In August 2009, a federal 3-judge panel ordered California to cap its prison population at 137.5% of capacity by releasing nearly 43,000 inmates. That threshold was met in January 2015, when the state reported that the institutional population had been reduced to 113,463 inmates.
Much of the credit for that record reduction has been directed to 2011’s Public Safety Realignment legislation, and Proposition 47 which was affirmed by voters in 2014. Public Safety Realignment transferred responsibility for supervising certain kinds of felony offenders and state prison parolees from state prisons and state parole agents to county jails and probation officers. Proposition 47 reduced certain drug possession felonies to misdemeanors.
Starting January 1, 2015, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) began a new early parole determination process, evaluating “nonviolent second-strikers” for parole once they have served only 50 percent of their sentence or are within 12 months of having served 50 percent of their actual sentence. The following fake “non-violent” offenders were released under this program.
This begs the question: Who is left to release under Proposition 57 if it passes in November? The answer is not pretty.
Yeng Xiong
Xiong, Yeng: Xiong is a self-admitted member of a criminal street gang who has previously committed a violent felony – a well-planned armed take-over bank robbery – with his fellow gang members in 2008. Despite being on parole for that armed bank robbery, Xiong absconded in 2013, and when located by parole agents, was found to be in possession of a semi-automatic handgun as well as MDMA. Such conduct demonstrates not just an extreme risk to public safety, but shows that Xiong has no interest in complying with the rules and regulations of parole or in becoming a productive, law-abiding member of society. District Attorney’s Letter Opposing Early Release
Travis Coleman York
York, Travis Coleman: York has a history of serious felony convictions, including vehicle theft, larceny from a person, weapons possession, and first degree burglary. Furthermore, in the incident that led to his most recent incarceration, York while committing yet another first degree burglary, attempted to punch the homeowner who chased him from the home. A search of the trunk of the vehicle York used to get to the burglary, revealed a loaded shotgun. When York was arrested on the felony burglary warrant, he resisted arrest and was found in the possession of a weapon along with indicia of drug sales. His behavior in prison is less than exemplary as well. A review of York’s criminal history reveals a history of disciplinary actions involving serious violations, including; refusing to undergo drug testing in November of 2013, possession of a cellular phone and charger in November of 2013, and falsification of prison documents in October of 2014. District Attorney’s Letter Opposing Early Release
Charles James Young
Young, Charles James: In January 2002, Young was convicted of misdemeanor assault and was placed on informal probation. Less than 2-months later Young was convicted of felony possession of narcotics for sale. He violated his probation in September 2005, after receiving another conviction for possession of narcotics for sale. Young was found in violation of his probation in January 2008, July 2008, and March 2009. In July 2011, he was arrested for residential burglary of an ex girlfriend’s house. The victim reported that he broke into her house and stole her property. She further stated that she was fearful of the, as he is a G-Mobb gang member who had previously threatened her and her family. Young was convicted of residential burglary and received two years in prison and paroled in November 2012. On October 29, 2013 Young was the passenger in a car being driven by another gang member, which was involved in a short police pursuit. At the end of the chase Young foot bailed from the car, dropping a loaded Tec-9 handgun on the ground. After his arrest, he acknowledged that he was a G-Mobb gang member. At the time of this offense Young was also a parolee at large. District Attorney’s Letter Opposing Early Release
Daniel Jerome Young
Young, Daniel Jerome: Young has made a career of victimizing others. He has been a menace to the community since the age of 19 when he began committing misdemeanor burglaries. From 1984 until the present, Young has committed a vast array of crimes that include: burglary (numerous), grand theft person, petty theft with a prior, narcotics possession, assault with a knife (two separate occasions) , check fraud, trespassing, vandalism (numerous), and possession of a knife. Young has spent a large portion of his adult life in and out of both County Jail and Prison because of his many arrests and subsequent convictions. Young has proven time and again that he will not change his behavior and become a productive member of society. Young has picked up either a substantive offense or violated his parole in the following years: 1984, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2015. Young was in and out of prison from 1994 until his discharge in 2000 and again from 2011 until 2013. District Attorney’s Letter Opposing Early Release
