Parole

Prison Break: Realignment Inmates Enter Rehabilitation in S.F.

Law Enforcement to Round Up Homeless Sex Offenders Tonight

Homeless Sex Offenders: smart on crime? ​California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced trick-or-treaters will be safer since cops will keep homeless sex offender parolees indoors tonight in San Francisco. That announcement comes even while Harris' office is defending Jessica's Law -- the bal ... More >>

Homeless Sex Offenders in San Francisco Move Indoors

Sex offenders are moving inside.While all homeless sex offenders in San Francisco will have to report to round-up centers on Halloween, there will likely be fewer transients who need to check in this year.​In the last six months, San Francisco's public defender has quietly won temporary stays on J ... More >>

Hundreds of Ex-Cons Headed to San Francisco

​An estimated 700 ex-convicts who would ordinarily be handled by state parole authorities will be transferred to San Francisco for monitoring beginning tomorrow, and some are raising questions about whether the city is ready to deal with the influx of newly released prisoners.The process, known by ... More >>

Oakland Cops Illegally Strip-Searched Black Men in Traffic Stop, Must Pay $205,000

​A federal judge has ruled that Oakland police officers performed unconstitutional strip-searches of two black men they pulled over as part of an unnecessary traffic stop, and must pay $100,000 to each victim as a result.U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel found that Ofc. Ingo Mayer, in t ... More >>

Kenneth Harding Had Gunshot Residue on His Hand, Police Say

Kenneth Harding​More evidence emerged today that police say confirms 19-year-old Kenneth Harding had been firing his gun at the cops before officers shot and killed him Saturday afternoon. Police say that gunshot residue was found on Harding's right hand, which supports witness statements that Har ... More >>

Kenneth Harding Update: Ten Shots Fired in Six Seconds in Bayview Shooting

SFPD​SFPD released a map today which shows the 10 shots fired in yesterday's Bayview shooting, where police officers shot and killed 19-year-old Kenneth Harding. Harding, who was chased by SFPD officers after he dodged paying his Muni fare, allegedly fired shots at police, who then retaliated wit ... More >>

Giovanni Ramirez, Accused of Beating Bryan Stow, Could Be Released

Could be free soon​UPDATE: A judge decided today that Ramirez will remain in prison another 10 months for parole violations. Last month when police arrested Giovanni Ramirez, on suspicion of beating Giants fan Bryan Stow, there was a wave of relief that perhaps someone would be held accountable. B ... More >>

Eddy Zheng's Deportation Case Will Not Die

In the final battle. ​In 2005, the East Bay Express published a story called "The Last Stand of Eddy Zheng."  Well, it's been six years and Zheng is still standing -- in more or less the same spot. But now the man who was paroled only to face deportation is seeing his saga enter its final rou ... More >>

Thief Steals Bike During Test Ride in Upper Haight, Then Comes Back for His Identification

I'll be back ... for my identification ​Some criminals just aren't that smart -- and this story is proof. A 49-year-old parolee came into American Cyclery Too on Saturday afternoon to test ride a bike. The ex-con put on his best act, pretending he wanted to buy the $1,000 specialized hybrid. He le ... More >>

Sex Offenders Forced Into Homelessness a Bad Idea, Task Force Says. Duh.

The government thought good and hard about this...​A law enforcement task force has recommended the state do what common sense would have suggested a long time ago: Repeal the provision of Jessica's Law that banishes paroled sex offenders to homelessness. It's about time. We wrote about this perfe ... More >>

Gary Scott Holland Charged With Murder and Attempted Rape of Kathleen Horan

Kathleen "Kate" Horan​The alleged murder of Kathleen Horan has taken an even more macabre turn with the announcement of the charges against suspect Gary Scott Holland this morning. Not only does the parolee face murder and robbery counts -- but also attempted rape.District Attorney Kamala Harris a ... More >>

Chelsea's Law Threatens To Force San Francisco Sex Offenders Into Homelessness For Life

