News and Commentary

California Man Arrested 3 Times In 12 Hours, Released Each Time Because Of Coronavirus ‘Zero-Bail’ Policy

   DailyWire.com
Gavin Newsom, governor of California, speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. Newsom outlined his plan to lift restrictions in the most-populous U.S. state, saying a reopening depends on meeting a series of benchmarks that would remake daily life for 40 million residents. Photographer: Rich Pedroncelli/AP/Bloomberg
Rich Pedroncelli/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A California man was arrested three times in just 12 hours last week and allowed to go free without bail each time because of the state’s “Zero-Bail Policy” implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the arrests of the man reportedly involved a police chase after he attempted to flee responding officers after stealing a car.

In a lengthy post on Facebook, the Glendora Police Department detailed the three arrests and subsequent “Zero-Bail” releases of the suspect, which included multiple car thefts, possession of illegal narcotics, property theft, and a pursuit involving the LA County Sheriffs and the California Highway Patrol. Despite the seriousness of the offenses and the danger the suspect posed to the greater public, the state’s coronavirus policy required the officers to release the three-time arrested suspect.

Below is an excerpt of the Glendora PD’s Facebook post:

On Wednesday, April 29th, at about 8:28 a.m., our officers responded to a call of a male who was attempting to break into a vehicle in the 1400 block of South Grand Ave. When we arrived, we contacted Dijon Landrum, M/24, from Monterey Park, as he was attempting to drive away in a stolen vehicle. (The vehicle had been stolen out of East Los Angeles.) In addition to driving a stolen vehicle, he had stolen property and narcotics with him. Landrum was arrested. Due to the California Zero-Bail Policy, he was issued a citation and released.

Approximately one hour after Landrum was released, at about 2:20 p.m., we received a call of unknown male in the area of Bennett and Pennsylvania. This male was carrying a box, and was walking through front yards of residences. It appeared that the male was placing items in this box as he was walking through the properties. When we arrived, we contacted Dijon Landrum a second time, and it appeared he had property in his possession that did not belong to him. Due to the California Zero-Bail Policy, he was issued a citation, and the property was recovered by our officers.

Several hours later, at 8:49 p.m., we received a call of a vehicle that had just been stolen out of a parking lot in the 1300 block of South Grand Ave. Our officers were able to track the vehicle and found it westbound on the 10 freeway in the area of La Puente. With assistance from outside agencies (LA County Sheriffs and California Highway Patrol), they located the vehicle and a pursuit began. The pursuit ultimately ended in Pasadena, and Dijon Landrum was again arrested for being in possession of a stolen vehicle, and also for evading officers. Due to the California Zero-Bail Policy, Landrum was released with his third citation of the day.

Since the new mandate was imposed in mid-April, California has released some 16,000 criminals.  And the situation in Glendora is not the first instance of the “Zero-Bail” policy turning a potentially dangerous criminal back onto the street multiple times. One man in Chino Hills was arrested and released four times in just two days, Fox News reports.

In an appearance on Fox News over the weekend, Orange County, Calif., District Attorney Todd Spitzer expressed “outrage” over “the release of seven high-risk sex offenders from the county’s jails over concerns they could contract coronavirus,” as reported by Fox.

“We’ve all been told that during the pandemic we needed to release people early, you know, with less than 30 days on their sentence and things like that because of the underlying health pandemic and the fact that we needed to exercise social distancing within the custodial facilities,” said Spitzer, as reported by Fox. “However, as you know, in the United States today there is a social justice agenda to end bail for those who are incarcerated and this has gone too far.”

“People are disappointed, they’re angry, but this is an order,” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Cindy Bachman told FOX11. “We have to follow it, but we don’t have to be happy about it.”

While the state has given 13 exceptions for their new bail mandate, child abuse is not among them, Fox notes.

The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member 

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  California Man Arrested 3 Times In 12 Hours, Released Each Time Because Of Coronavirus ‘Zero-Bail’ Policy