against convicted sex offender Charles Holifield in the slaying of Christina Williams. He is expected to be arraigned on May 9, according to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.

“We have filed the complaint and are pursuing the arrest warrant to bring him here,” said Jeannine Pacioni, assistant district attorney.

Holifield faces charges of murder with enhancements including special circumstances for kidnapping, lewd acts on a child and for prior convictions for previous crimes and other allegations. He also is charged with kidnapping with the intent to commit rape, a special allegation for a minor under the age of 14, intent to commit great bodily injury and an allegation of habitual sexual offender because of prior forcible rape convictions.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

After six-week investigation, Fullerton police arrest man suspected in shooting

Susan Christian Goulding, The Orange County Register

FULLERTON A six-week investigation of a Feb. 27 shooting led Fullerton police officers to Hawaiian Gardens, where a suspect was taken into custody, officials said Saturday.

On Friday, April 14, Michael Benavidez, 27, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a brief pursuit on foot, the department announced. The Hawaiian Gardens resident was also found to be in possession of methamphetamine, police said.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Corrections officer injured in convoy crash near Gorman

Jim Holt, The Signal

A Corrections officer was injured and airlifted to a hospital Thursday night after a big rig collided with a convoy of law enforcement vehicles being delivered to the Antelope Valley State Prison.

The traffic collision happened shortly after 8:50 p.m. on Highway 138 near Gorman when a convoy of five Specialized Ford SUVs – called Police Interceptor Utility Vehicles – collided with a tractor-trailer on Highway 138 just near 300 Street West.

“Preliminary investigative efforts indicate five on-duty California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officers were driving five Ford PIUVs in tandem on the eastbound SR-138, approaching 300 Street West,” California Highway Patrol Officer Josh Greengard told The Signal Friday.

People of Public Safety: Tyrone Mays

Chelcey Adami , The Californian

Name: Tyrone Mays

Position: Parole Agent 1

Department/Company: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Years of Experience: 17

Watsonville man with 13 DUI's sentenced

KSBW

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — A Watsonville man with 12 previous DUI convictions was found guilty again this week by a jury for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Francisco Napoles Medina, 54, has served four prior prison terms for previous DUI convictions, but he apparently still didn't get the message to not drink and drive.

Medina will be sentenced May 10 by Monterey County Judge Pamela L. Butler. He faces a maximum sentence of 7 years in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, District Attorney Dean Flippo said.

Billionaire’s transformation from real estate to criminal justice reform

Laurel Rosenhall, The San Francisco Chronicle

A cattle-ranching billionaire headed into Gov. Jerry Brown’s office the other day with redemption on his mind.

Redemption for prisoners who wind up behind bars because their own tortured childhoods led them to lives of crime. Redemption for veterans who bring home wartime scars that cause addiction and violence. And redemption, perhaps, even for himself — born into privilege, born again as a Christian, and determined to make a difference with his wealth.

“If you listen to the stories of the men and women who have been incarcerated, it’s horrible what they’ve been through,” B. Wayne Hughes Jr. said as he stood outside Brown’s office.

OPINION

California's so-called 'sanctuary bill' will help protect non-violent immigrants from Trump's overreaches

The Los Angeles Times

The Trump administration has embarked on a stepped-up campaign to capture and deport immigrants living in the United States illegally, even if they’ve been here for a long time, have deep roots in the community and have been law-abiding and productive members of American society.

It’s a mean-spirited, costly and unnecessary approach to illegal immigration that will divide families and destabilize communities at enormous cost to taxpayers, while providing little or no public benefit. California legislators are right to object, and to insist that state and local resources not be spent on helping the federal government in this misguided policy.

Young Adult Prison Movement Deepens Reliance on Incarceration, Shortchanges Reform

Maureen Washburn, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

There is growing interest nationwide in designating specialized prison space for young adults under age 25. Although these projects are often couched in the language of treatment and developmental differences, specialty facilities could expose states to a pitfall of multitiered prison systems: targeting some with superficial reforms, while leaving others out.

Investing in new facilities draws scarce resources and attention away from reforms that work, including local, small-scale and community-driven alternatives to incarceration. Advocates must ensure that these new facilities do not result in increased incarceration or a growing tolerance for inadequate conditions in traditional prisons.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Guards injured in 2 assaults by inmates at California prison
Associated Press

DELANO, Calif. (AP) - The California Department of Corrections says guards have been injured by prisoners in two assaults at Kern Valley State Prison.

The first assault occurred about 6:40 a.m. Monday when an inmate refused to go into a cell and punched one of two escorting officers, knocking one down stairs.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

After 20-plus years, ex-teacher sentenced in grisly South Land Park murder

Darrell Smith, The Sacramento Bee

Robert Castorena sat stoically next to his attorney, his face hidden behind a thick thatch of beard, his hair matted into a bushy pony tail, the gray in both symbolizing the years that have passed since he stabbed his wife to death and left their children with her body inside the family’s South Land Park home.

Castorena had fully recovered his sanity, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Bunmi Awoniyi ruled from the bench, and he was no longer a danger to himself or others.

Since Castorena was sane, the judge found, he could now be sent to prison.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Moon Mountain killer denied parole

Sonoma Index-Tribune

A convicted murderer won’t get out of prison anytime soon after the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on April 13 denied parole to 62-year-old William Barton, of Santa Rosa.

