News of the inmate release order could ignite memories of a murder in Culver City two years ago by a felon was allowed to leave prison earlier that his sentence dictated.
On May 1, 2011, Lucien Bergez 89, and Erica Escobar, 27, were killed in Bergez’ Culver City home. A 30-year old transient, Zachariah Lehnen, was arrested four days later in the double homicide.
Lehnen was eligible to have been released from prison this year instead of 2011 but was allowed to leave early through the Department of Corrections non-revocable parole program, where certain low-risk offenders would qualify for early release. They would be subject to warrantless searches by police but not required to attend parole revocation hearings if they are charged with a crime.
Lehnen had a history of domestic abuse, robbery and drug use, and some police unions felt his arrest history did not qualify him for early release. “With non-revocable parole, our law enforcement officers are unable to re-incarcerate parolees who violate their parole by continuing to engage in criminal behavior, be it using drugs, associating with gang members or committing other (California Department of Corrections) parole violations that, in the past, would have returned them to prison before an innocent person became their next victim,” wrote former Culver City police officer Adam Treanor, who at the time was president of the department’s police officers’ association.
Lehnen was diagnosed as a schizophrenic several months later.
Gov. Jerry Brown has vowed to fight the federal decree.
The parole plan and the three judge panel’s June 20 order differ in some ways. The latter mandates that the state give minimum-custody inmates two days off for every one served without trouble and to apply those credits retroactively.
The judges acted due to what they called the state’s “defiance,” “intransigence” and “deliberate failure” to provide inmates with adequate care in its overcrowded prisons.
State Sen. Ted Lieu (Marina del Rey) praised state authorities for challenging the judges’ ruling.
“Gov. Jerry Brown is doing the right thing by fighting the federal judges’ extreme and unprecedented order to release nearly 10,000 dangerous felons,” Lieu, an attorney, said in a statement. “The judges’ order is based on an arbitrary 137.5% of design capacity standard. That random standard is nowhere to be found in our federal or state constitution.”
Lieu said the state had already begun to attempt to reduce prisoner overcrowding and views the judges’ decree as an overreach.
“The third branch of government is supposed to decide cases, not legislate arbitrary standards picked out of thin air. Federal judges tread on dangerous territory when they usurp the functions of the executive branch and the legislature,” the senator asserted. “The governor and Legislature already did a massive prison shift called realignment, which significantly reduced prison overcrowding. We also made significant investments in prison healthcare.
“The judges need to respect the executive’s and legislative branch’s prerogative in deciding how best to protect California’s public safety from dangerous, convicted criminals.”
Culver City Police Chief Donald Pedersen did not return calls for comment.
Brown has until July 13 to file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
A recent poll found 64% of Californians favor the early release of nonviolent prisoners.
