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Much like his successor in San Francisco, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is staring down a recall. Given the lethal consequences of his soft-on-crime policies, it isn’t hard to see why.
Two El Monte police officers, Michael Paredes and Joseph Santana, were gunned down in an ambush by a felon on probation. The killer, Justin Flores, had served two prison terms for burglary and car theft. Last year, Flores was arrested on a gun possession charge. Even though he was a felon illegally in possession of a firearm, he received just a 20-day jail sentence with two years’ probation.
On top of it all, Flores allegedly assaulted his girlfriend last week, which would violate his probation. His probation officer filed for a revocation hearing, but Flores was allowed to remain on the streets. He was also a gang member.
All of this was justified by Gascon after the two officers were shot. “The sentence he received in the firearm case was consistent with case resolutions for this type of offense given his criminal history and the nature of the offense,” Gascon’s office said in a statement. “At the time the court sentenced him, Mr. Flores did not have a documented history of violence.”
While car theft and burglary are not necessarily a “documented history of violence,” Flores was a convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm. That should have been enough to keep him behind bars longer, with sources in Gascon’s office telling Bill Melugin of Fox News that Flores would have likely been given nearly three years in prison if it weren’t for Gascon’s policies. Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said Flores would have been given a minimum of 18 months. Either way, he would have been off of the streets, and Paredes and Santana would still be alive.
But Gascon does not care if a convicted felon illegally owns a gun or if that convicted felon is a gang member. Gascon opposes sentencing enhancements for firearms offenses or gang affiliation. He also doesn’t care that his policies embolden criminals to become more brazen, as violent crime continues to plague Los Angeles County. His priority is keeping people out of jail, not keeping the public safe.
Gascon thinks that criminals are the real victims in the criminal justice system. He is a stubborn ideologue, and no amount of gang shootings, homicides, or crime surges will change his mind. He will refuse to do his job until he is forced out of it. Whether Los Angeles residents want to speed up that process with a recall is up to them.