9/14/09 Bail Hearing & Press Conference 8:00 am PT

[Natal]

This case was so easy to break campus police officers broke it--from another city.

They didnt break the case, they thought something was wrong with the two daughters. They most likely suspected a possible case of familial child abuse. The parole officer is the one that determined that something actually was very wrong, and the police department were the ones that determined the true situation.

If the parole officer had brushed the campus cops off, or if he had bought the Garido's story, Jaycee would be back in the backyard right now and most likely her conversion into Allisa Garido would have been complete forever. She would have been on the radar screen as Garido's daughter and no one would have questioned it again.

The whole situation was the most important crossroad in her life, and the path she ended up going down was largely a result of the decisions made by the parole officer. It could have very easily gone the other way if he hadn't been doing his job.

 

[Natal]

$30M bail set for Dugard kidnap suspect

<snipped>
"...Prosecutors claim in a court filing that the Garridos used a stun gun to subdue Dugard when they kidnapped her...."

I didn't know this!

That former prosecutor who appears on HLN as a talking head mentioned it quite some time ago (from his "inside" sources detailing stuff Nancy Garido was apparently telling the cops).

 

[FORDANIEL]

In keeping with my posts since this whole debacle began...we will not be given any information. Everyone is covering their butts and they will use the "respecting Jaycee's privacy" stance to continue to tell us NOTHING about the case. I totally respect JC's right to privacy but I definitely believe that the public has a right to know what law enforcement is doing to investigate possibly related cases and to better understand what on earth these people (the Garrido's) were doing for 18 years!

AMEN!!!!:woohoo:

 

[mysteriew]

That's hilarious considering that when this very same PO was contacted by Ally Jacobs, the UC Berkeley police officer, he responded to her concern about the daughters by saying the following (paraphrase): "He has no children. Maybe they're his grandchildren."

That's right: he didn't have children, but he apparently he could still have grandchildren! Jesus!

And remember, both the Berkeley police officers noted that they did not get any of the credit by the Contra Costa Sheriff's Department in the beginning. Jacobs even said in an interview (something to the effect of), "We knew that that's not how it happened, but that we would one day get to tell the truth."

It's really something that they're slapping themselves on the back for this. The various , including this latest one, didn't do anything about all the electrical cords running from the back of the house to the backyard, they were outwitted by tarp, didn't find out or do anything about the neighbor calling about the two girls living in the backyard (which is a crime in itself), and on and on over the past 18 years, but yet they get praise. Insane.

This case was so easy to break campus police officers broke it--from another city.

This is politics in action. Not the election stuff, but the behind the scenes working of politics.

DOC took a big hit because they didn't pick up on the fact that Jaycee was there despite repeated PO visits. That is translating to an outcry against the parole system by the public. Ergo, they must make the parole officals look better before the public takes up an outcry to make changes in the parole system or their budget gets cut. So they credit the parole officers with breaking the case. And they did have a role in it. But not that big a role. But officals will 'enhance' the role they played. Something like spin.

Behind the scenes the PO's are probably in hot water. They are probably under questioning and in deep doodoo. But no this won't be discussed publicly.

But instead of the 'spin' making me look more kindly at the parole system, it is making me wonder if perhaps they might be hiding something. There is no reason not to release the number of visits and findings of the parole officers. Certainly if they want to defend the parole officers they would be wanting to show that they did do their due diligence. But no, they aren't releasing that. Why? This part makes me wonder if perhaps there may be some notation about running into 'Alyssa' or one of the girls in the home at some point. With an appropriate cover of course. I am getting a sense that under the 'spin' they are hiding something.

Many of the public officals aren't talking too much about the Berkley officers. But the city officals have been honoring them, the internet loves them. Their role is known and they are considered to be the heroes in this. Despite the 'spin' by the officals.

 

[Natal]

^ Well, the parole officer was the one who "broke the case". He was the one to go "2 + 2 = somethings fishy". All the campus cops did was to say "2". And the real cops figured out "2 + 2 = 4"

It took all of these people. The first one to raise a flag. The second to understand the meaning of the flag, which is the more important step in this.

