|
California's SB-618 Reentry Program Reaches Milestone
A landmark moment almost four years in the making was finally realized this month. For the first time, participants in California's SB-618 Prisoner Re-entry program graduated  and successfully entered back into the community. More than 35 graduates participated in the ceremony after finally being discharged from their parole. San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis presided over the graduation along with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matthew Cate.
"Helping offenders though SB-618 in turn helps us. It makes our communities safer by promoting success, recovery and improvement for offenders. This event is a milestone for the program," said DA Dumanis.
California's SB-618 Prisoner Reentry program is a multi-agency comprehensive case management initiative that strives to equip non-violent offenders with the tools necessary to "re-enter" back into the community. Initiated in 2007, the program does not alter a participant's prison sentence, but actually uses the prison sentence to provide adequate treatment of drug/alcohol addiction and improvement in the prisoner's educational/vocational skills.
|
|
OxyContin Task Force Launched
San Diego County has witnessed a significant increase in the abuse of the painkiller Oxycontin. This month, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis, Sheriff Bill Gore, Supervisor Pam Slater-Price, the prevention community and approximately 20 other agencies teamed together to announce the formation of a first-of-its-kind task force to combat the uprising abuse of OxyContin and Oxycondone.
"Because OxyContin can lead to heroin abuse, we have seen an up-tick in heroin traffic - in addition, we are also seeing abusers of OxyContin increasingly committing residential burglaries, armed robberies, prescription fraud, check fraud and even prostitution in an attempt to support their on-going habit," said DA Dumanis.
At a news conference held in October, the task force announced its primary function is to address the oxycontin/oxycondone abuse problem through four methods: law enforcement, education, legislative issues and treatment.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the San Diego Police Department are among the 20 agencies and departments currently aligned with the task force.
If you know someone who needs help, contact the Oxy Hotline at 1-877-662-6384 or find them on Facebook and search for Oxy Task Force. |
Russian-Armenian Citizens Charged with I.D. Theft
Eleven Russian and Armenian nationals were taken into custody this month and charged with 19 felony counts of conspiracy, grand theft, identity theft and credit card forgery in a multi-agency investigation conducted by the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, the FBI, the United States Secret Service and the San Diego Police Department.
"These individuals didn't stop at one scheme. They set up a variety of complicated scams to defraud the  government and profit from identity theft," said DA Dumanis. Some of the defendants immigrated to the United States on work visas but, as a result of their arrest, they're visas were placed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds. Several of the wanted defendants were taken into custody on October 7, others were already in custody on other matters.
Deputy District Attorney Sharla Evert is handling the prosecutions for the DA's Office.
Anyone with further information about the defendants is asked to contact the FBI at (858) 565-1255. If convicted, the defendants face between six and 35 years in state prison.
|
|
San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis joined the residents of the Alpine community to celebrate "Alpine Day 2009."
|
Other News in Brief...
San Diego Leaders Strengthen Protection from Sex Offenders
Elected officials and policymakers of San Diego County gathered this month for a symposium on sex offenders and to learn new methods on how to create more effective public policy in the community. The event, sponsored by the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) task force, featured Dr. Kurt Bumby who is a nationally recognized leader in sex offender management from the Center for Effective Public Policy in Silver Spring, Maryland. Bumby's presentation, "Sex, Myths and Public Policy," marked the beginning of a proactive public education campaign launched by SAFE to begin focusing on education and prevention as means of combating sexual abuse.
San Diego DA's Office = Great Place to Work
For the second year in a row, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office was selected as a great place to work in San Diego County. The San Diego Society for Human Resource Management recognized the DA's Office for its exceptional human resource practices and tremendous office enviornment. The DA's Office is set to be presented with this prestigious award at an awards dinner on November 11.
Mentors Wanted
The YMCA's Y-FRIENDz Mentoring Program provides children, aged 4-15, that are affected by the incarceration of one or more family members with an adult volunteer mentor. They are seeking volunteer mentors and children eligible for the program. Will you take the time to positively impact the life of a child in San Diego dealing with the incarceration of a family member? Contact Y-FRIENDz today and make a change in our community.
Y-FRIENDz Mentoring Program
2929 Meade Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116
619-281-8313 | |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
DA CRIMINAL CASE FILES
SEAN MICHAEL COUCH, 23, was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for stealing a pick-up truck in North Park and driving it on a wild ride which resulted in the death of the vehicle's owner. The defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder, hit-and-run and other related charges on June 18.
WALTER CORDELL, 53, was sentenced to life in prison for beating his then-girlfriend with a 2-pound hammer and sexually assaulting her for hours after it was decided he would move out of their Pacific Beach home. The victim suffered a broken arm, a broken neck and a laceration to the back of her head.
ARTURO ULLOA, 28, was sentenced to serve 12 years in state prison for robbing seven North County banks and a video store. Ulloa was the leader of a local group known as the "Fat Boy Bandits". Two other defendants involved in the "Fat Boy Bandits" string of robberies had already plead guilty to other robbery-related charges. |
MAURICE ANTOINE SIMMONS, 32, was convicted of conspiracy, forgery and other felony counts in a real estate fraud case in which he filed fake grant deeds under the guise of a religious order.
| |