The charges resulted from the robbery and shooting of two farm workers on March 23, 1975. Victims, 40-year-old Sabino Sotelo and his 16-year-old son, Gregorio Sotelo, were shot by Barton multiple times with a .22 caliber handgun.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Did California prison reform lead to an increase in crime?

William La Jeunesse, Fox News

More than a dozen states are considering prison reform measures to drastically reduce their inmate populations to save money. But law enforcement in California are blaming their reforms for a recent uptick in crime.

"The most recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice show violent crime rates in some California cities has increased by over 50 percent," said Michele Hanisee, president of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys. "If you look at the national data, our violent crime rates are going up faster than the rest of the nation. So why?"

Prosecutors and police have an explanation -- a series of prison reform measures, which reduce the state prison population by 20,000 inmates by releasing non-violent offenders early and making some felonies misdemeanors. One law, Assembly Bill 109, transferred 60,000 felony parole violators a year from state prison to county control. The measure saved California $100 million but some argue it was not without casualties.

Will state bail on bail? AB 42 would eliminate bucks for bonds as judge decides who stays, goes

Jeff Jardine, The Modesto Bee

You (or someone who looks just like you) have been arrested and hauled down to the county jail to be booked, fingerprinted, your mug shot taken and allowed that all-important phone call.

Whether you use it to phone a bail bond agent directly or have someone else call for you, depending upon the alleged crime you can be free within in a couple of hours – presuming you can raise the 10 percent down.

But Tuesday in Sacramento, state legislators likely will take a step toward joining a number of other states in the nation that have eliminated bail altogether. Assembly Bill 42, authored by Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, goes before the State Assembly’s Committee on Public Safety on Tuesday, where it is expected to move on to the appropriations committee toward a possible floor vote in June.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

State prisons putting emphasis on rehabilitation and education programs

The Los Angeles Times

As California prison officials shift toward inmate programs centered on rehabilitation and education, they are evaluating new regulations for awarding time credits for good behavior and reaching milestones.

Two correctional officers hurt in fight during evening meal at Mule Creek State Prison

Bill Lindelof, The Sacramento Bee

Two correctional officers at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione suffered minor injuries when they were allegedly hit by inmates while in the mess hall.

At dinner Monday, an officer confronted an inmate who was noticed taking an extra food tray from the serving line. The inmate and his cellmate then attacked the officer, hitting him in the head, according to a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation news release.

Marine Vet killer sentenced to 82 years in prison

Suspect shot and killed victim in 2015

Rasna Suri, abc 23 News

BAKERSFIELD – The man accused of killing a 23-year-old Marine Veteran was sentenced in court today.

Alonso Corona shot and killed Victor Anaya in Southwest Bakersfield in August of 2015. He was arrested and faced several charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder, gang member in possession of a loaded firearm, participation in a criminal street gang, and shooting at an occupied dwelling.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Dawndee Rossy sentenced to 9 years, must pay over $1.5 million in restitution

Sierra Wave Media

Former Inyo County Health & Human Services Integrated Caseworker Supervisor Dawndee Rossy was sentenced today to nine years in prison to be served at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Ms. Rossy has been in custody at the Inyo County Jail since August 29, 2016, and will soon be transported to the reception center for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,543,785.24, plus an additional $272,491.00 for unpaid state income tax.

CDCR NEWS

Judge threatens $1,000-a-day California mental health fines

Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif.- A federal judge said Wednesday that she will fine California $1,000 a day if state officials don't start providing swifter care for mentally ill inmates.

U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller said she is fed up with the treatment delays that have plagued the prison mental health system despite two decades of federal oversight.

She gave the state until May 15 to end a chronic backlog in sending inmates to state mental facilities. The $1,000-a-day fines for each inmate whose treatment is delayed would start accumulating May 16, but wouldn't be collected until she holds a hearing in November to decide if the state complied.

Judge threatens state with $1,000 per day fines over treatment of mentally ill inmates

Sam Stanton, The Sacramento Bee

A federal judge in Sacramento is threatening to fine the state $1,000 per day starting next month for every inmate whose transfer to mental health care facilities is delayed beyond the state’s own deadlines for providing such care.

U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller issued her 15-page order Wednesday in a long-running dispute between the state and advocates for mentally ill inmates, who contend the state still is not in compliance with its own rules for how quickly inmates must be transferred to mental health care programs.

In her order, Mueller wrote that the state has fallen out of compliance repeatedly with its own deadline for providing care and that “this cycle must be broken.”

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

“Step To The Line”: How Prison Is Helping Oculus Expand VR’s Horizons

Oculus and entrepreneurship program Defy Ventures are using motivational exercises and groundbreaking VR films to change lives on both sides of the prison wall.

Daniel Terdiman, Fast Company

I’m standing in the gym in B Yard at Pelican Bay State Prison, just outside Crescent City, the small, isolated, coastal town close to the Oregon border, where California sends the worst of the worst of its criminals. Traditionally, violence here has been off the charts and inmates frequently battle each other in racial gang fights.

But today, 37 Pelican Bay inmates–men of all races, many serving long terms for murder–are together in the gym, working side by side, laughing and even bear-hugging, and sometimes crying. Clark Ducart, the prison’s warden since 2014, is very impressed.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmates in Valley State Prison learn traditional arts for therapy

Brianna Calix, The Merced Sun-Star

Chowchilla- Once a week, inmates at Valley State Prison who typically might not interact come together to make Native American jewelry from thousands of tiny beads that come in all colors.