Anthony Zamarron
Zamarron, Anthony: In April 2008, Zamarran identified himself as a gang member and then proceeded to smash a glass bottle over the victims head causing him to lose consciousness. Zamarran immediately began choking his unconscious victim. When the victim’s female friend attempted to intervene and stop the attack, Zamarran began striking her in the face and head. Zamarran was sentenced to two years in prison for this brutal assault—which he would not fully serve. In the early morning hours of September 18th, 2009, Zamarron and a friend knocked on the door of an acquaintance with whom they had been doing cocaine in the preceding hours. The unsuspecting victim answered the door under the impression that Zamarron had forgotten a cell phone inside his residence. However, once the door was opened, the two men rushed the victim, bound him with duct tape, and demanded he give them $6,000 that they knew he had in his possession. Since he was unwilling to surrender the money, Zamarron grabbed a hammer and began striking the helpless man in the back and head. Fortunately for the victim, he was able to reach into his back pocket and dial 9-1-1, allowing the emergency operator to hear the ordeal as it occurred. Officers arrived and the victim was saved from any more serious injury than had already been inflicted. District Attorney’s Letter Opposing Early Release
Warren, Glenn Allen: A review of Warren’s criminal history reveals a pattern of criminal conduct and a propensity for crime dating back to 1983. Less than one year after receiving diversion for a drug offense, he was convicted of his first strike offense, residential burglary. Originally sentenced to probation, he ultimately received 16 months’ state prison in 1987, after he committed two additional separate residential burglaries, one in which officers confronted him at the victim’s residence. Fortunately, it was law enforcement and not the victim who found him in the house. Since 1983, Warren’s antisocial behavior has not only increased in severity but also in callousness. Most strikingly, Warren has not been discharged from parole since his first commitment in 1987. Warren’s pattern for committing serious offenses is precisely the reason he continues to pose an unreasonable danger to society. 
Watts, Christopher: On October 15, 2007, officers responded to a 911 call where they could hear a male voice in the background threatening to kill a woman in the apartment. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the victim. The defendant initially refused to exit the house but ultimately complied. The victim’s three children were then removed from the house. The victim informed law enforcement that over the course of the last day, Watts became upset with her and initially threatened her with a knife. As they argued, the defendant bit her arm. The victim went to sleep but the defendant woke her up in the middle of the night with a gun in his hand and told her, “You think you’re gonna leave. It’s not that easy. I’ll kill you and the kids, and myself before I let you leave.” The victim tried to run down the stairs but the defendant put the gun to her neck and told her to stop crying or he would kill her. She hit him and the magazine fell out of the gun and she was able to get away. The defendant then proceeded to grab a knife and threatened to kill her yet again. Officers searched the house and located a 9mm handgun, 20 grams of rock cocaine, a digital scale, some cash and two cell phones. Watts also had a video of a domestic violence murder – a husband getting mad with his wife and walking up to her and shooting her in the back of the head several times. The victim told officers the defendant watched it frequently and made the victim watch it to intimidate her. Unfortunately, he is no stranger to the use of firearms or serious criminal endeavors. He was convicted of Armed Robbery on January 27, 1998 in Illinois and received an eight year and six month sentence. That case involved the defendant and another subject putting on masks and robbing a gas station convenience store at gun point. 
Whitney, Auntonio L.: On March 11, 2013, Whitney was convicted of committing a residential burglary. He broke into his victim’s home through a bedroom window and stole their property. He was identified through fingerprints. On April 11, 2013, officers were doing fare check on Lite Rail in Sacramento. The inmate did not have a ticket and appeared nervous so the officer checked him for weapons. Concealed in his waistband, the officer found a semi-automatic Starr 9 mm handgun with 6 bullets in the magazine, one in the chamber, the hammer cocked and the safety on. He was convicted of being a felony in possession of a handgun. 
