HILLSBOROUGH, CA – A San Mateo County man was released from jail with a court date after allegedly committing a felony – and he was out because of COVID protocols.
After he had been released, police say that he allegedly murdered someone, which is now brought the protocols under scrutiny.
John Walton Jr. was cited and released after crashing a stolen car. Later that night, the bodies of a 30-year-old woman and 15-year-old boy were found in Antioch… and then Walton Jr. was accused of murdering them days prior. https://t.co/vsn51zY7Gs
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) February 10, 2022
On January 29th around 3 am, the Hillsborough Police Department began receiving 911 calls after residents could hear someone yelling for help.
When the officer arrived on the scene, they located the alleged driver, John Walton, Jr, walking away from the crashed car which turned out to be stolen.
Police arrested Walton for the theft of the car and learned that he was also on felony probation for carjacking a person out of Contra Costa County in May of 2021.
Additionally, Walton has at least three prior felony arrests and convictions stemming from another stolen car and resisting arrest case in California.
If that was not enough, at the time of his arrest in January, Walton had an active arrest warrant for him out of Georgia concerning a felony domestic violence charge against a person who he would be later accused of murdering.
Despite Walton’s criminal history and the warrant out of Georgia (they would not extradite), he was released from a court date for the new stolen vehicle case.
ABC7 reporter Stephanie Sierra received information that Walton was released from the jail with a court date due to COVID protocols that are in place in the jail. Sierra questioned Hillsborough Police Captain Nelson Corteway to confirm her information. She asked:
“Just to be clear, if COVID protocols were not in place you would’ve booked Mr. Walton that night?”
Captain Corteway responded:
“Yes, for the stolen vehicle. Yes…Under COVID protocols we’ve been much more judicious to keep the jail population to the most serious crimes as possible.”
The Captain noted the protocols that his agency utilizes are the same that have been established by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
ABC7 received a statement from the Sheriff’s Office regarding the protocols that allowed Walton to be released:
“In an effort to minimize our correctional staff and incarcerate persons from exposure to the highly contagious Omicron variant, we have asked our law enforcement partners in San Mateo County to issue citations in lieu of booking when the crime committed is not a crime of violence.”
Unknown at the time of Walton’s release from the jail, the Antioch Police Department responded to a residence on the 29th after concerned neighbors reported that had not seen nor heard from 30-year-old Alexis Parson and 15-year-old Malik El-Ameen in several days.
When officers arrived at the home in the 2100 block of Lemontree Way, they made the gruesome discovery that both had been murdered.
Detectives assigned to the case quickly learned that Walton was engaged in a dating relationship with Parson and immediately labeled him as a suspect in the case.
Detectives were able to develop probable cause that Walton was the one that committed the murder and was able to take him into custody less than 24 hours after his arrest by the Hillsborough Police Department.
Walton is currently being held in the Martinez Detention facility without bail for the double murder charges. The case has been turned over to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office which will determine if there is sufficient evidence to move forward with prosecution.
John Walton Jr. was cited and released after crashing a stolen car. Later that night, the bodies of a 30-year-old woman and 15-year-old boy were found in Antioch… and then Walton Jr. was accused of murdering them days prior. https://t.co/wPwdNWTn0Y
— Wigwam Quan (@QuanWigwam) February 10, 2022
ABC7 was concerned that this example may be one of many with violent criminals being released back out onto the streets with simply a court date.
Because of their concern, they pulled records from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office which showed from January 7 to February 7th, 65 people have been arrested for misdemeanors.
Of those 65 people that were arrested, only 19 of them were booked into the county jail while the remainder were released with court dates. Additionally, 14 people were arrested and charged with felonies, only ten of them were incarcerated.
ABC7 reached out and made contact with an unidentified employee of the Sheriff’s Office who reported there have been alleged serious violent offenders who have been released from jail with court dates as opposed to being locked up. The employee said:
“It started with not booking for minor offenses, but in the last couple of weeks as you have seen in the past couple cases…there have been some really serious criminals released back into our communities…It’s been happening for a few weeks.”
