Sacramento County Crime & Justice Digest

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.

Hunter Biden, a Malibu resident, is facing nine tax-related charges between the years of 2016 and 2019. It is the second criminal indictment for the son of President Biden, aside from a pending firearms case.

Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho is adding environmental violations to his lawsuit against the city of Sacramento over what he calls its failure to act regarding the homelessness crisis.

California’s “failure to protect” law allows child welfare agencies to take kids from households scarred by domestic violence. Advocates say the separation can worsen a family’s trauma.

Hackers stole data this week from Blue Shield of California. Historically, this type of data has sometimes wound up for sale on what’s known as the dark web, the part of the internet not typically included in search engine results.

A member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has asked that the county wait until 2025 to implement pending state policy around conservatorships. The policy, which goes into effect Jan. 1, makes people suffering from severe addiction eligible to receive conservatorships.

Two people in the Los Angeles area have been arrested for stealing $9.5 million worth of electronics, shoes and other items. This comes on the heels of a successful raid where the CHP recovered $9 million more of stolen merchandise.

Families of people in jail or prison sometimes pay exorbitant amounts to accept phone calls from their incarcerated loved ones. Starting Dec. 1, these calls will be free in Los Angeles County.

Applicants are now being sought for jurors to serve on the Sacramento County Grand Jury. The application period opens today. The one-year term for volunteer jurors runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.

David DePape had originally targeted Pelosi’s wife, Rep. Nancy Pelosi. He was convicted in federal court on Nov. 16 and still faces state charges.

Ana de Alba, a first-generation Mexican-American who is the daughter of farmworkers, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Alba was confirmed by a 48-43 vote.

A reporter visiting San Francisco from the Czech Republic was held at gunpoint and robbed of $18,000 of equipment. This comes at a time the city has been battling a reputation for being crime-ridden and dangerous.

David DePape admitted during cross-examination both that he attacked Paul Pelosi and that he knew who Pelosi’s wife was, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Center for Food Safety has filed arguments seeking to revoke the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of nationwide permit 56, which authorizes industrial finfish aquaculture structures in ocean waters around the country. CFS represents a coalition of conservation, tribal, and fishing organizations.

Miguel Solorio, 44, has been exonerated for a murder he didn’t commit, with a judge ordering his release from incarceration after 25 years. Solorio worked with attorneys from the Northern California Innocence Project for his freedom.

Some venues in the San Diego area rely on paying workers under the table in cash, for rates that work out below minimum wage, an investigation by Voice of San Diego has found.

An evaluation of 34 adult prisons in California by the Office of the Inspector General found that 11 provided inadequate medical care and 23 provided adequate care. None were deemed proficient, the top designation.

One of the few areas the Supreme Court has agreed on in recent years is free speech. Now, the high court will decide if protections extend to a woman who sued after being cited in 2017 for honking 14 times as she drove by a political protest.

Prison Policy Initiative released a new report that delves into the sheer magnitude of criminalization in the U.S., where reliance on incarceration outpaces most of the globe.

More than 40 states are suing the social media giant. The legal actions allege that Meta has deceived the public about the harms of Facebook and Instagram, which the attorneys general say “exploit and manipulate” children.

The Sacramento Police Department and the city of Sacramento are a step closer to reaching a settlement agreement with the parents of 19-year-old Darell Richards, who was shot and killed by police in 2018.

Gavin Newsom signed the “Ebony Alert” bill to help locate missing Black youth and Black women in the state of California, according to an Oct. 8 statement from his office.

Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are proposing a significant reduction to the use of solitary confinement in the state’s prisons. If approved, the new regulations will go into effect on Nov. 1.

Vibes, the rolling paper brand created by rapper Berner, teamed up with the Last Prisoner Project to launch Release Papers, a campaign to advocate for individuals imprisoned for marijuana-related convictions.

In naming his San Quentin Transformation Advisory Council, Gov. Gavin Newsom chose individuals with years of experience and unique perspectives.

The state grant, aimed at reducing organized retail theft in the area, will fund purchasing nearly 100 license plate reader cameras and other equipment.

Local attorney Carmen-Nicole Cox, serving as ACLU California Action’s director of government affairs, is making a case for restored voting rights for incarcerated individuals. She is pushing for legislation that would remove the part of California’s constitution that disqualifies people serving in a state or federal prison from voting.

Survivors who were sexually assaulted while imprisoned got an audience at the state Capitol, sharing their stories while testifying at a California Legislative Women’s Caucus briefing about abuse by staff at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla.

A bipartisan bill would create a state ombudsperson to intervene when public records requests are denied. But an advocacy group is concerned that it will encourage state agencies to go to court.

Attila Colar went to prison for lying to the government. After California gave him another contract as a provider in a rehabilitation program, a federal jury convicted him of fraud for using the personal information of Bay Area parolees and others to collect government COVID funds.

In rapid-fire votes in suspense file hearings, lawmakers determined the fate of hundreds of bills on crime, transgender students and more.

Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo released a report on the July escape of murder suspect Eric James Abril from a Roseville hospital, detailing staffing shortages and policy failures that may have contributed to the incident.