They work from patterns on homemade looms to make all sorts of designs – NFL logos, cartoon characters, names of family members and traditional designs. Once their patterns are finished, they sew them onto leather

“It gives us a way out for a little while,” said Justin Henson, 28, from Fresno. “It’s something that you’re proud of that you can ship to your family.”

Local fire crews training for 2017 wildfire season

Zak Dahlheimer, KESQ

HEMET, Calif. - As part of continued training and preparing for the upcoming wildfire season, CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire crews are holding their annual Fire Preparedness Exercise Thursday.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) inmate crews from the CAL FIRE Riverside Unit will take part in the exercise, evaluating their ability to safely put out wildfires.

Crews are observed and rated in drills, including their ability to hike, construct hand line utilizing hand tools, deployment of Fire Shelters in an attempt to prepare for a life-threatening burn over situation.

OPINION

Is California ready for frequent executions?

Foon Rhee, The Sacramento Bee

There’s one item on my reporting bucket list I never did check off – witnessing an execution. I came very close once, even getting a tour of the gas chamber.

The condemned inmate was David Lawson, convicted of shooting Wayne Shinn in the back of the head during a home break-in. I talked to Shinn’s family and covered Lawson’s news conference when he blamed depression for driving him to murder and urged other mentally ill people to get help. “I desperately want my death to have meaning,” he said. “I am no monster.”

Lawson became a national story because he and TV talk show host Phil Donahue wanted his execution to be the first one televised in the United States. So at first, I was disappointed that another reporter was chosen as a witness.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

'I took someone’s life — now I am giving back': In California's prisons, inmates teach each other how to start over

Jazmine Ulloa, The Los Angeles Times

The men Daniel Hopper teaches about drug and alcohol abuse are serving sentences of 10 years to life at a state prison tucked away in the Vaca Mountains of Northern California. They grew up in different places, most of them under difficult circumstances: dangerous schools and neighborhoods, fathers behind bars, brothers in gangs.

Hopper, a tall 35-year-old with cropped black hair, rectangular glasses and piercing wit, can relate to them on a level few others can. He is doing time for killing another teenager when he was 17 and a San Diego gang leader.

“Going to prison was one of the best things that ever happened to me,” Hopper said. It forced him to face what he did — and live differently, he said.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Sac State professor wins award for San Quentin project

Sacramento State News

Sacramento State Photography Professor Nigel Poor has won a Jefferson Award for expanding her work with San Quentin State Prison inmates to include a podcast that provides details on daily life in the facility.

“Ear Hustle” – prison slang for eavesdropping – is produced and co-hosted by Poor and inmate Earlonne Woods, and focuses on personal stories about life “inside.” Poor produces interviews along with co-producers Woods and another inmate, Antwan Williams. Topics include what the first day in prison is like, coping with HIV, pets in prison, and how birthdays are celebrated in prison.

DEATH PENALTY

California’s death row turning into home for seniors

Phillip Reese, The Sacramento Bee

California’s death row houses more senior citizens than most of the state’s nursing homes.

Ninety California death-row inmates are at least 65 years old, corrections records show. The number of seniors on death row has grown by nearly 500 percent since early 2006, when the state housed 16 seniors.

California has not executed a prisoner since 2006, largely due to legal challenges to its lethal injection protocol. California voters approved Proposition 66 in November, demanding that the state speed up the death penalty process. The implementation of Proposition 66 is on hold as the Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

California Man Granted Parole Decades After Killing Fellow Poker Player Over $4

State Could Let 82-Year-Old Out Of Prison

Brian Pempus, Card Player

An elderly man could soon get to walk free again nearly 40 years after shooting and killing another man in a poker home game over $4.

The Modesto Bee reported Thursday that California granted parole to Matthew Gooch, 82, who has been in prison ever since being convicted of the 1980 slaying of Franklin Woods Jr. The Governor’s Office is reviewing the parole board’s decision.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Justice Department warns sanctuary cities in California, 8 other jurisdictions to cooperate with immigration enforcement

Joseph Tanfani, The Los Angeles Times

The Justice Department on Friday fired an opening shot in the Trump administration’s crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities, sending letters to nine jurisdictions asking for proof that they are cooperating with immigration enforcement, and indicating they are at risk of losing federal grants.

The letters went to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as well as officials in Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Miami, Milwaukee, New York and Cook County, Ill.

San Quentin Death Row Inmate Slashes Corrections Officer In Face

CBS

SAN QUENTIN (CBS SF) — A condemned inmate at San Quentin State Prison attacked a corrections officer with an inmate-made knife Thursday morning, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The unidentified officer suffered a severe facial injury and received treatment at a local hospital, CDCR spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Inmate Anthony Delgado, 49, was having a medical examination when he attacked the corrections officer with an inmate-manufactured weapon just after 9 a.m. in the prison’s Adjustment Center – one of five units that house condemned inmates at San Quentin, Thornton said.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

A mentally ill inmate was dragged from a cell. Prison staff now may face punitive damages.

Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee

For 22 years, the federal court in Sacramento has pounded the California Department of Corrections with orders and injunctions and slapped it with sanctions to get the state prison system to clean up its mental health treatment mess.

Now, attorneys for mentally ill inmates are trying for another attention getter: punitive damages.

In a trial underway in front of U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, plaintiffs want a jury to find nine corrections department employees liable for malice and oppression to rectify abuses they say their client suffered during a brutal 2012 cell extraction.

