California Crime Watch

Felon Murders Woman, Stabs Police Officer

Name: Michael Crockell
Location: Fresno, CA
History: 25-year-old Crockell has a record of domestic violence and has been arrested for attempted assault with a deadly weapon. In October 2011, he was sentenced to three years in prison for a domestic violence conviction.
Status: Authorities released Crockell from prison under post-release supervision after he served only six months of his three-year sentence. A few months later, Crockell entered the home of two women, killing one and stabbing the other several times. He also stabbed a police officer who was trying to detain him. Crockell is now charged with murder, attempted murder, attempted murder of a police officer, and assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer.

Name: Gabriel Fuentes
Location: Merced, CA
History: In 1992, Fuentes was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14. Since that time, he has been in and out of custody for parole violations and in August 2010, was paroled on a narcotics and weapon possession charge. Most recently, he was sentenced to 100 days in county jail for failing to check in with his parole officer.
Status: Fuentes was released from jail after serving just 23 days of his 100-day sentence. A week later, he was held by police without bail on suspicion of parole violation and assault with intent to commit a sexual crime after chasing a woman through a parking lot and pinning her to the ground.

Name: Tino Tufono
Location: Fresno, CA
History: Identified by police as one of Fresno’s top five car thieves, Tufono has been in and out of the Fresno County Jail more than a dozen times over the course of a year. Once a crime punishable by time in state prison, car theft now qualifies for alternative sentencing at the local level under realignment, leading to Tufono’s recent release.
Status: Only weeks after leaving custody, Tufono became the lead suspect for a murder in Central Fresno. Before his arrest and a citywide manhunt, police considered him a threat to both civilians and peace officers.

Name: David Kirkland
Location: Fresno, CA
History: Records show that Kirkland has been in and out of jail several times since 2011. Sources indicate that the quick turnarounds were due to overcrowding at the county jail – a situation aggravated by a shift of inmates from state prisons to local facilities.
Status: While under Sacramento County’s post-release community supervision program, Kirkland was arrested in January 2012 on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury.

Name: James Whitaker
Location: Fresno, CA
History: 40-year-old James Whitaker has been arrested for burglary no fewer than twelve times since 1989. Due to overcrowding at the Fresno County Jail, he was again released into the community after serving only a few hours in jail.
Status: Police arrested Whitaker only four days after his release. Officers identified him as the primary suspect in a string of “smash and grab” burglaries. He also allegedly held up a bank.

Name: Scott Herman
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
History: Since 1996, 47-year-old Scott Herman has had six convictions and parole violations for indecent exposure or molesting children. Rather than serving a full year in state prison for his last parole violation, under realignment, Herman served only 2 ½ months in Sonoma County Jail before again being released on parole.
Status: Herman violated the terms of his parole less than two weeks after leaving jail. His parole officer found him at a local Walmart following young girls around the store and acting suggestively.

Name: Raoul Leyva
Location: Stockton, CA
History: Since 2004, 33-year-old Leyva has been convicted of several crimes including vehicle theft and possession of a controlled substance for sale. In March, Leyva was arrested for violating his parole and failing to register as a sex offender. He was sentenced to 100 days in jail on April 9.
Status: Leyva served only two days of his sentence because of overcrowding at the San Joaquin County Jail. Two weeks later, he was arrested for the attempted murder of his girlfriend who is not expected to survive the attack.

Name: Aaron Suggs
Location: Sacramento, CA
History: According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Suggs has been in and out of custody for drug-related offenses. After fully serving out his sentence in state prison, he was released on probation in Sacramento County. He was soon arrested for failing to report to his probation officer and quickly released.
Status: In January, Suggs was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman while burglarizing her downtown Sacramento home.

Name: Amie Chick
Location: Santa Nella, CA
History: On June 9, 2011, CHP officers arrested Chick after her car struck and killed firefighter Andrew Maloney on Highway 165 in Central California. She was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol. In February, Chick pled guilty to the charge of felony vehicular manslaughter and in March was sentenced to a year in jail.
Status: Under the provisions of AB 109, Chick will not spend a day in jail. She will instead serve out her sentence under house arrest with an electronic monitoring device.