Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon — who is sympathetic toward criminals — refused to prosecute a 17-year-old murderer who had killed two people as an adult. As a result, she was released in February 2023, and went on to kill again.
The crime Shanice Amanda Dyer committed as a 17-year-old was as horrific as it was seemingly random. She was a documented member of a Crips street gang faction in South L.A…..The targets the gang chose at random were an expectant father, Alfredo Carrera, and his close friend Jose Antonio Flores Vasquez, an aspiring astrophysicist in UC Irvine’s doctorate program who was visiting Carrera to drop off a baby gift. A car pulled up, with Dyer inside. After a brief argument, authorities said, Dyer and two other defendants unleashed a volley of gunfire, killing both men. A third man down the street was wounded in the back as he loaded his 1-year-old daughter into a car seat. Dyer sent text messages taking responsibility for the shooting, saying she was “satisfied” it made headlines,..
Dyer was tried as a juvenile under Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón, who at the time had a strict policy against prosecuting teens as adults. She admitted to the murder charges in 2021, and probation records reviewed by The Times show she was released last February. Six months later, she was arrested in connection with another homicide, this one in Pomona.
Dyer’s case is one of several in which a defendant to whom Gascón showed leniency has been released only to be accused of another violent crime. Now, with the incumbent district attorney taking heat for progressive policies from his challenger in November’s election, the question of how to handle the most violent of juvenile offenders has become a key issue.
In the recent case, prosecutors allege that in June she lured Joshua Streeter, 21, to a Pomona strip mall where he was shot dead…Dyer, now 22, is again charged with murder….When Gascón took office in 2020, he barred prosecutors from charging juveniles as adults under any circumstances….Shawn Randolph, the district attorney’s former top juvenile prosecutor, called the latest alleged killing by Dyer “predictable and preventable.” On Gascón’s initial ban on pursuing adult charges, Randolph said: “He ordered that juveniles that had demonstrated a propensity to kill would be released well before their brains had finished developing, unleashing them on a vulnerable public to kill again.”
Gascon also allows some adults who try to kill people to avoid prison, enabling them to commit murder. A father in Los Angeles was stabbed to death by a woman with a long and violent history, who was allowed to remain free by district attorney George Gascon. She had a history of attacking people with knives, but always avoided prison because Gascon’s office either released her or placed her in diversion programs instead.
Jade Simone Brookfield was charged with attempted murder in 2020 for stabbing a woman in the chest and puncturing her lung. Gascon’s office then reduced her charges to assault with a deadly weapon, and put her into a mental health diversion program instead of prosecuting her. She absconded and was removed from the program, yet was allowed to return to it. In 2021, Brookfield was arrested twice more. First, she was arrested for committing battery against a cop. She received mental health diversion for that, too, and the prosecution against her was dismissed. Then, she was arrested for criminal threats after she allegedly assaulted a man, pulled out two knives, and threatened to kill him. Gascon’s office refused to prosecute the case.
In March 2023, while still on diversion for her first knife attack, she was arrested once again for felony assault with a deadly weapon after she repeatedly tried to knife a bus driver who missed her stop. Gascon’s office permitted her to be released from custody with an ankle monitor.
In April 2023, she was arrested for murder, after she fatally stabbed Dennis Banner after arguing with him on the street. This is yet another example of what happens due to Gascon’s soft-on-crime practice of using diversion whenever it is arguably permitted by law.
Earlier, Gascon allowed the release of a gang murder who then murdered two police officers.
Gascon is facing a stiff reelection race against Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, U.S. Assistant Attorney General, and Los Angeles Ethics Commission President. Hochman has raised concerns about the fact that crime has risen in Los Angeles County in recent years, due to Gascon’s soft-on-crime policies, even as it has fallen in other jurisdictions that are tougher on crime.
If Hochman wins, he will seek to try dangerous killers in adult court, rather than juvenile court, so that those killers serve a significant prison sentence, rather than being quickly released after spending a couple years in a juvenile institution. If criminals are held longer, they are more likely to age out of crime, and less likely to kill people again upon being released.
In some cases, Hochman will likely succeed, keeping dangerous killers in jail. In some other cases, though, California state judges will let killers avoid being tried as adults. As the Los Angeles Times notes, California state law has become softer on juvenile criminals, and only the worst juvenile criminals can be tried in adult court: “Charging juveniles as adults requires judicial approval, and the bar tends to be high. Two-thirds of attempts to transfer teens to adult court failed last year, according to a report published by the California attorney general’s office.”
Gascon thinks juvenile killers don’t need more than a few years in juvenile detention. But such lenient penalties aren’t enough to deter crime or prevent recidivism. 17-year-olds who commit premeditated murder need to do serious time in prison. A study notes that most juvenile killers are arrested again after being released, and rates of reoffending are higher for those killers who “served shorter sentences.” As criminology professor Peter Moskos notes, “Recidivism among 16-year-olds went up” when the age for being prosecuted in adult court was raised in New York, resulting in violent criminals facing only a short stint in juvenile detention, rather than a prison sentence.