Officials: 2 Calif. inmates found dead in cells

Prison authorities said two inmates were found dead in unrelated events at Salinas Valley State Prison

The Associated Press

SOLEDAD, Calif. — California prison authorities say two inmates were found dead in unrelated events at Salinas Valley State Prison.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said 22-year-old Cedric Saunders was found dead in his cell Saturday and that his death is being investigated as a homicide. It gave no other details.

It says Saunders transferred to the facility in Soledad from Riverside County in July 2013 to serve a five-year sentence for second-degree robbery with a street gang enhancement.

Rehabilitation And, Perhaps, Redemption For Prison Inmates In Dog Rescue Program

Bob Moffitt, Capital Public Radio

The people behind a new program at a northern California prison say inmates and rescue dogs can work together to change each other's lives.

Late last year, Mule Creek State Prison in Ione introduced the Paws For Life program to its inmates and selected 13 to train five dogs with the goal of making the animals adoptable.

Keith Bonnet is a recovering drug addict and is in prison for armed robbery.

"Lilly" is a blonde Anatolian Shepherd mix with black and white markings.

DEATH PENALTY

California moves toward resuming executions

Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO >> California has long been what one expert calls a “symbolic death penalty state,” one of 12 that has capital punishment on the books but has not executed anyone in more than a decade.

Prodded by voters and lawsuits, the nation’s most populous state may now be easing back toward allowing executions, though observers are split on how quickly they will resume, if at all.

Corrections officials expect to meet a Wednesday deadline to submit revised lethal injection rules to state regulators, trying again with technical changes after the first attempt was rejected in December.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

At Least 61,000 Nationwide Are in Prison for Minor Parole Violations

But the number is probably far higher, Marshall Project survey shows.

Eli Hager, The Marshall Project

Among the millions of people incarcerated in the United States, a significant portion have long been thought to be parole violators, those who were returned to prison not for committing a crime but for failing to follow rules: missing an appointment with a parole officer, failing a urine test, or staying out past curfew.

But their actual number has been elusive, in part because they are held for relatively short stints, from a few months to a year, not long enough for record keepers to get a good count.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Officer Injured in Inmate Attack at California State Prison-Sacramento

CDCR News

FOLSOM – Officials at California State Prison-Sacramento (SAC) are investigating an inmate attack that injured a correctional officer.

At around 2:40 p.m. Friday, April 21, a correctional officer was conducting security checks in a housing unit when inmate Pablo Melendez, 37, began aggressively running toward the officer, wielding an inmate-manufactured weapon in each hand. Melendez began assaulting the officer, who immediately used physical force to subdue the attacker. Two officers working in the same unit responded and attempted to separate Melendez and the injured officer, and were warned the inmate had weapons. As Melendez attempted to attack the officers, they were able to quickly disarm him and place him in restraints.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Mentally ill ex-inmate dragged from cell to receive $950,000 in settlement

Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation settled in midtrial Tuesday with a mentally ill former inmate who sued them over a 2012 cell extraction in which he was pepper sprayed, then placed in restraints and held naked for 72 hours.

Attorneys for the inmate, Jermaine Padilla, 35, of Ventura, said the state will pay $950,000 to settle the federal court case that was in its second week in Sacramento.

Prison officials videotaped Padilla’s July 24, 2012, cell extraction, and the image profoundly affected the six-person jury that that was taking in the evidence in front of U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly J. Mueller.

Highly trained fire protection for $2 an hour: California’s inmate fire crews

Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise

The orange-suited, tool-wielding inmate fire crew chewed through manzanita and redshank on a Bautista Canyon hillside like a herd of hungry goats.

As two men from the Bautista Conservation Camp, southeast of Hemet, used chain saws to cut a fire break, a third followed with a Pulaski — a hybrid ax and hoe — to pull debris and roots off the path the crew created. Others followed with a McCloud, a six-spike rake that removes heavier brush. Still others followed with a leaf rake to clear the break.

DEATH PENALTY

California Further Delays Lethal Injection Regulations

California corrections officials are delaying their new lethal injection regulations by four months, pushing back this week's deadline until late August.

Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California corrections officials are delaying their new lethal injection regulations by four months, officials announced Monday, pushing back this week's deadline until late August.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation needs more time to update the proposed rules after an initial version was rejected by state regulators in December, spokeswoman Terry Thornton said.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Should California Agencies Work Together to Negotiate Better Drug Prices?

Pauline Bartolone, KQED

Citing budget-busting drug costs, a California lawmaker wants state health programs to band together to negotiate better prices with drug companies.

Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) has introduced a bill that would strengthen intra-agency collaboration on drug cost-saving strategies. Lawmakers will consider the bill at an Assembly Health Committee hearing on Tuesday.

“Californians and Americans are frustrated with the lack of progress around drug prices,” Chiu said, citing the uproar over EpiPen and hepatitis C medications.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Honoring Johnny Cash

Folsom Telegraph

It’s been nearly 50 years since Johnny Cash performed his legendary concerts at Folsom Prison, when the iconic song “Folsom Prison Blues” put the prison – and the city – on the international map.

Today, we are honoring one of the world’s most famous country musicians and his influence on the City of Folsom with the Johnny Cash Trail Art Experience, which will include eight larger-than-life public art pieces, a three-acre park honoring the ‘Man in Black,’ and two-and-a-half miles of paved Class 1 trails.

