High-risk sex offender rearrested days after controversial release from OC Jail

A high-risk registered sex offender was arrested in Santa Ana for exposing himself, just two weeks after a controversial early release from the OC Jail.

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo

Friday, May 1, 2020

Sex offender rearrested days after release from OC Jail

A high-risk registered sex offender was arrested in Santa Ana for exposing himself, just two weeks after a controversial early release from the OC Jail.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A high-risk registered sex offender was arrested Thursday for allegedly exposing himself at a parole resource center, just two weeks after a controversial early release from the Orange County Jail.

Seven inmates who were deemed high-risk sex offenders were released early in April by a court commissioner, triggering criticism and warnings from county law enforcement officials who said the release was not necessary because the jails were not overcrowded.

One of them was Rudy William Grajeda Magdaleno, who was released April 13 after serving 71 days in jail on a 180-day minimum sentence. Officials say he has an extensive criminal history including convictions for robbery, narcotics possession, criminal threats and child annoyance.

Santa Ana police say Magdaleno was at a parole resource center on April 17 when he exposed himself to staff members there. He had also failed to charge his GPS monitor and the device had stopped tracking him the day before.

He fled the scene, but officers found and arrested him on Thursday.

"I find it extremely troubling that this high risk sex offender was authorized for release, in spite of his significant documented criminal history," Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin said.

Santa Ana police say his convictions include a sexual assault on a mentally disabled person; breaking into a home while naked from the waist down and peeking into an 11-year-old girl's room; and entering a Santa Ana law office, sitting on the floor and beginning to masturbate while staring at a woman in the office.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office announced that seven high-risk sex-offenders were recently released early from county jails.

The seven sex offenders were released in April by Court Commissioner Joseph Dane despite being charged with tampering with their GPS monitoring devices, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office.

"These kinds of high-risk sex offenders are the most dangerous kind of criminal and the most likely to re-offend," District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. "They are doing everything they can to avoid detection by the parole officers assigned to monitor them so they can potentially commit additional sex offenses. These are not the kind of people who should be getting a break.

Few of 3,500 California state prisoners released early were tested for COVID-19

The California state prison system released 3,500 non-violent inmates early to ease overcrowding behind bars, but not many of them were tested for COVID-19 before their release.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes contended that there was no reason for the early release because jails aren't currently overcrowded, adding that there are measures in place to allow for physical distancing and quarantining of inmates. Barnes reports his jail population is down by 45% since March 7.

The other six sex offenders were identified by the DA's office as:

Luis Joel Ramirez, 27, of Costa Mesa, who has a history of sexual battery, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting a peace officer, burglary and possessing a leaded cane, a deadly weapon, and who prosecutors say has violated his parole four times since 2019;

James Franklin Bowling, 50, of Orange, who has a history of lewd conduct in a public place, repeated convictions for failing to register as a sex offender, repeated convictions for being a sex offender on school grounds, possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, and has allegedly violated parole twice since February;

Calvin Curtis Coleman, 52, of Santa Ana, who has a history of lewd conduct in a public place and has allegedly violated parole three times since 2019;

Kyle Albert Winton, 40, of Mission Viejo, who has a history of child molestation, criminal threats to cause great bodily injury or death, resisting a peace officer, DUI and hit and run with property damage, and has allegedly violated parole once;

Jose Adrian Oregel, 46, of Santa Ana, who has a history of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, oral copulation of a person under the age of 18, great bodily injury, and being a second striker, and who prosecutors claim has violated parole six times since June of 2019; and

Mario Ernesto Sandoval, 45, of Stanton, who has a history of sexual battery, touching for sexual arousal, indecent exposure, assault on a peace officer and assault, and allegedly violated parole once this year.

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