Williams, Gregory: In 2008 Williams walked into a Bank of America branch, reached for his waistband and told the teller, “This is a fucking robbery, give me all your money or I am going to start shooting people”. Fortunately for the victim in this case, Williams did not actually have a gun and she was protected by bullet proof glass. This case represented Williams’s eighth robbery conviction. The prior robbery convictions did involve a real firearm and William’s was sentenced to twenty years in state prison for a series of robberies. Williams’ prior robberies were conducted at businesses where multiple victims were present. Williams’ typically pointed the firearm at each of them demanding money. He required them to lay on the ground while yelling profanities and waiving a gun in their faces. It should also be noted that while incarcerated, William’s continued to show violent behavior. He received an additional two years onto his already lengthy sentence for assaulting another inmate. 
Windom, Clinton Ray: In 1976, Windom was convicted of felony possession of controlled substance. In 1977, two more felony convictions followed for sale/transport of controlled substances, as well as a misdemeanor conviction for appropriation of lost property. In 1983, he was convicted of misdemeanor carrying a concealed weapon on his person. During 1983-84, Windom was arrested for: sale/transport of controlled substance, possession of marijuana for sale, false imprisonment, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, robbery and conspiracy. While Windom was not convicted of these charges, in 1986, he was convicted of a violation of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and sentenced to two years in state prison, in conjunction with a [“strike”] conviction of felony assault with a deadly weapon. After being paroled in 1988, Windom was sent back for a parole violation. Paroled in 1989, Windom, was arrested on several occasions in 1990, then violated and sent back to prison on a parole violation. After other arrests and parole violations in 1991 through 1994, Windom went back to prison in 1994 on his latest convictions for his two passions in life: drug sales/possession, and illegal possession of firearms. 
Tapia, Jaime: A review of Tapia’s criminal history shows that his propensity for crime began in 2008 when he was convicted of misdemeanor vehicle theft, and possession of a stolen vehicle. Tapia continued with his thieving ways into 2009 when he was convicted of grand theft auto, this time as a felony. Later on in 2009 Tapia was again convicted of receiving stolen property. Tapia ‘s criminal behavior escalated to violence in 2011 when he was convicted of carjacking, his first felony strike offense. That felony strike conviction did not at all slow Tapia down. Rather, while on probation for the strike offense, Tapia was convicted of receiving stolen property in 2012 and felony vehicle theft, later that same year. In that case Tapia stole a car from his ex-girlfriend. Tapia and his ex-girlfriend were arguing and Tapia got physical with her. Tapia hit her and slapped her in the face, threw her down on the ground and got on top of her and choked her with his hands. As Tapia had his hands around his ex-girlfriend’s neck he told her she would be better off dead. Tapia ‘s ex-girlfriend was able to escape, but when she came back to her apartment a short time later she realized her car was gone and Tapia had taken it. 
Thao, Doua: Thao’s criminal pattern began at age 21 and has continued to increase in severity and frequency until the present day. Over the past 10 years, Thao has committed crimes of violence against his family members, crimes against law enforcement and several theft crimes with multiple victims. A review of the police and probation reports for the crimes in which Thao has been convicted clearly indicates inmate Thao received opportunities of leniency that he squandered time and time again. Even when supervised Thao will continue to engage in criminal behavior. In fact, Thao has never successfully completed any grant of misdemeanor or felony probation or even parole without committing a new offense. 
Thomas, Martece: Thomas has proven himself incapable of respecting the law. In 2012 Thomas began a two year sentence after committing burglary. In this instance, Thomas broke into a residential home through a wooden fence, smashed a garage window and broke the lock on the interior door. Inside, Thomas stole three televisions, searched dresser drawers in the master bedroom, and stole a jewelry box leaving his fingerprints throughout the home. After this sentence, Thomas was released and back to business as usual. By February, he was caught on CCTV breaking into the victim’s home and stealing three decorative swords. This offense earned Inmate Thomas a four year prison sentence. 
Timmons, Bobby Ray: In 2008, Timmons entered a Bank of America and attempted to cash a check he knew to be fraudulent. An alert bank teller recognized immediately the check was a fake and notified his manager who called the police. Timmons left the bank immediately and moments later, was apprehended by the Sacramento Sheriff s Department without incident. Since 1976, Timmons has found trouble with the law for a myriad of reasons. Burglary and vehicle theft arrests from the California Bay Area to the Sacramento Valley pepper his rap sheet. While on probation for a burglary in 1986, Timmons was arrested, months later, for another burglary. While on probation for the 2nd burglary, Timmons was arrested for yet another burglary. Again, in 1986, officers were dispatched to a residential burglary in progress. When the officers arrived on scene, they found Timmons inside the home and he was arrested without incident. Within months of that arrest, Timmons was picked up for petty theft. But it wasn’t until his releases from either county jail and/or prison that he started a more dangerous criminal venture-driving under the influence. From, at least, 1986 to 2006, Timmons has a history littered with drug and/or alcohol violations and only his prison/county jail stays seem to curb those habits. 