 

[mysteriew]

^ Well, the parole officer was the one who "broke the case". He was the one go "2 + 2 = somethings fishy". All the campus cops did was say "2". And the real cops figured out "2 + 2 = 4"

It took all of these people. The first, one to raise a flag. The second to understand the meaning of the flag, which is the more important step in this.

BTW Natal, I wanted to say WELCOME to WS! I'm glad you jumped in posting.

 

[Stephens]

They didnt break the case, they thought something was wrong with the two daughters. They most likely suspected a possible case of familial child abuse. The parole officer is the one that determined that something actually was very wrong, and the police department were the ones that determined the true situation.

If the parole officer had brushed the campus cops off, or if he had bought the Garido's story, Jaycee would be back in the backyard right now and most likely her conversion into Allisa Garido would have been complete forever. She would have been on the radar screen as Garido's daughter and no one would have questioned it again.

The whole situation was the most important crossroad in her life, and the path she ended up going down was largely a result of the decisions made by the parole officer. It could have very easily gone the other way if he hadn't been doing his job.

That's call breaking the case. It's what led a chain of events that resulted in Dugard and her girls being released. Especially when you consider the context of total systemic failure in "paroling" Garrido.

As for your remark about the PO: please! Wow, thanks PO, for not brushing off the legitimate concerns by a campus police officer about daughters that Garrido had, that neighbors or business associates seem to know about but the PO didn't. Thanks for doing the basic minimum in this case when so many times the PO (including previous ones) couldn't be bothered to follow procedure (e.g., find out and follow up on any calls from neighbors, actually interview neighbors and business associates on high-level security threats like Garrido, when the PO, according to the people in Garrido's life, never did in the past 15-20 years).

What total nonsense. The Berkeley police officers gift-wrapped this for the PO and he actually, finally, did his job. And yet he still struggled to overwhelm his own FAIL after Jacobs said these are his children, he was, like, "No, he has no children" (Way to assume she's wrong) and then proceeded to say they could possibly be his grandchildren! (Brilliant logic strikes again!). That's it.

But, yeah, way to go! :clap:

 

[Natal]

What total nonsense. The Berkeley police officers gift-wrapped this for the PO and he actually, finally, did his job. And yet he still struggled to overwhelm his own FAIL after Jacobs said these are his children, he was, like, "No, he has no children" (Way to assume she's wrong) and then proceeded to say they could possibly be his grandchildren! (Brilliant logic strikes again!). That's it.

First of all, that is one person's recollection, memory is not a tape recorder and it is colored by subsequent events, in this case hindsight. That said, accepting that it is correct, that story demonstrates the initial confusion that anyone in that situation would have experienced. As far as the parole officer knew, Garido had no children so hearing a report of him going around with kids he claimed were his children would have come as a big surprise. The immediate question in the parole officers mind would be who these people could possibly be, and given Garido's past it is easy to see what the parole officer might have thought after a few minutes mulling it over. That was the red flag, the moment Jaycee's future changed, not the fact that Garido had kids or that they seemed odd.

 

[Pink Panther]

I am shocked that the parole officer set up a meeting with PG for the next day! If PG had wanted to get away or to do harm, he certainly had ample opportunity. Why didn't the parole officer go to house???

 

[SunnieRN]

That's hilarious considering that when this very same PO was contacted by Ally Jacobs, the UC Berkeley police officer, he responded to her concern about the daughters by saying the following (paraphrase): "He has no children. Maybe they're his grandchildren."

That's right: he didn't have children, but he apparently he could still have grandchildren! Jesus!

Isn't it reassuring to know how well we are protected from criminals after their release? This is crazy!

[/QUOTE=Natal;4158883]They didnt break the case, they thought something was wrong with the two daughters. They most likely suspected a possible case of familial child abuse. The parole officer is the one that determined that something actually was very wrong, and the police department were the ones that determined the true situation.

If the parole officer had brushed the campus cops off, or if he had bought the Garido's story, Jaycee would be back in the backyard right now and most likely her conversion into Allisa Garido would have been complete forever. She would have been on the radar screen as Garido's daughter and no one would have questioned it again.

The whole situation was the most important crossroad in her life, and the path she ended up going down was largely a result of the decisions made by the parole officer. It could have very easily gone the other way if he hadn't been doing his job.[/QUOTE]

I respectfully disagree. If the officer had gone to the house, investigated and figured things out, I would agree. PG however, brought in his entire "family" and handed them over on a silver platter. How does that constitute the PO solving this crime. He KNEW PG didn't have kids, knew he was a sexual deviant... I can't understand the praise of Santos?

