MAR 28, 2022
Emma Roark slaying rattles American River Parkway visitors | (sacbee.com)
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Harris said she frequently rafts the river, and has noted the increasing number of campsites she floats by.
“Why should they be using our prime real estate?” Harris asked. “If I wanted to go down the river and camp overnight with my raft, I’m not allowed to do that because there’s no camping in the park. But if I’m homeless I can live in the park? That’s not right. I feel unsafe, and I feel like the homeless population is more important than the people who live around the parks.”
Such sentiments were echoed at a meeting last month in a Rancho Cordova church, where about 400 area residents turned out for an update by law enforcement and city officials about the Roark slaying and the homeless situation along the American River.
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RAWLS LIVED ON PARKWAY FOR YEARS
Whether anything could have been done to get Rawls off the parkway and into some kind of treatment or shelter is unknown.
He had been living along the river for years not far from where his mother lives, and had a lengthy history of involvement with law enforcement and park rangers dating back to a weapons charge in 2005.
Court records, which list his address as “general delivery,” show that in May 2020, he was cited by park rangers for possession of a black pellet rifle with a scope on the parkway and released with an order to appear in court Aug. 10. He failed to appear and a bench warrant was issued.
In October 2020, while he was still on probation for burglarizing Kent’s home, he was arrested again and charged with resisting a sheriff’s deputy, possessing a stun gun, possession of tear gas by a felon and possessing narcotics paraphernalia, court records say. He was booked and released four days later and ordered not to use or possess illegal drugs.
Two months later he was back in custody, charged with possessing a .45-caliber bullet near the El Manto access point to the parkway. He pleaded no contest and was given a 105-day sentence and a year of informal probation.
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