Sandy MaloneGlendora, CA – California law enforcement said that the state’s no-bail policy during the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in multiple offenders getting arrested and released several times in a day.
The Glendora Police Department posted a message to their official Facebook page that described how 24-year-old Dijon Landrum was arrested and released again three times on Wednesday.
The series of arrests began at about 8:28 a.m. on April 29 when officers responded to a call about a man who was trying to break into a vehicle in the 1400-block of South Grand Avenue, according to the post.
Police said Landrum was attempting to flee with a stolen vehicle when they arrived on the scene.
Landrum had narcotics and other stolen property in his possession when he was caught, according to the Facebook post.
But because of California’s zero-bail policy, the Glendora police said all they could do was issue him a citation and send him on his way.
One hour after Landrum was released, at about 2:20 p.m., police responded to a call about a suspicious man walking around stealing things from yards and putting them in a box he was carrying, according to the police Facebook post.
When police caught up with the suspect, it was Landrum, again. And officer determined the items in the box had been stolen.
So they issued Landrum another citation and released him again, in according with the state’s zero-bail policy, the department said in its Facebook post.
Then at 8:49 p.m. the same day, police said they responded to a call about a stolen vehicle taken from a parking lot in the 1300-block of South Grand Avenue.
Officers tracked the vehicle and found it on Interstate 10 in the area of La Puente, according to the post.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and the California Highway Patrol assisted Glendora police in the pursuit and apprehension of Landrum yet again.
Glendora police said the serial offender was cited for possession of a stolen vehicle and evading officers, and then released in according with California’s zero-bail policy.
Twenty miles west of Glendora, Glendale police officers had a similar experience on Friday, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
Glendale Police Sergeant Christian Hauptmann said officers arrested 56-year-old David Frakes on Friday after he broke a fire extinguisher in a parking structure and then lied about his identity to police.
Frakes, who is on parole after being convicted and serving time for assault with a deadly weapon, was promptly released under the zero-bail policy, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
A few hours later when officers responded to a burglary call at about 8 a.m. at a business located in the 100-block of North Artsakh Avenue, directly across the street from the parking structure where Frakes had been caught earlier, they arrested him again.
Responding officers found a window smashed and an interior door handle destroyed when they arrived.
After entering the building, officers discovered a toilet had been vandalized and flooded the property, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
Glendale police found Frakes hiding inside a roll of carpet and arrested him on suspicion of burglary and vandalism.
Officers had expected Frakes to be released immediately again because of the coronavirus policy, but the court honored their request for a bail deviation and Frakes was held in custody on Saturday on $20,000 bail, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
Police have complained that the zero-bail policy is driving crime up in many California communities.
“They have no real incentive not to do it. Nothing’s gonna happen to them,” Sgt. Hauptmann told the Los Angeles Daily News.