^ Well, the parole officer was the one who "broke the case". He was the one to go "2 + 2 = somethings fishy". All the campus cops did was to say "2". And the real cops figured out "2 + 2 = 4"

It took all of these people. The first one to raise a flag. The second to understand the meaning of the flag, which is the more important step in this.

I wont go there again, other to say that my cousin was a parole officer in Fresno County for 30 years. She was shot at, held hostage at knife point and made a LOT of arrests of parole violators. She always told me:

1: Know your perp

2: Monitor your perp

3: Never trust your perp

4: Talk to neighbors about your perp

5: Always suspect your perp and investigate them to the max!

All of her "perps" hated her, superiors loved her.

I am sure if she were still alive I would be hearing an earful on this!

 

[Natal]

Well, thats fine, but the parole officer didn't know about the girls. There was no sign of them in the "presentable" facade of the property, which is what he saw. You say "Talk to neighbors about your perp", but even the neighbors didnt really know about the girls and they LIVE there. The parole officer might see him a hour or so every few weeks, but the neighbors are there 24 hours a day every day every year for eighteen years, and they saw nothing.

You guys need to cut the parole officer a bit of slack, he didn't have the critical information he needed, namely that Garrido was wandering around town with kids in tow claiming they were his daughters. But once he had been made aware of it, he knew that Garrido had no children on record. Something was obviously screwy and he put the pieces together, so that the situation was resolved in a day. If this guy had recieved that report about the children living in the extended back yard that was made 3 years ago, he would have likely resolved the case in a day back then as well. But he didnt have that critical piece of information. So, it's easy to second guess him in retrospect, and say he should have known, but would you if you had been in his shoes not knowing what you know now?

 

[mysteriew]

I don't know. I guess I am critical of the PO because he seems to be the only one in authority who had regular contact with the G's, who had been in the home, who knew the history and the level of danger. And he didn't pick up on anything! Maybe it might help me to understand if I knew more about what a PO does, how often they visit homes, what they can and will do while there.

 

[LinasK]

Well, thats fine, but the parole officer didn't know about the girls. There was no sign of them in the "presentable" facade of the property, which is what he saw. You say "Talk to neighbors about your perp", but even the neighbors didnt really know about the girls and they LIVE there. The parole officer might see him a hour or so every few weeks, but the neighbors are there 24 hours a day every day every year for eighteen years, and they saw nothing.

You guys need to cut the parole officer a bit of slack, he didn't have the critical information he needed, namely that Garrido was wandering around town with kids in tow claiming they were his daughters. But once he had been made aware of it, he knew that Garrido had no children on record. Something was obviously screwy and he put the pieces together, so that the situation was resolved in a day. If this guy had recieved that report about the children living in the extended back yard that was made 3 years ago, he would have likely resolved the case in a day back then as well. But he didnt have that critical piece of information. So, it's easy to second guess him in retrospect, and say he should have known, but would you if you had been in his shoes not knowing what you know now?

Sorry, I strongly disagree! This guy screwed-up big time and there is no excusing it away! Jaycee could have been rescued years earlier if officer Santos had done any one of the following things: 1) check with other agencies regarding complaints, 2) talk to his next door neighbors- they saw and heard girls, tents, sheds, and loud parties back there, 3) checked property records/Google Maps/ Google Earth for the square footage of the property. 4) talked to his business associates- they would've told him about Garrido's "daughter Alissa".

 

[songline]

Well, thats fine, but the parole officer didn't know about the girls. There was no sign of them in the "presentable" facade of the property, which is what he saw. You say "Talk to neighbors about your perp", but even the neighbors didnt really know about the girls and they LIVE there. The parole officer might see him a hour or so every few weeks, but the neighbors are there 24 hours a day every day every year for eighteen years, and they saw nothing.