In October 2014, the City of Folsom opened the first segment of the Johnny Cash Trail and the iconic pedestrian bridge at Folsom Lake Crossing, designed to resemble the prison’s east gate towers.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Man slain near Victory Park had been gang kingpin, FBI informant

Joe Goldeen, The Stockton Record

STOCKTON — In spring 2008, multiple law enforcement authorities held a joint news conference at the Stockton Police Department to describe a months-long criminal investigation dubbed Operation Monster, culminating in 15 raids and multiple arrests earlier that day.

Among the weapons, drugs and cash on display for the media was an organizational chart showing who was in charge of the local Norteños, a notorious criminal gang ultimately controlled by the Nuestra Familia prison gang.

California judge blocks part of Trump’s sanctuary cities executive order 

Christina Oriel, Asian Journal

A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday, April 25 blocked a portion of President Donald Trump’s executive order that called for denying funds to areas that defy U.S. immigration authorities.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick ruled that the Trump administration could not impose restrictions on the so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that have policies to protect undocumented immigrants, given that the president does not have the authority to dictate new federal spending policies.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

‘Unprecedented’ doctor shortage at California prison hurting inmate care, audit says

Adam Ashton, The Sacramento Bee

Investigators can’t say for sure that poor medical care contributed to the death of an inmate with a common heart condition at a high-security prison east of Sacramento last year, but the overworked system that ignored him didn’t help.

The inmate diagnosed with coronary artery disease died several months after he ran out of pills from his prescription for a cholesterol drug. He did not get a refill, and he did not see a doctor in the eight months he spent at California State Prison, Sacramento.

A summary of the unidentified inmate’s death is included in the latest report by a state inspector general calling attention to “inadequate” health services at a prison with a difficult population of 2,400 inmates that sits next door to Folsom State Prison.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Prison inmate escapes from L.A. County halfway house after his GPS monitor is removed

Matt Hamilton, The Los Angeles Times

A state prison inmate serving out the rest of his sentence at a Los Angeles halfway house managed to escape Thursday after his GPS device was removed, authorities said.

The search for Chance Locke, 47, began at about 1:30 p.m., when officials learned that his GPS device was removed while he was at an off-site medical appointment, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Inmate Found Dead at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility

The inmate was found two to three days after he died, the Medical Examiner found.

Samantha Tatro, NBC 7 San Diego

An inmate found dead at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility had been there two to three days before authorities found him, officials confirmed to NBC 7 San Diego.

James Acuna, 58, was pronounced dead on Monday, according to Vicky Waters with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

He was found two to three days after he died, the Medical Examiner found, according to San Diego County Sheriff Department's Ken Nelson. Sheriff's detectives were called to the scene on Monday.

Inmate firefighters readied for ‘extreme’ wildfire season

Tony Ault , Valley News

Inmates from the Bautista, Norco and other Cal Fire Riverside Unit California Conservation Camps have undergone their strenuous final field tests and learned if their firefighting crews will be assigned to fight the expected extreme wildfires expected this summer in Southern California.

The annual Cal Fire Preparation Exercise was conducted last week on the Ramona Cahuilla Indian Reservation near Anza. The exercise involved four test drills to determine if California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Cal Fire District 5 inmate firefighting crews can exhibit their ability to safely suppress wildland fires. The crews, ranging from 11 to 17, were in the four-stage exercise observed and rated in their ability to hike, construct hand lines utilizing hand tools, deployment of fire shelters to prepare for a life-threatening burn over situation and other drills.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Porterville man denied parole for 1993 murder

The Recorder

A California parole board Tuesday denied parole for James Ray Carlin, 50, for the murder and robbery of a man in Porterville in 1993. Carlin is not eligible for another hearing until 2020.

In April of 1993, a neighbor of the adult male victim requested a welfare check because she had not seen him in a few days. When officers arrived, they found the victim lying on the bed with duct tape around his ankles, legs, wrists, waist, mouth, eyes and head, and the house ransacked.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Judge: California must allow transgender inmates' earrings

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — California prison officials must provide for free undergarments that flatten the chest of transgender inmates at women's prisons and give transgender inmates at men's prisons access to bracelets, earrings, hair brushes and hair clips, a federal judge said Friday.

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar issued the order in a federal lawsuit that earlier led California to become the first state to provide taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgery to an inmate.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation also agreed as part of the suit by Shiloh Quine to give transgender inmates access to certain products. Quine, 57, had sex reassignment surgery in January and was transferred from a men's facility to a women's prison in Chowchilla. She is serving a life sentence for murder, kidnapping and robbery.

Death Of Inmate At Donovan State Prison Under Investigation

Breaking: A news report indicated the inmate may have been dead two or three days before his body was discovered.

Maggie Avants, Patch

SAN DIEGO, CA -- The death of an inmate at a California state prison in Otay Mesa remained under investigation as of Friday.

James Acuna, 58, was pronounced dead at 11:43 a.m. Monday at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, according to Vicky Waters, press secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The cause of Acuna’s death and the circumstances surrounding it are pending the results of an autopsy report, Waters said Friday afternoon in an email to Patch.

CalFire running exercises in May

Ukiah Daily Journal

CAL FIRE, in conjunction with the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR) operates 39 conservation camps with approximately 200 Fire Crews throughout California. This partnership of state agencies provides a large force of trained crews for all types of emergency incident mitigation and resource conservation projects.

