GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A man who is to be arraigned Monday for the alleged sexual assault of an elderly woman in Grandville spent 30 years in the Pennsylvania prison system for murder, and his 2012 release prompted authorities to warn the community.
Shawn Jarrett, 50, is charged with first-degree home invasion and first-degree sexual assault. He was officially named Monday, June 23, as a suspect in the homicide of Yolanda Reyes, a mother found dead in May at a construction site in Walker.
According to Susan McNaughton, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Jarrett entered the state prison system there on Dec. 3, 1982 to serve a 10 to 20-year sentence for burglary in Mercer County. That sentence ended in 1992 and Jarrett immediately began serving a consecutive 10 to 20-year sentence for a separate case of criminal homicide out of the same county. He completed that 20-year sentence on Dec. 31, 2012.
Jarrett was not placed on parole supervision upon his release because he completed his entire sentence behind bars, McNaughton said.
Mercer County District Attorney Robert Kochems spoke with The Herald in Sharon, Pa., as Jarrett was released in 2012, sharing his concern. Kochems described it as being "a good time to remind people to be vigilant and remember that 'extremely dangerous' people walk the streets."
Jarrett had served a term for third-degree murder for fatally stabbing a 64-year-old neighbor, a woman who worked as a teacher's aide with special education students. The victim was someone whom Jarrett had known since he was in fifth grade, The Herald reported.
Jarrett could never give a reason for committing the attack, news reports say.
Walker Police learned of Jarrett's violent criminal record as they began to look into the backgrounds of employees at Neal Mast & Son Greenhouses, where Reyes, the woman found dead in May, was once employed. At one time, Jarrett also worked there, Walker Police say.
It's unclear if the company knew of Jarrett's criminal record when he was hired. Messages left with Neal Mast & Son Greenhouses were not returned Monday.
