Region-wide AB 109 compliance sweep nets 15 arrests

Authorities conducted dozens of AB 109 compliance checks and made numerous arrests Wednesday, March 22, during a coordinated, region-wide operation. The sweeps comprised of unannounced compliance searches of individuals who are on Probation, Mandatory Supervision, Parole and Post Release Community Supervision.

During the operation, the teams conducted 64 compliance checks, which resulted in the arrest of 15 subjects.

“Drugs, drug paraphernalia, numerous weapons, a military smoke grenade, a stolen vehicle, fraudulently possessed ID cards, a stolen generator and a firearm that was previously reported as destroyed by a law enforcement agency were recovered,” Central PACT Commander, Hemet Police Sergeant R. Young explained in a written press release after the successful operation.

According to Young, the operation also “revealed additional evidence into other investigations in which several future arrests are anticipated.”

“Over 70 law enforcement officers from federal, state, and local agencies joined the Riverside County Central PACT Task Force to conduct the compliance sweeps,” Young wrote. “Searches took place in the cities of Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore, with significant assistance from law enforcement from each of the cities.”

Local law enforcement agencies, task forces and teams that took part in the operation included Central and East Riverside County PACT Task Forces, Riverside County Regional Gang Task Forces-Hemet/San Jacinto and Murrieta, Riverside County District Attorney Gang Intelligence Task Force, SAFE Team – which focuses on sex crime violators – the Temecula Problem-Oriented Policing and Special Enforcement Teams, Lake Elsinore SET, and Murrieta PD SET.

Click either image to enlarge.

The following individuals were arrested during the operation:

-Juan Pineda, 27, of Lake Elsinore, was arrested on a PRCS Hold for failing to report a change of address.

-Timotheous Thompson, 54, of Lake Elsinore, was arrested for possession of a firearm.

-Edward Mesorio, 27, of Murrieta, was arrested on an unspecified felony warrant.

-Kristen Tucker, 35, of Murrieta, was arrested for drug possession.

-Malia Boswell, 43, of Murrieta, was arrested for prescription fraud.

-Christopher Simpson, 38, of Lake Elsinore, was arrested for a gang-related, parole violation.

-Brian Boswell, 45, of Murrieta, was arrested for prescription fraud.

-Theodore Tilton, 34, of Murrieta, was arrested for possession of weapons and incendiary device and violation of inmate terms.

-Erik Simpson, 36, of Temecula, was arrested for PRCS violation for being in possession of drugs and a replica firearm.

-Grace Diaz, 33, of Murrieta, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and six misdemeanor warrants

-Cesar Vargas, 36, of Lake Elsinore, was arrested for violation of parole.

-Alexander Leroy, 24, of Murrieta, was arrested for violation of parole.

-Bobby Patton, 39, of Temecula, was arrested for firearms possession and an unspecified felony warrant.

The compliance sweeps are a response to Assembly Bill 109. The bill, also known as the “Public Safety Realignment Act,” was signed into effect in 2011. It intended to cut the number of inmates in the state’s 33 prisons to 137.5 percent of design capacity by June 27, 2013. At the time, the prisons were operating at roughly 180 percent of their designed operating capacity.

SEE RELATED: Are our communities safer with AB 109 and Prop 47? Officials weigh in

SEE RELATED: AB 109 compliance sweep nets 36 arrests, weapons, narcotics, stolen vehicle

SEE RELATED: SAN JACINTO VALLEY: Multi-agency AB 109 (PRCS) compliance sweep yields 23 arrests

In 2011, California’s state prisons were designed to house about 85,000 incarcerated inmates. Prison inmate records revealed the state’s prison system housed nearly twice that number – with about 156,000 inmates.

That year, the US Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brown v. Plata, a lawsuit filed due to the state’s overcrowding problems and what many called unhealthy conditions.

The lawsuit included allegations that many prisoners had become unable to receive routine medical or mental health care based on the overcrowded conditions and violated inmates’ Eighth Amendment rights protecting them from cruel and unusual punishment.

The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s Three-Judge Panel’s order that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation decrease California’s prisons population from roughly 156,000 inmates to 110,000 inmates.

To abide by the Federal Court’s order, the California Legislature and Governor Jerry Brown passed AB 109. Implementation of the Realignment Legislation began October, 2011.

The resulting Public Safety Realignment Act changed how the California state government deals with low-level felonies and effectively shifted responsibility for certain types of offenders from the state to the individual counties.

Under AB 109 Realignment, certain “low-level” felonies and those convicted without current or prior serious or violent offenses, would stay in county jail to serve their sentence, as opposed to being sent to state prison.

While this move helped the state prison system meet its court-ordered reduction in population, in doing so it strained an already overcrowded county jail system, not only in Riverside County but in many counties throughout the state.

Additionally, those individuals released who were previously supervised by State Parole agents are now being supervised by county probation officers.

To help deal with the early release of PRCS probationers requiring Mandatory Supervision, Riverside County public safety agencies formed multi-agency task forces, such as the Post-Release Accountability Teams – also known as P.A.C. Teams – to make sure that those people on Mandatory Supervision and PRCS are in compliance.

The Riverside County PACT was formed in February of 2012 and has since expanded to three regional teams; West, Central and East.

The teams are comprised of personnel from multiple agencies including, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Riverside County Probation Department, Murrieta Police Department, Beaumont Police Department, Cathedral City Police Department, Hemet Police Department, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation- Special Services Unit, California Highway Patrol, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, U.S. Border Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigations and Department of Homeland Security.

While there are still many who support the changes to California’s management of crimes and criminals, data collected from all over the state indicates the combined effects of the AB 109 Realignment – as well as Prop 47 and Prop 57 mandates and changes – have caused an alarming increase in crime throughout the state.

In a June, 2016 interview, Murrieta Police Chief Hadden said, “There are more victims and it is frustrating for them to discover the person that was arrested for stealing their vehicle or other property will be out of jail within a short time.”

Hemet Police Chief Dave Brown agreed with Hadden, saying, “It is our communities that have taken the brunt of the impact and we must now find ways to reduce and prevent crime with fewer resources.”

Many law enforcement officials throughout California agree that those who have suffered the biggest impact of the changes are the crime victims and law enforcement officers who are forced to interact with the criminals released early due to jail overcrowding, lowered sentence terms, Post Release Community Supervision and Mandatory Supervision.

“Far too many good people have been victimized unnecessarily as a result of poor policy,” Brown previously explained. “Cities in California that decide to make public safety a priority will thrive, those that don’t will be overrun. It’s that simple.”

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.