You guys need to cut the parole officer a bit of slack, he didn't have the critical information he needed, namely that Garrido was wandering around town with kids in tow claiming they were his daughters. But once he had been made aware of it, he knew that Garrido had no children on record. Something was obviously screwy and he put the pieces together, so that the situation was resolved in a day. If this guy had recieved that report about the children living in the extended back yard that was made 3 years ago, he would have likely resolved the case in a day back then as well. But he didnt have that critical piece of information. So, it's easy to second guess him in retrospect, and say he should have known, but would you if you had been in his shoes not knowing what you know now?

Are you related to this SOB because I would love to get him fired. He was useless. He did nothing right; NOTHING.
That property is on a LOT that lot had to be looked at.
Perps do not keep their victims propped up, for a parole officer to just bump into, his job was to know, to find out, to look closely. He did not do his job. what about that is Greek here???.
He should have looked into everything including neighbors complaints. What did he do? NOTHING :furious:
He is another one just waiting for his pension, if I can block that I would, if could get him fired I would. YAP I would.

 

[stilettos]

Are you related to this SOB because I would love to get him fired. He was useless. He did nothing right; NOTHING.
That property is on a LOT that lot had to be looked at.
Perps do not keep their victims propped up, for a parole officer to just bump into, his job was to know, to find out, to look closely. He did not do his job. what about that is Greek here???.

There is absolutely NO reason the parole officer should not have nosed around the property. This man was a dangerous criminal released into society. He should have done due diligence and serached the area....looked inside at all the rooms and asked for an outside tour. They can do that, are entitled by law to do so and cannot be legally refused. He should be sacked. Actually if he had any huevos he would resign.

 

[songline]

There is absolutely NO reason the parole officer should not have nosed around the property. This man was a dangerous criminal released into society. He should have done due diligence and serached the area....looked inside at all the rooms and asked for an outside tour. They can do that, are entitled by law to do so and cannot be legally refused. He should be sacked. Actually if he had any huevos he would resign.

Due Diligence was definitely in order...:furious:
I would love to have his B***S I'd hand them from a tree.

 

[Natal]

There is absolutely NO reason the parole officer should not have nosed around the property. This man was a dangerous criminal released into society. He should have done due diligence and serached the area....looked inside at all the rooms and asked for an outside tour. They can do that, are entitled by law to do so and cannot be legally refused. He should be sacked. Actually if he had any huevos he would resign.

He can do that on Garrido's residence, but he can't do that to the neighbors and business associates, which is were the missing info would have been found. I could be wrong, but I expect that most of what a parole officer does is (a) interview the parolee; and (b) inspect the parolee's residence/property for parole violations. Most of that inspection would be inside the residence itself, there is very little reason to inspect the property perimeter. From the PO's point of view (and pretty much everyone else who came to the house it seems), the property perimeter ended, not unreasonably, at the giant fence at the back of the house. Without knowing that the property actually extended out beyond that there would be no reason for the PO to hop over the fence.

Also, I doubt this guy was Garrido's parole officer for the 20 or so years he was living there. He probably picked up from someone else who toured him around the property on the changeover, so he would have seen nothing unusual on his visits.

 

[LinasK]

He can do that on Garrido's residence, but he can't do that to the neighbors and business associates, which is were the missing info would have been found. I could be wrong, but I expect that most of what a parole officer does is (a) interview the parolee; and (b) inspect the parolee's residence/property for parole violations. Most of that inspection would be inside the residence itself, there is very little reason to inspect the property perimeter. From the PO's point of view (and pretty much everyone else who came to the house it seems), the property perimeter ended, not unreasonably, at the giant fence at the back of the house. Without knowing that the property actually extended out beyond that there would be no reason for the PO to hop over the fence.

Also, I doubt this guy was Garrido's parole officer for the 20 or so years he was living there. He probably picked up from someone else who toured him around the property on the changeover, so he would have seen nothing unusual on his visits.

Why can't he have talked to the neighbors and business associates? Nothing says you need a search warrant to investigate where your parolee has been?

 

[Stephens]

Actually, parole officers are required by CA law to interview neighbors and business associates when dealing with high-level threats, which Garrido was one of. In the past 20 years, neighbors and others have said no PO ever interviewed them.

 

[LinasK]

Actually, parole officers are required by CA law to interview neighbors and business associates when dealing with high-level threats, which Garrido was one of. In the past 20 years, neighbors and others have said no PO ever interviewed them.

Okay, thanks for this info! I'm going to carry it over to the other thread about Santos screwing up.