The snake burglar made his court appearance “once again” on Tuesday; it is unclear whether he pled guilty, although his bail remains at $100,000.
It is also unclear whether he will be released to slither amongst us “once again.”
Not long before he was caught on April 12, 2023, Christopher Michael Jackson had previously pled guilty to 23 felonies. As a result, Jackson was ordered to serve six sentences of 16 months in jail. However, due to laws and/or orders about an overcrowded jail system, Jackson served less than ten days behind bars. This is disturbing news to our communities, given he was handed the ability to continue his predatory crime spree.
Known as the notorious “Snake Burglar,” he got away with stealing thousands since 2021; it wasn’t until January 2022 that footage was aired about how this serial burglar uniquely committed his crimes. Typically removing a windowpane to break into a business, he would crawl on his belly like a snake to avoid any motion activity to the alarm systems. When the slithering thief was finally caught on April 12, 2023, he had already been convicted of multiple felonies, had accumulated several felony warrants, and was believed to have burglarized over 70 commercial buildings and businesses throughout Riverside County.
Before his “once again capture,” Jackson was free to roam the wilds of our communities, stalking his prey and slithering himself into his crimes, all while feasting on our justice system. According to a press release by the Riverside Police Department, law enforcement officers answering the call of a business security alarm “instantly recognized” the culprit.
Riverside police Chief Larry Gonzalez stated that the “snake burglar” had been identified in a virtual one-man commercial burglary crime wave.”
He also cited serial criminal activity as an example of a repeat offender benefitting from “soft-on-crime” laws in California. Unfortunately, legislative changes over the past decade, including Assembly Bill 109, Propositions 47 and 57, have made it increasingly challenging to ensure the safety of our citizens, but that does not stop our tireless efforts to do so.” Chief Gonzalez stated, “We must, as a community, advocate for ourselves and each other to pressure state legislators to make reasonable sound changes in these laws to protect our residents and businesses.”
· Assembly Bill 109 (AB 109), known as realignment, was passed by California voters in 2011. It diverts defendants convicted of less severe felonies to serve their time in local county jails rather than state prisons.
· Prop 47 allows nonviolent property crimes and simple drug possession offenses to be considered misdemeanors.
· Prop 57 allows parole consideration for nonviolent felons authorizing sentence credits for rehabilitation, good behavior, and education.
All of which repeat, nonviolent offenders’ benefit from such an over-crowded jail system, most often allowing them to be released into the community after a very short time. And this is precisely what the “snake burglar” feasted on, as he served his ten days after being convicted of 23 felonies, only to continue his predatory behavior. As a result, Chief Gonzalez, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, Sheriff Chad Bianco, and Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward joined together for a briefing this past week, calling for support to direct legislators’ attention to the need for modification of AB 109, removal of Props 47 and 57, that currently allow many offenders to walk without serving time.
In the case of the “snake burglar,” this should also draw our attention to the laws and raise awareness that repeat offenders are walking our streets and why. As communities in hearing how many felonies the notorious burglar was convicted of, yet served ten days behind bars, there were many unanswered questions about how this could occur. We voted for these Bills and Props in California, and the question is, will the “snake burglar” case change anything, giving us a safer community?
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