In preparation for the upcoming fire season the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Humboldt-Del Norte Unit fire crews from Alder, High Rock, and Eel River Conservation Camps and fire crews from the Mendocino Unit from Chamberlain Creek and Parlin Fork Conservation Camps will hold their annual Redwood Coast Fire Preparedness Exercises on May 16, 17, and 18, 2017. The crews will assemble at Eel River Conservation Camp in southern Humboldt county.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

People of Public Safety: Phillip Rodriguez

Chelcey Adami , The Californian

Name: Phillip Rodriguez

Position: Unit supervisor for the Salinas 2 Unit

Department/Company: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation/Division of Adult Parole Operations

Why did you go into this line of work? Watching the negative impact crime, drugs and gangs have on people’s lives made me want to get into law enforcement. I discovered parole work, which would give me the ability to assist offenders in the community, guiding them to a successful path in life and in turn help keep the communities safer.

OPINION

After Officer Boyer’s death, amend sentencing reforms: Guest commentary

Bonnie Shirley, The San Gabriel Valley Tribune

This is written for those, including the author of a recent column in these pages, who think the so-called realignment that has released so many offenders from California prisons doesn’t need considerable reform after the death of Officer Keith Boyer. I’m referring to a column by Thomas Elias on April 3.

In fact, especially here in the Whittier area where Boyer served, there is considerable public and private interest in amending the regulations flowing from the reforms of Assembly Bill 109, Proposition 47 and Proposition 57. The public is, and rightfully so, uneasy that criminals such as Officer Boyer’s accused killer, Michael Mejia, are too often released into the community despite violating conditions of supervised release.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

California Inmates Decry Changes to Voter-Backed Early Release Plan

Nick Cahill, Courthouse News Service

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) – With the support of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and voters, California is preparing to overhaul decades-old determinate-sentencing laws and make thousands of nonviolent inmates eligible for early parole.

In hopes of freeing up space inside its notoriously overcrowded prisons, this summer the state’s parole board will begin considering the early release of individuals convicted of crimes considered nonviolent by the state. Brown’s sweeping criminal justice reforms, approved overwhelmingly by voters in November 2016, amended the state’s constitution despite stiff opposition from law enforcement agencies and district attorneys.

25 years later: Survivors of NorCal school shooting remember tragedy

Shooting at Lindhurst HS killed 4, injured 10

Mike Luery, KCRA 3 News

OLIVEHURST, Calif. (KCRA) — It was one of the worst shooting sprees in the U.S. at the time -- a deadly attack at a Yuba County high school that claimed the lives of a teacher and three students.

On the 25th anniversary, survivors of the attack on Lindhurst High School spoke about the eight hours of terror they endured.

Lindhurst High teacher Robert Ledford was on campus May 1, 1992, when gunman and high school dropout Eric Houston stormed into the school with a .22 caliber rifle and a shotgun.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

SLO Women's Honor Farm inmates donate handcrafted teddy bears

Hannah Ray Lambert, KSBY San Luis Obispo News

The San Luis Obispo County Women’s Honor Farm has been working hard, crafting dozens of teddy bears for the Get on the Bus program.

Get on the Bus provides free transportation for children to visit their parents in prison. When the visit is over, a teddy bear is waiting on the bus so the kids can remember their special day.

“Some of them have not visited their father for one year, five years, 10 years. So that visit’s special as it is,” Get on the Bus regional coordinator Mary Thielscher said. “To leave with a gift from your father … many of them have never gotten anything from their father … so it’s really heartwarming and special.”

OC Supervisors Order Crime Data Not Be Sent to Sacramento

Nick Gerda, Voice Of OC

Orange County supervisors blocked a crime data report from being sent to state officials, claiming much of it is based on a misleading statistical standard used by Sacramento to shift prisoner parole and probation responsibilities to counties.

As it has in past years, a county panel led by Chief Probation Officer Steve Sentman prepared the annual report on Orange County’s efforts to prevent people convicted of crimes from re-offending. The report included statistics about the portion of released prisoners who re-offend each year, known as recidivism, and showed an overall drop in re-offending in recent years.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Suspect Arrested After 9-Hour Standoff with Stockton Police

Anisca Miles and Sarah Acosta, Fox 40 News

STOCKTON -- Stockton Police have arrested a suspect after a 9-hour-long standoff that began Tuesday evening.

Around 9 p.m. Tuesday, a family member of the suspect, Dominic Smith, found him in their home and called authorities.

When police arrived to the home in the 1500 block of Venetian they heard gunshots come from inside the house.

Charles Manson: Former cult follower demands secret tapes, says proof will get her out of prison

Leigh Egan, Crime Online

Leslie Van Houten, once one of Charles Manson’s youngest “family” members, wants old audio tapes released that she claims will prove she was completely brainwashed when she helped commit crimes that landed her in prison almost 50 years ago.

TMZ reports that Van Houten, 67, has an upcoming parole hearing in September, and in her desperation to make parole, she wants the 1969 audio tapes to prove how Manson had his followers under his complete spell. Van Houten’s lawyer, Richard Pfeiffer, recently filed a request to ban the L.A. District Attorney’s Office from attending Van Houten’s upcoming parole hearing because the office is reportedly holding on tightly to the tapes, refusing to release them.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

A California inmate was running drug operations in Florida over a phone, sheriff says

Sara Nealeigh, Miami Herald

After months of investigating, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office made more than a dozen arrests in connection to drug-related crimes and the seizure of about 14 pounds of methamphetamine.

Called Operation Hydra, it was part of a national investigation, officials said in a press conference Tuesday. As a result, 13 people were arrested, according to FOX 13.

