California prosecutors warn of release of 7 'high risk' sex offenders, some who served 'just days'

Prosecutors in Orange County, California on Tuesday, April 28 issued a warning to the public about the release of seven sex offenders in 21 days — some “who spent just days behind bars despite being accused of cutting off their GPS monitors.”

In a news release, the district attorney’s office said the seven registered sex offenders with crimes ranging from indecent exposure, to sexual battery, to child molestation were released beginning April 7 after rulings by the court commissioner.

Per state law, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes on March 27 announced the release of “a limited number of Orange County Jail inmates prior to the conclusion of their sentence to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.” At the end of March, the sheriff’s office noted: “At this time, Sheriff Don Barnes is limiting releases to low-level offenders with less than 10 days remaining on their sentence and inmates who are medically vulnerable as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and the Public Health Officer. Violent offenders and those who pose a risk to the community will not be released early.”

Prosecutors said many of the seven sex offenders who were released spent days behind bars instead of the six months required by law for registered sex offenders who violate parole by removing or disabling GPS monitors.

The release said one of the sex offenders, who was convicted of sexual battery, was release on April 7 after he was sentenced to time served and ordered to report to parole. Prosecutors said two weeks later, he was in court on another parole violation, and again sentenced to time served.

The release of these seven registered sex offenders came as Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes reported to the county board on Tuesday the jail population had been reduced by nearly 45% since March 7 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“These kinds of high-risk sex offenders are the most dangerous kind of criminal and the most likely to re-offend. They are doing everything they can to avoid detection by the parole officers assigned to monitor them so they can potentially commit additional sex offenses. These are not the kind of people who should be getting a break,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer in the news release. “As a state legislator, I was the author and founder of the State of California Sex Offender Management Board and the author of Megan’s Law on the Internet, which allows the public to see where these sex offenders are so that they can protect themselves and their families. It is not the Court’s responsibility to control the jail population by releasing these dangerous criminals back into our communities. The residents of Orange County deserve to have the peace of mind that registered sex offenders are being held accountable and not just let out the front door of a jail by a court commissioner who refuses to follow the law.”

The release noted “as a result of these dangerous decisions to not follow the law, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office will not stipulate to appear” before the court commissioner on parole violations involving registered sex offenders.

Prosecutors released the following information regarding the seven sex offenders released since April 7:

Luis Joel Ramirez, 27

• Last known address: Costa Mesa
• Selected criminal history: Sexual battery, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting a peace officer, burglary and possessing a leaded cane, a deadly weapon
• Four parole violations since 2019
• Released 4/7/2020 after serving 20 days’ credit time served on a parole violation for cutting off his GPS despite 180-day minimum sentence.
• Released 4/24/2020 after serving 16 days’ credit time served on a parole violation for failing to report to parole.

James Franklin Bowling, 50

• Last known address: Orange
• Selected criminal history: Lewd conduct in a public place, repeated convictions for failing to register as a sex offender, repeated convictions for sex offender on school grounds, possession of controlled substance and paraphernalia
• Two parole violations since February 2020
• Released 4/9/2020 after serving 14 days’ credit time served on a parole violation for failing to charge GPS monitor despite 180-day minimum sentence. Ordered to report to parole. He does not report.

​Rudy William Grajeda Magdaleno, 39

• Last known address: Anaheim
• Selected criminal history: Child molestation, indecent exposure, assault, battery, criminal threats, inflicting injury on an elder adult
• Five parole violations since 2017
• Released 4/13/2020 after serving 142 days’ credit time served on a parole violation for failing to charge GPS monitor despite 180-day minimum sentence. He is ordered to report to parole. He does not report.

​Calvin Curtis Coleman, 52

• Last known address: Santa Ana
• Selected criminal history: Lewd conduct in a public place
• Three parole violations since 2019
• Released 4/13/2020 after serving 18 days’ credit time served on a parole violation after failing to charge GPS monitor despite 180-day minimum sentence and ordered to report to parole.

Kyle Albert Winton, 40

• Last known address: Mission Viejo
• Selected criminal history: Annoy/molest a child, criminal threats to cause great bodily injury or death, resisting a peace officer, DUI and hit-and-run with property damage
• One parole violation
• Released 4/17/2020 after serving 10 days’ credit time served on a parole violation after failing to charge GPS monitor despite 180-day minimum sentence and ordered to report to parole. He does not report.

Jose Adrian Oregel, 46

• Last known address: Santa Ana
• Selected criminal history: Unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, oral copulation of a person under the age of 18, great bodily injury, second striker
• Six parole violations since June 2019
• Released 4/22/2020 after serving 18 days’ credit time served a parole violation for failing to charge GPS monitor despite 180-day minimum sentence and ordered to report to parole.

Mario Ernesto Sandoval, 45

• Last known address: Stanton
• Selected criminal history: Sexual battery, touching for sexual arousal, indecent exposure, assault on a peace officer, assault
• One parole violation in 2020
• Sandoval failed to charge his GPS device as required by law, and was unaccounted for one-third of the time he was out of custody.
• Released 4/22/2020 after serving 16 days’ credit time served on a parole violation for failing to report to charge GPS monitor despite 180-day minimum sentence and ordered to report to parole.