By Mandy Feder —
If you”re not a native Californian, how did you wind up here?
Some folks tell me it was because of: marriage, divorce, career, school or some were simply passing through and stayed.
Others came to the Golden State for the weather, beaches, movie stars, diverse landscape and maybe Disneyland — the California dreaming-type of mental image.
But some people run here — to escape, not from inclement weather — but from the law, and many of those people stay.
It is not because the fugitives possess catlike speed and reflexes. It is not because they are stealthy and wise. It is because authorities in some states do not want them back, or so it would seem.
A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer told me recently that a lot of states won”t extradite from California.
From what I understand, once a person is arrested in another state, the agency that issued the warrant must first express the desire to retrieve the person and must do so within 30 days or the wanted person will be released.
In 1998 CHP Officer Kim Baldi, in the vicinity of Mount Shasta, attempted to make a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle. In the back seat of that car, crouched down, was Juan Torres of Oregon. He was trying like crazy to conceal a gun, syringe and some drugs. Baldi confirmed via the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) that Torres was wanted on felony charges of drug trafficking in Oregon, according to an article written by Associated Press reporter David Kligman. Authorities in Oregon refused to extradite Torres, allegedly claiming that it would cost too much. Baldi said Oregon would have arranged to take custody of Torres from 10 other states, including Michigan, but not California. Torres was let loose with a misdemeanor citation.
“Here we are 90 miles away (from Oregon). They”ll go clear to Idaho and Montana for a prisoner, but they won”t come get them here. It”s kind of like they”re dumping their trash on us,” Baldi told the Associated Press.
The Mount Shasta CHP personnel stated they”ve even offered to meet Oregon authorities at the state line. The offers were rejected.
Oregon officials cited lack of funds, stating that most of the extradition funds are used to extradite murder suspects, because murder suspects require extradition.
Also in the late ”90s, a convicted child molester, Lowell Gaines, hitched a ride across the state line. The CHP nabbed him initially for hitchhiking on a highway. The CHP learned he was wanted on multiple parole violations in Oregon, including living in a home with a woman and her young children.
Officers were forced to release him after just a half-hour because he wasn”t a wanted man in California. Much later, and probably too late for Gaines” next victims, Oregon authorities acknowledged Gaines should have been extradited.
My friend from the CHP said it is not just Oregon that won”t extradite. He said many other states won”t pick up from California.
Proof that fugitives ending up here is not coincidental can be found in less than a minute online.
A quick Internet search turned up this question: “Does anyone know of Maine extraditing someone from California on a warrant?”
The person wrote about having outstanding felony warrants.
The online legal adviser reminded the soon-to-be fugitive, “Looking back through your posts is quick and easy. It is not too smart to start off by asking about extradition back to Maine, when you posted about planning to leave Maine for California.”
And so, for many on the run, California becomes their new home.
Law enforcement professionals access the NCIC for warrant or fugitive information. That system displays felony warrants only, not misdemeanor warrants.
California has the largest prison system in the United States, with as many as 170,000 inmates and the most inmates serving life sentences.
I do not have a solution to this obvious problem. All I know is, this practice is sure to create more victims and compromise the safety of us all.