Detectives got information on drug dealing operations in Pacso County that led them to Jesus Hernandez-Reynoso.

Supervisors increase inmate labor available to fight fires

Valley News

RIVERSIDE – The Riverside County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, May 2, authorized the sheriff’s department to assign up to 500 inmates to the state fire camp program for firefighting, brush clearance and related operations.

“I think this has been a successful program,” Undersheriff Bill DiYorio told the board. “These folks are learning a skill. They’re doing something productive. We’d like to have more in there, but qualification can be a problem.”

Since 2013, the county has contracted with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to place inmates locked up in county detention facilities in one of three state-run fire camps throughout the region.

Taxpayers Must Fund Compression Underwear, Jewelry for Transgender Prisoners: Judge

Brandon Showalter , CP Reporter

A California judge has ordered that state prison officials must provide transgender inmates with compression underwear and jewelry if the inmate cannot afford to purchase them.

As the Associated Press reported Friday, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco issued the order in a federal lawsuit, saying prison officials must now provide free undergarments that flatten the chest (binders or compression tops) to female-to-male transgender inmates in women's prisons. This was the same lawsuit that had earlier "led California to become the first state to provide taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgery to an inmate."

OPINION

Will the death penalty ever be enforced in California?

Ron Sokol, The Daily Breeze

Q If the majority of Californians support the death penalty, why isn’t it enforced?

— D.S., El Segundo

A In November, Californians narrowly approved a measure seeking to speed up death penalty enforcement, and also defeated a measure that would have replaced the death penalty with a sentence of life without possibility of parole. More than 900 convicted killers have been sent to death row in California since capital punishment was reinstated in 1978, yet only 13 have been executed since then (the last in 2006).

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Folsom A to Z: Folsom Prison

Rachel Zirin, Folsom Telegraph

Editor’s Note: Folsom A to Z is an intermittent series in the Telegraph where readers can learn facts and history about Folsom. As each week goes on, the Telegraph will select a landmark, place, historical figure and major historical event that start with the next letter of the alphabet. This week we continue with ‘P.’

Folsom State Prison (FSP) is California’s second oldest prison after San Quentin.

FSP was originally one of the first maximum security prisons.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Butte Co. Male Community Re-Entry Program celebrates one year anniversary

Taylor Torregano, KRCR 7 News

OROVILLE, Calif. - Wednesday, staff with the Butte County Male Community Re-Entry Program, or MCRP, celebrated a successful first year.

MCRP is put on by California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and allows eligible offenders to serve up to the last 12 months of their sentence in a community program instead of state prison.

"It gives me supreme confidence in myself that I can change," said Jason Ortiz, one of the program participants.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Man convicted in plot to murder LAPD detective is granted parole, will be released in days

James Queally and Matt Hamilton, The Los Angeles Times

A man convicted in the 1985 plot to kill a Los Angeles police detective will be released on parole within the week, over the objections of Gov. Jerry Brown and city police leaders, according to state corrections officials.

Voltaire Williams, 54, has spent 27 years in state prison after being convicted of joining the scheme to kill LAPD Det. Thomas C. Williams.

Voltaire Williams was not directly involved in the murder and he has no relationship to the slain detective, who was fatally shot while picking up his 6-year-old son from a Canoga Park school. The child was not harmed, but the detective died almost instantly from the spray of gunfire.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Tim Robbins: The Prison Project helps inmates find lost emotions

Today

Some inmates in California are taking drama classes through the Prison Project, a program created by a theater group known as The Actors’ Gang. Actor Tim Robbins, known for his role In “Shawshank Redemption,” is the group’s artistic director. He tells NBC’s Joe Fryer that one purpose of the group is to help “find emotions that have been lost” in the inmates, in hopes that the behavior extends to their next act in life.

DEATH PENALTY

ACLU Death Penalty Challenge Faces Skeptical Court

Helen Christophi, Courthouse News Service

HAYWARD, Calif. (CN) — ACLU attorneys faced a tough fight Thursday in asking the state judge who dismissed its case challenging California’s execution procedures to reconsider the tentative ruling she issued in March.

Alameda County Court Judge Kimberly Colwell tentatively dismissed the Eighth Amendment lawsuit on March 30 without leave to amend. On Thursday, ACLU attorney Linda Lye told Colwell that the Legislature violated the California Constitution’s separation of powers clause by tasking prison officials with developing an execution protocol, but not providing guidance on how to carry out executions.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmates find themselves in acting, with the help of Tim Robbins

Today

Inside 10 prisons in California, inmates can take part in drama classes through the Prison Project, created by a theater group called The Actors’ Gang. Helping them along: the group’s artistic director, Tim Robbins, from the legendary film “Shawshank Redemption.” Joe Fryer has the story in the Sunday Spotlight.

Laptop theft spurs 15 lawsuits by Solano State Prison inmates

Ryan McCarthy, Fairfield Daily Republic

FAIRFIELD — The theft of an employee’s laptop has spurred 15 lawsuits by Solano State Prison inmates in Vacaville who contend the computer may have contained private information about them – although a state spokeswoman said there is no indication that inmates’ personal information was compromised.