Juvenile killers typically go on to commit violent crimes after being released. An advocacy group notes that “A 2015 study…found that 90% of juvenile killers and attempted killers who were released were re-arrested. Over 60% were re-arrested for violent crimes.” Some juveniles are repeat offenders who commit violent crimes over and over again. Those repeat violent offenders need a prison sentence, not a short stint in juvenile detention. A study found that when California imposed longer sentences for repeat offenders, that deterred many violent crimes from being committd. Yet, Gascón issuing a directive banning prosecutors in Los Angeles County from seeking the longer sentences for repeat offenders approved by California voters in Proposition 8. That ballot initiative increased penalties for repeat offenders who commit willful homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault with a firearm.
Gascon’s desire to keep sentences as short a possible is in conflict with public safety, because when inmates are released after just a short time in jail, they go on to commit more crimes. For example, a study found that reducing incarceration increased the crime rate; it was published in the American Economic Review.
Holding inmates in jail longer results in some of them aging of out crime and others no longer committing the most serious crimes. Older inmates commit fewer crimes after being released, and tend to commit less serious crimes, than inmates released at a younger age. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 81.9% of all state prisoners released in 2008 were subsequently arrested by 2018, but only 74.5% of those 40 or older at the time of their release, only 56.1% of those age 55 at the time of their release, and only 40.1% of those over age 65 at the time of their release. (See Bureau of Justice Statistics, Recidivism of Prisoners in 24 States Released in 2008: A 10-Year Follow-Up Period (2008-2018 ) (Sept. 2021), pg. 4, Table 4).
DON'T BELIEVE A DAMN WORD YOU READ ON THIS WEBSITE!
The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. Moderators on this forum make every effort to review the material posted on this site however, it is not realistically possible for a one man team to manually review each and every one of the posts atomicbobs.com gets on a daily basis.
The content of posts on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites, are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual information on behalf of the owner or administration of Atomicbobs. This site may contain adult language, if you feel you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.
Not all posts on this website are intended as truthful or factual assertion by their authors. Some users of this website are participating in internet role playing, with or without the use of an avatar. NO post on this website should be considered factual information on face value alone. Users are encouraged to
USE DISCERNMENT
and do their own follow up research while reading and posting on this website. Atomicbobs.com reserves the right to make changes to, corrections and/or remove entirely at any time posts made on this website without notice. In addition, Atomicbobs.com disclaims any and all liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of a post on this website.
This website implements certain security features in order to prevent spam and posting abuse. By making a post on this website you consent to any automated security checks required by our system to authenticate your IP address as belonging to an actual human. It is forbidden to make posts on this website from open proxy servers. By making a post on this website you consent to an automated one time limited port scan of your IP address which is required by our security system to validate the authenticity of your internet connection.
This site is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. You should not assume that this site is error-free or that it will be suitable for the particular purpose which you have in mind when using it. In no event shall Atomicbobs.com be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this site or other documents which are referenced by or linked to this site.
Some events depicted in certain posting and threads on this website may be fictitious and any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental. Some other articles may be based on actual events but which in certain cases incidents, characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters may be composites, or entirely fictitious.
We do not discriminate against the mentally ill!
Fair Use Notice:
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights, economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science & technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
At some point freedom of speech and copyright law merge. The following interpretation of "Fair Use" and subsequent posting policy were developed with the assistance of qualified legal council however, we are not lawyers and cannot offer you legal advise as to the limits of "Fair Use"
In accordance with industry accepted best practices we ask that users limit their copy / paste of copyrighted material to the relevant portions of the article you wish to discuss and no more than 50% of the source material, provide a link back to the original article and provide your original comments / criticism in your post with the article.
Though legally each situation is evaluated independently according to guidelines that were intentionally left open to interpretation, we believe generally this policy represents "Fair Use" of any such copyrighted material for the purposes of education and discussion.
You are responsible for what you "publish" on the internet. You must be sure any copyrighted material you choose to post for discussion on this forum falls within the limits of "Fair Use" as defined by the law.
If you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe a post on this website falls outside the boundaries of "Fair Use" and legitimately infringes on yours or your clients copyright
we may be contacted concerning copyright matters at:
If you require a courier address please send a fax or email and we will provide you with the required information.
For expedited human review & removal of potential copyright violations we encourage users & copyright holders to utilize the "Report Copyright Violation" button that accompanies each post published on this website.
In accordance with section 512 of the U.S. Copyright Act our contact information has been registered with the United States Copyright Office. "Safe Harbor" noticing procedures as outlined in the DMCA apply to this website concerning all 3rd party posts published herein.
If notice is given of an alleged copyright violation we will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the material(s) in question. It is our strict policy to disable access to accounts of repeat copyright violators. We will also ban the IP address of repeat offenders from future posting on this website with or without a registered account.
All 3rd party material posted on this website is copyright the respective owners / authors. Atomicbobs.com makes no claim of copyright on such material.
Please be aware any communications sent complaining about a post on this website may be posted publicly at the discretion of the administration.
---
DON'T BREAK THE LAW!
---
Other than that you can do / say whatever you want on this forum.
We reserve the right to block access to this website by any individual or organization at any time for any reason whatsoever or no reason at all.