Pasasouk's probation officers recommended jail time after his arrest in September for possession of methamphetamine, but the D.A.'s office offered a plea deal that placed him on a Proposition 36 drug treatment program.
Had Pasasouk been sentenced to jail, he would have been incarcerated in the beginning of December and would not have been able to commit the alleged murders.
Pasasouk was not eligible for Prop. 36's drug program because he had a robbery conviction, which is a serious and violent felony.
After an internal review of Pasasouk's case, the D.A.'s office said in a statement, "The review shows that the office inadvertently erred in indicating the defendant was eligible for a Proposition 36 drug program. Training issues raised during the review will be addressed by the District Attorney's Office countywide."
Pasasouk is an ex-convict with a lengthy criminal record. Court records show he was released from prison in January and placed on probation after a 2010 conviction, but he missed an appointment with his probation officer in February. The probation department began the process of requesting a bench warrant. Meanwhile, he was arrested again in September.
On Dec. 1, the day before Pasasouk allegedly gunned down four people outside an unlicensed boarding house in Northridge, a bench warrant was being prepared for his arrest.
