California’s ‘flash-mob’ burglary suspect freed shortly after arrest with no bail.
High-Profile Suspects Released Under Zero-Cash Bail Policy
Two high-profile suspects in Los Angeles County were released within hours of their arrests on Aug. 18, drawing criticism by some about the county’s recently reinstated zero-cash bail policy.
Ivan Ramirez, the first suspect arrested in connection with the flash-mob burglary at the Glendale Yves Saint Laurent store this month was issued a citation and released from custody, just hours after his arrest because of the policy.
Glendale police Aug. 17 arrested Mr. Ramirez, 23, and booked him on felony charges including organized retail theft, burglary, grand theft, and conspiracy. He is one of at least 30 suspects in the Aug. 10 burglary at Glendale’s Americana at Brand mall.
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According to county detention records, Mr. Ramirez was released the same day state and local officials announced the formation of an Organized Retail Crimes Task Force to “crack down” on escalating flash-mob retail crime in the county.
Also, that same day, Gov. Gavin Newsom also pledged to triple law enforcement officers in the region as a way to tackle the problem.
Tim Lineberger, a spokesman for the Recall District Attorney George Gascón committee, which is suing the county registrar to certify its recall petition, called the task force announcement an “empty gesture.”
The group’s petition was rejected by the county’s registrar who claimed nearly 27 percent of the nearly 716,000 signatures collected were invalid. After a 10-month review, the recall group alleges many of the rejected signatures were valid, according to Mr. Lineberger.
Mr. Gascón, the Los Angeles County district attorney, has advocated a controversial policy of reducing charges and eliminating cash bail for nonviolent misdemeanors and felony crimes since taking office in 2020.
Mr. Gascón was not invited to the mayor’s retail crimes task force press conference, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told FOX LA Friday.
She said, however, she thought Mr. Gascón would prosecute retail crime suspects charged by the task force.
Prowler Not Charged
Serial prowler Calese Crowder, 37, of Glendale, was arrested Aug. 17 by Glendale police after he allegedly failed to register as a sex offender.
The suspect has a lengthy record of prowling, burglary, and peeping into residences while people were home, and was released a day before his arrest after serving one day of a 60-day sentence for peeping into a family’s residence when they were home with their children.
He pleaded no contest to the charges and was ordered to complete 52 weeks of a sexual impulse rehabilitation program and register as a sex offender, according to police reports.
Meanwhile last week, Burbank police suspected Mr. Crowder in connection to a report of a man stalking and sniffing women at the Burbank Barnes and Nobel bookstore Aug. 7.
Following his latest arrest, Mr. Crowder was released just before 5:30 p.m. Friday, after Mr. Gascón decided not to charge him for failing to register as a sex offender.
Mr. Gascón’s office claims Glendale police didn’t provide enough evidence to charge Mr. Crowder.
“The law enforcement investigation into Mr. Crowder’s knowledge as to his registration requirements did not reveal sufficient evidence that he was provided adequate notification upon release from custody to prove he was aware of his specific registration duties,” Gascón’s office told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
According to the state’s penal code, Mr. Crowder had five working days to register with the Glendale police. The law requires detention officials to inform sex offenders of their duty to register.
The district attorney is also unable to file any additional charges against the suspect until a case is presented by law enforcement, Gascón’s office said.
Mr. Lineberger, the recall effort’s spokesman, said not charging Crowder sent a dangerous message.
“It’s just emblematic of so many criminals George Gascón let off easily or has not prosecuted at all,” he said. “People feel like they can get away with anything they want. They know he’s on their side.”
A Glendale Police Department spokesman did not return a request for comment by press time.
Crime Wave Continues
Despite facing a tropical storm in the region, groups of thieves struck several establishments again last weekend.
A Nike store in East Los Angeles was burglarized three times Saturday and Sunday by four suspects, according to what appears to be an internal email written by Los Angeles Sheriff’s Sgt. Reginald Hoffman, which was posted by former Sheriff Alex Villanueva on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This is embarrassing,” Mr. Villanueva said in the post.
According to the email, Mr. Hoffman said three men and one woman took over $2,000 worth of merchandise from the store located on Whittier Boulevard Aug. 20. The store has also burglarized two times the day before, within an hour.
The LAPD also reported a rash of crimes targeting five kosher restaurants Saturday, according to media reports. The smash-and-grab thefts reportedly involved numerous male suspects wearing dark clothing. The thefts occurred in the heart of Los Angeles’s Jewish Community on West Pico Boulevard and involved Nagila Pizza, Fisherman’s Bowl, Shanghai Diamond Garden, SushiKo, and Shalom Grill.
“This is unacceptable in Los Angeles!” Los Angeles County prosecutor Jonathan Hatami, who is also running for district attorney in 2024, posted on X. “I’m confident the LAPD will fully investigate these crimes but we all need to make sure Gascon, who has been silent on the matter, files the appropriate charges.”
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