Sacramento County Crime & Justice Digest

Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho went public with a new approach to retail theft. An organized retail theft unit has filed 35 criminal cases.

An El Dorado County Jail inmate died after not receiving vital HIV medication for weeks, a new lawsuit claims.

Inspector General Francine Tournour Kerridge, the official whose office is charged with oversight of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, left the job in September to take over as director of police oversight in Long Beach.

Locking up a California state prisoner for one year costs nearly twice as much as tuition at the state’s top private universities—due to inmate medical costs and pay boosts for prison guards and other workers.

Each year, California lawmakers pass temporary extensions to COVID-era rules that allow people to attend court via video conferencing services. One powerful state union has been a barrier to making the feature permanent.

An auto burglary trend shows that thieves are targeting travelers.

Michel Moore, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, announced he will resign. The departure of Moore, who has been in the job since 2018, will spur the appointment of an interim chief and a nationwide search for his replacement, according to Mayor Karen Bass.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case related to whether cities and towns can ban camping on public property. The high court could overturn Martin v. Boise, a 2018 federal court decision that keeps western cities and counties from blocking public camping when sufficient shelter space is unavailable.

To keep more police on patrols, law enforcement groups want officers to spend less time in court. Legislation would allow non-sworn community service officers to testify in preliminary hearings.

Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism found that hate crimes rose 12.9% between 2022 and 2023. The spike follows a particularly stark increase in crimes against Jewish people.

Sacramento attorney Mark Merin has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of a man who died in May after being held at the county jail. Other inmates have died in recent years, and the jail is under a federal consent decree to improve its health care.

Gun owners in California can no longer carry firearms into amusement parks, museums, churches, zoos, banks, public parks or a whole slew of other places, even if they have a concealed carry permit—part of a new state law that it is already facing scrutiny in the courts.

California correctional officers train like ‘they are going to war’ to work in state prisons. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to transform San Quentin could require a kinder approach.

Sean Loloee, a first-term Sacramento councilmember, has resigned from office—a move that came weeks after he was federally indicted on charges related to his business Viva Supermarkets.

Sheriff Jim Cooper, a Democrat and former Elk Grove Assemblyman once called law enforcement’s biggest advocate in the state capital, infuses his politically honed instincts with experience forged by a 30-year career wearing a badge.

A judge has refused to order the father and son duo charged with starting the 2021 Caldor Fire—which destroyed Grizzly Flat and burned across three Northern California counties—to face charges that they recklessly started the fire by target shooting.

Former college student Carlos Reales Dominguez, accused of stabbing two people to death and wounding a third in Davis, will return to court on Jan. 5 and criminal proceedings will be reinstated if there isn't any challenge to his mental state.

The Sacramento Courts announced the appointment of two additional court commissioners, both tilting toward the prosecution side. While judges are appointed by the governor, court commissioners are appointed by the judges—and often become judges themselves when vacancies on the bench open up.

Kern County agrees to better protect free speech in a deal with the state Justice Department—inspired by the county’s’ 2020 squashing of COVID contracts to organizations that advocated defunding police.

A new law, sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta, will create a fund designed to fully compensate victims of false advertising or unfair competition.

Under new state laws, five cities will test cameras to catch speeding drivers and cruising bans will be lifted statewide. The first is supposed to improve road safety, but critics of the second say it will endanger the public.

Under two new laws, employers in California can’t ask workers about their use of cannabis outside the workplace and can’t use hair or urine tests. Employees in construction are excluded, as are applicants for federal jobs with background checks.

The 33-year old Mexican-born man—who from toddler age has been a permanent legal resident of California—has reported abuse, unsanitary conditions and threats of force-feeding before his release from immigration detention in April.

Some firefighters and police officers who worked long enough in California to earn pensions are heading to more conservative destinations like Idaho in retirement. Some of these people even run for political office in these places.

Genesis B. doesn’t have air conditioning. That used to be the norm in Long Beach, California, where the 17-year-old was born and raised.

Four days after Councilmember Sean Loloee pleaded not guilty to federal charges, it remains unclear whether he will heed calls to resign.

Google has agreed to pay $700 million and will make changes to its app store it has resisted for years in order to resolve a lawsuit over whether its app store is an illegal monopoly.

Citrus Heights police have worked with city and county officials to develop a new program aimed at curbing low-level crimes that impact quality of life for residents.

The Exclusive Poultry Inc. agreed to pay $3.8 million in wages, damages and penalties in part for hiring children for dangerous work. The case is one of hundreds federal labor officials investigated last year.

A new select committee in the California Assembly dedicated to retail theft will hold its first hearing on Dec. 19. This allows the committee to get to work before the next legislative session on an issue that’s drawn much press for California in recent years.

Eighteen California children are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming it violated their constitutional rights by failing to protect them from the effects of climate change—the latest in a series of similar cases filed on behalf of children.

Sheriff Jim Cooper claims that his deputies are powerless to hold repeat offenders accountable. In a bold move, the sheriff’s office launched a large-scale retail theft sting. Undercover agents infiltrated 12 major retailers for an entire week.