Torres, George Mario: Torres has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to engage in criminal activity. He has shown no interest in complying with the law. In his most recent case, Officers from the Sacramento Police Department made contact with Torres in a high crime area. When they asked his name, he lied. Torres fled on foot for approximately 150 yards while reaching into his right pants pocket. Officers located a loaded and stolen .380 semi automatic pistol in his right pants pocket. In addition, not only was Torres in possession of a loaded stolen firearm, he was on probation, and had a no bail warrant for his arrest. Torres is also a validated Varrio Gardens Sara (VGS) Norteno gang member. In 1996, Torres robbed innocent victims in a public parking lot while pointing a loaded stolen firearm at them. On February 7, 1996, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison for robbery, with the use of a firearm and for being in possession of a stolen vehicle. A further review of Torres’s criminal history shows a propensity for criminal behavior and violence. On November 16, 2006, Torres was sentenced to 32 months state prison upon a separate auto theft conviction. On March 18, 2008, Torres was sentenced to 4 years state prison upon another vehicle theft conviction. This time Torres led the police on a high speed chase that lasted approximately 10-minutes and reached speeds in excess of 90 mph in a residential neighborhood. Torres was on active parole at the time of this offense. 
Valencia, Alejandro: There might not be a special spot in hell for child abusers but there should be sufficient beds in prison to assure that individuals who have previously tormented and inflicted great bodily injury on an infant should remain in prison for the full term of any sentence imposed on them thereafter. On January 19, 2003, officers responded to Valencia’s residence to conduct a welfare check regarding possible child abuse. The inmate’s co-defendant, the child’s mother, was holding the 22 month old victim who had bruises covering her forehead and head, missing patches of hair from her head, and she was going in and out of consciousness. She was rushed to the hospital and observed to have multiple bruises all over her body, a hand-shaped bruise to the left side of her head, a solid bruise from the top of her buttocks down the back of her thighs and to the back of her knees, and severe bruising to her left ear. Some of the bruising on her chest appeared to be from pinching. She also had lacerated liver and a blood alcohol content of .013%. Valencia took this case to trial and was convicted of 4 felony counts of child abuse, two with an enhancement for the infliction of great bodily injury on a child less than 5 years old. He was sentenced to 100 months in prison. Two of these offense are violent strikes. While on parole for that offense, he committed the more recent offense of being a felon in possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number which was found during a parole search, along with ammunition and methamphetamine. 
Volker, Avette Carol: In 1987, a much younger version of Volker decided to leave home and travel with friends, now referred to as “known accomplices”. They believed they could make their way by their wits and through the kindness of strangers who would pick them up to hitchhike to their chosen destination. One such Good Samaritan picked up Volker and her known accomplices. According to the probation department report generated by Sierra County, the , evidently tired of intermittently walking and thumbing for rides, came up with the idea to kill the driver to alleviate the physical burden of her current lifestyle. She talked one of her known accomplices into the killing and he then set about beating the unsuspecting victim violently about the head and face with a large rock more than a dozen times causing his death. Volker removed the victim’s bloodied clothing and set them on fire along with bloodied blankets and sheets removed from the victim’s van. The judge presiding over the eventual criminal trial on the case, wherein the testified for the State in exchange for a plea deal, had this to say at the ‘s sentencing: “While these opinions may indeed seem harsh, especially considering the defendant’s young age and lack of prior record, unfortunately, the elements and facts surrounding this crime are also harsh. Individuals must be made to understand that the taking of someone else’s property, especially with violence or threat of great violence will not be tolerated by society. It is truly unfortunate that the defendant has chosen a crime with such devastating surrounding circumstances with which to open up her criminal career.”