Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón discussed the arrest and quick release of a group of men who were arrested in connection with the break-in of a Sherman Oaks home earlier this week.
Three men were arrested after they were accused of committing a home invasion robbery Monday night at a home on the 15200 block of Greenleaf Street. They were taken into custody hours later and identified as:
- Juan Carlos Gonzalez, 21,
- Isaiah Rankins, 22,
- Dion Hill, age 24.
According to Gascón, at least two of the men posted bail soon after their arrest.
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“They got arrested, they immediately posted bail,” the district attorney said. “And that's the way the system works, and that's one of the reasons why I believe that we should eliminate cash bail and should be a risk-based assessment. If you have prior cases pending, if you have, you know, history of risk, if you're a danger to our community, you should not be released.”
The suspects had previous records for prior burglaries and probation for firearm possession.
Monday night’s break-in reopened the discussion of crime in the county, with Gascón’s critics saying his office has taken a “soft” approach to handling crime.
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“Number one, we're working really hard with the police to ensure that people are held accountable,” Gascón said. “Sending people to prison, we'll prosecute people, we'll do everything that we can to do that part.”
The district attorney provided a chart that shows his office files charges in 73% of burglary cases that law enforcement presents. That figure has generally been the same for the last eight years, including the five years before Gascón took office.
NBC4’s discussion with Gascón comes days after Los Angeles police issued a community alert to West LA neighborhoods due to an uptick in home burglaries in certain areas.