Joyce Hayhoe, spokeswoman for California Corrections Health Care Services, said Monday that the laptop stolen April 25, 2016, from an employee’s car has not been recovered.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Gilbane Awarded CMAA Project Achievement Award for Mule Creek Project in California

PRWEB

Leading global construction and facilities-related services firm, Gilbane Building Company has been awarded the CMAA (Construction Management Association of American – Northern California Chapter) Project Achievement Award for the Mule Creek Infill Complex Project in Ione, California. The project was the winner in the Buildings-New Construction category and will be honored at the CMAA Annual Awards Gala on Friday, May 18th in San Francisco, California. This award recognizes excellence in Northern California projects – public works, transportation, projects in the public and private sectors.

"Gilbane, in association with our partner Kitchell, was instrumental in working with Hensel Phelps and numerous other project team members in completing this $330M project two months ahead of time to support the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's (CDCR) need to reduce prison overcrowding in the State," says Chris Wilson, Senior Project Executive with Gilbane, "The dedication of our project team kept information flowing and facilitated fully informed decisions to be able to be made in real time to maintain the accelerated goals of CDCR."

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

California prison smuggling: Meth in soap, heroin on stamps

Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The $15 million spent by California to thwart prison drug smuggling has generated mixed results, researchers found, as increasingly creative smugglers turned to tricks like concealing methamphetamine in a bar of soap or heroin under postage stamps.

Drug use in the three prisons with the most intensive programs dropped by nearly a quarter after corrections officials increased their use of airport-style scanners, surveillance cameras, urine tests and drug-sniffing dogs three years ago. Seizures of cellphones, which are illegal in prisons, dropped by 13 percent.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Charles Holifield pleads not guilty to 1998 murder of Christina Williams

Tommy Wright, Santa Cruz Sentinel

Salinas >> Convicted sex offender Charles Holifield pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the 1998 murder and kidnapping of 13-year-old Christina Williams.

Members of Christina’s family were on hand, including the aunt and cousin of her mother, Alice Williams. Maegan Ruiz-Ignacio, a family friend, said she called Christina’s parents after the arraignment.

“(Mike Williams, Christina’s father) said they’re not surprised and it’s just going to be a long, drawn out process,” Ruiz-Ignacio said. “But it’s going in the right direction, 19 years later.”

Fairfield man agrees with DA, won’t be let out of prison

Jess Sullivan, Daily Republic

FAIRFIELD — A former Fairfield crack cocaine dealer who robbed and killed one of his customers in 1987 was denied parole Tuesday.

Timothy W. Garland was 18 when he went to a Fairfield motel with two friends on the night of Sept. 16, 1987, to sell some crack cocaine to Jon Castle.

When Garland got to Castle’s motel room, he insisted Castle smoke some of the cocaine with him to prove Castle was not an undercover narcotics officer. When Garland demanded payment for the cocaine, Castle refused. Garland responded by pulling a knife and, while his two buddies held Castle, Garland stabbed him repeatedly in the chest and neck.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Passengers get into fistfight aboard Southwest flight

Keith Allen and Sonya Hamasaki, CNN

Los Angeles (CNN)Another flight, another fight. This one happened aboard a Southwest plane shortly after it landed in Burbank, California. It's the latest example of rage erupting on board over any number of issues, from canceled flights to seat disputes to apparent misunderstandings. And like other cases, it was all caught on cell phone video.

Southwest flight 2530 had traveled Sunday from Dallas and was on a short layover at Hollywood Burbank Airport before continuing on to Oakland, California.

Video shows altercation between 2 Southwest Airlines passengers in Burbank, California

WBAL News Radio 1090

(BURBANK, Calif.) -- Cellphone video taken on a Southwest Airlines flight on Sunday shows the moment two passengers got into a violent altercation after the plane landed in Burbank, California.

Flight 2530 originated in Dallas and was on a stopover in Burbank before it headed to Oakland, according to the Burbank Police Department. A fight ensued between the two men as the plane taxied to the gate to deplane passengers who were not continuing on to Oakland, police said.

California man on run believed to be in Park City

Elizabeth Suggs, FOX News 13

PARK CITY, Utah -- Tustin Police Department believe a man, who's been on the run since 2015, is in Park City.

Daniel David Courson is accused of attempting to steal items from a person's residence in California whom he had befriended in 2015. Police were called to the residence, but Courson successfully evaded officers. It wasn't until a possible sighting in April of 2017 that police were able to locate him.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

John Legend's Fight for Criminal Justice Reform

Senator Cory Booker speaks with the Academy Award-winning musician about the campaign to end mass incarceration.

Cory Booker, Town & Country

I listen to John Legend often. It’s not just because of his soulful voice, his insightful lyrics, his exciting ability to blend everything from gospel to pop to jazz to funk. It’s because, with all the work he does outside the recording studio—including his newest initiative, a fund that will seed businesses and nonprofits launched by formerly incarcerated would-be entrepreneurs—his music contains my own worries, my own disappointments, and my own hopes. In conversation, too, he’s as incisive, perceptive, passionate, and nuanced as his music would suggest. I’m fairly certain that, as an artist/activist/philanthropist, John has an impact on America that would hardly be improved by his taking public office. But I’m even more certain that he’s far more likely to one day be a senator than I am to ever score a record deal.

OPINION

Art Inside: Fieldnotes #2

Annie Buckley, Los Angeles Review Of Books

This is my first visit to our new program at this prison. I meet up with our teaching team in the expansive parking lot and we walk through a sea of cars to a small guard booth where an officer is sitting behind a Plexiglas screen. He greets us, already familiar with the four teachers that have visited for the past four weeks. They sign in, introduce me, and we are issued a key and alarm. The process is relatively easy, calm, and methodical.

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