Living like this for 10 years?​Republican Attorney General Candidate Steve Cooley is drawing heat from Kamala Harris' attorney general campaign for remarking that "You know what gets an initiative passed in California? Name it after a female ... Jessica's Law, stuff like that." Call that a sexist ... More >>

Expired Pot Card Lands Parolee in Trouble, Possibly Jail

Do not let me expire​It's vital for medical marijuana patients to renew their recommendations as soon as the cards expire. This advice is too late for a motorist pulled over while driving near the Alemany Boulevard housing projects. His car is impounded, his pot is gone, and his parole officer was ... More >>

Sex Offenders Searching For One-Night Stands

Case workers allege that sex offender Nicholas Chaykovsky, pictured in December, died because of Jessica's Law.​State corrections officials will now allow sex offenders living transient because of Jessica's Law sleep indoors -- as long as they don't establish a "pattern of residency." Now, playing ... More >>

Corrections Department: Putting Parolee Program Next to School Was Only Option

You see? There was a perfectly good reason for placing a parolee help center a stone's throw from a grade school -- which means sex offenders are legally barred from entering. ​State corrections officials say they had no choice but to award a contract to aid paroled sex offenders to a non-profit t ... More >>

Contract To Help Sex Offenders Awarded To Non-Profit They're Forbidden to Enter

Paroled sex offenders are now being told they are no longer welcome at the city site specifically designated to service them​Paroled sex offenders forced into homelessness in San Francisco by Jessica's Law used to have at least one place they could call "home": the day-reporting center for parolee ... More >>

August Longo, Democratic Party Official with Checkered Past, Dies at 65

August Longo​August Longo was a man who presents challenges for an obituary writer. The wheelchair-bound 65-year-old died of undisclosed causes on or around April 6 according to his Facebook page. A straight accounting of his past, obituary style, would be to note that he was San Francisco's regio ... More >>

Man Who Outraced Cops One Of 20 At-Large Sex Offender Parolees

​You may have read about the sex offender wanted on a parole violation who played Dukes of Hazzard with the cops this week. A parole agent spotted Matthew Thrasher in his gold Toyota Corolla (hardly the General Lee) around the Great Highway and Lincoln Way on Tuesday afternoon, news accounts repor ... More >>

Better Off Dead?

Did Jessica's Law kill a homeless sex offender?

S.F. Man Fails To Register As Sex Offender -- Because He's Dead

​According to the state's sex offender registry, Nicholas Chaykovsky has been in violation of registration requirements since Sunday. He has a decent excuse. He's dead.   Chaykovsky died at age 61 last month after suffering a heart attack. And though the San Francisco Police Department s ... More >>

State Supreme Court To Homeless Sex Offenders: Tough Luck, For Now

Same old, same old...​The California Supreme Court dealt a smackdown to the state's sex offenders today, ruling it is constitutional to enforce the residency restrictions of Jessica's Law on sex offenders released on parole. The law passed by voters in November 2006 states sex offenders can't have ... More >>

No Way Out

Inmate Lonnie Morris is a role model, antiviolence program leader, and darling of the media. But will the parole board see past his crime?

Suspect in Taxi Stabbing Given Away By Bloody, Ringing Phone

Is Bruce there?​Bruce Lee Griffin, the suspect charged with attempted murder in the wake of his alleged beating, stabbing, and robbery of cab driver Balvinder Singh on Jan. 11, isn't going to be confused with Moriarty anytime soon. Police claim Griffin, 26, left his cell phone behind in Singh's ca ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Is Bruce there?​Bruce Lee Griffin, the suspect charged with attempted murder in the wake of his alleged beating, stabbing, and robbery of cab driver Balvinder Singh on Jan. 11, isn't going to be confused with Moriarty anytime soon. Police claim Griffin, 26, left his cell phone behind in Singh's ca ... More >>

Perverting Justice

Jessica's Law prevents paroled sex offenders from residing near schools or parks. That means they can only live one place in S.F.: on the streets.

Motel Hell

It took years for the city to move against an SRO that was full of pests. So one resident took her case to court.

Rock On: Is Simplistic Smash 'n' Grab Robber Menacing Chinatown Again?

The 'River Rock Burglar,' portrayed here by Billy Joel, has hit five San Francisco stores in the past two weeksIn the annals of criminality, there are numerous men and women who have earned dubious distinctions via decisions such as wearing paraphernalia emblazoned with their names or places of busi ... More >>

Democratic Party contest pits bad boy Chris Daly against dark-past-lugging August Longo

The 'River Rock Burglar,' portrayed here by Billy Joel, has hit five San Francisco stores in the past two weeksIn the annals of criminality, there are numerous men and women who have earned dubious distinctions via decisions such as wearing paraphernalia emblazoned with their names or places of busi ... More >>

What Moore Do You Want?

The 'River Rock Burglar,' portrayed here by Billy Joel, has hit five San Francisco stores in the past two weeksIn the annals of criminality, there are numerous men and women who have earned dubious distinctions via decisions such as wearing paraphernalia emblazoned with their names or places of busi ... More >>

Ingleside Police Department Has a Posse

The 'River Rock Burglar,' portrayed here by Billy Joel, has hit five San Francisco stores in the past two weeksIn the annals of criminality, there are numerous men and women who have earned dubious distinctions via decisions such as wearing paraphernalia emblazoned with their names or places of busi ... More >>

San Francisco's Attempted Ford Assassin Paroled At Age 77

The 'River Rock Burglar,' portrayed here by Billy Joel, has hit five San Francisco stores in the past two weeksIn the annals of criminality, there are numerous men and women who have earned dubious distinctions via decisions such as wearing paraphernalia emblazoned with their names or places of busi ... More >>

Barred for Life

Desperate prison lifers turn to Charles Carbone when trying to navigate the unfair process of parole denials

Baring Equality

The cases of a young defendant and a repeat offender attorney show power and privilege tip the scales

The Infiltrator Who Proved Nothing!

A rebuttal from Lie Detector

Bullshitting the Lie Detector

Infiltrator cooks up a criminal past. A PAX TV show absolves him of it. Ain't it a great country?

Innocence Arrested

Albert Johnson was exonerated for a crime he didn't commit, but not before spending over a decade in prison. Why guiltless people get jailed -- and how to stop it.

Hidden Treasure

Half a century ago, ex-heroin dealer Alfredo Santos created an epic work of art inside San Quentin. Now, he's coming back to be honored for it.

Throwing Away the Key

Why Gov. Davis' just-say-no parole policy is wrong, Exhibit No. 1: Eddy Zheng has earned a college degree in prison, sings in a church choir, works with at-risk youth, has the support of clergymen, college professors, his prison counselor, and the

The Last Hope

A new law gives one more chance at freedom to abused women sent to prison for killing their batterers

Savage Love

A new law gives one more chance at freedom to abused women sent to prison for killing their batterers

Perverted Justice?

Or is a new law that puts sexual predators in long-term psychiatric lock-up really -- and finally -- justice for perverts?

A Tale of Two Neighborhoods

With his motorcycles and his tattoos, Jon Bryce LaPierre is almost prototypically blue-collar. He's also an almost archetypal bully, and he's got the yuppie neighbors scared witless.

Steal Now, Don't Pay Later

With his motorcycles and his tattoos, Jon Bryce LaPierre is almost prototypically blue-collar. He's also an almost archetypal bully, and he's got the yuppie neighbors scared witless.

The AIDS Civil War

The promise of a new treatment has opened a painful divide

C.R.U.S.H. (Part II)

Five months ago, two black homicide detectives got fed up with the police department's inaction on black-on-black murders. Thus was born the Crime Response Unit To Stop Homicide (CRUSH): Six cops with the grit and guile to tackle the toughest cases in t

C.R.U.S.H. (Part I)

Five months ago, two black homicide detectives got fed up with the Police Department's inaction on black-on-black murders. Thus was born the Crime Response Unit to Stop Homicide (CRUSH): six cops with the grit and guile to tackle the toughest cases in the