National company that protects cops and their families throws support behind “Re-Fund the Police” campaign
Editor note: If you want to get in the fight and help re-fund the police, click here.
If you’re interested in learning more about protecting your family with Officer Privacy – click here – proceeds to directly into the national “re-fund the police” campaign.
CALIFORNIA – Law Enforcement Today is delighted to share with our readers that OfficerPrivacy.com has generously joined us as a corporate sponsor in our campaign to “Re-Fund the Police.”
As a loyal reader of Law Enforcement Today, you are probably aware that we initiated a campaign to back the blue and support “re-funding” rather than defunding the police, while publicizing the detrimental effects of defunding the police and the countless positive contributions to our society that our brothers and sisters in blue make every day.
Corporate sponsor OfficerPrivacy.com has dedicated itself to the “Re-Fund the Police” cause with a generous contribution to the refunding efforts.
This company is the brainchild of owner, Navy veteran, and law enforcement veteran Pete James.
In the Navy, James honorably served on an aircraft carrier as an Intelligence Specialist.
After his military service, James moved on to a 25-year career in law enforcement in California, ultimately retiring at the rank of lieutenant.
James is also a computer forensics expert who has testified in both state and federal courts, and he has worked on thousands of criminal, civil, and corporate cases as a private Open-Source intelligence investigator.
He also holds several college degrees and six computer forensics certificates.
James kept in close contact with his many former colleagues in law enforcement and actively followed changes in the law enforcement community. He repeatedly heard about incidents in which a criminal found an officer’s personal information online and would then harass and dox them and their family.
In his work in forensics and his private investigations, James utilized people-search websites, the very sites that were being used to collect the private information being used to attack officers.
These sites show officers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, the names of their relatives and are available to anyone performing an internet search.
Therefore, James married his expertise in law enforcement and computer forensics to create OfficerPrivacy.com, which protects officers by removing their personal data from the top 50 people-search websites and monitors those sites for any reappearance of that data.
James noted:
“After spending 25 years in law enforcement, I am using my experience, love and respect for the profession to make life safer for LEOs.
“My goal is to help provide a layer of privacy to all officers and their families.”
James and his team at OfficerPrivacy.com have created software that helps officers in all 50 states quickly and easily remove personal, private information from the most prominent people-search websites.
Furthermore, the software also monitors those websites, so if personal identifying information arises again, the officer can remove it quickly and easily.
Officers have two options for assistance at OfficerPrivacy.com.
One package features “Do-It-Yourself (with our help),” in which officers begin with a 14-day free trial of access to software that assists in removing personal identifying information. Officers are also provided with direct links to the most prominent people-search websites, for ease of access.
Thereafter, monthly package fees allow for the officers’ continued and continuous monitoring of those people-search websites for reappearance of personal information.
The other package option is “We Do the Work for You.” In this option, the OfficerPrivacy.com team removes officers from the top 50 people-search websites and continuously monitors those sites for personally identifying information. Monthly package fees cover monitoring by the team for reappearance of that information.
The OfficerPrivacy.com team is comprised of U.S.-based current and former law enforcement officers.
OfficerPrivacy.com is endorsed by The Deputy Magazine, Blue Lives Radio, Badge Boys Podcast, The Squad Room, Proud Police Wife, Sacramento LEO Chaplaincy, and the Police Officers’ Credit Union Assoc.
The impressive and protective benefits that OfficerPrivacy.com provides are not limited to law enforcement officers only. In fact, approximately half of the clients are officers’ spouses or are employed in other professions, such as teachers, realtors, and lawyers.
OfficerPrivacy.com is not only committed to keeping personal information safe from the prying eyes of people-search websites, but it is also committed to limiting who can see information within the company itself. Only vetted, active or retired law enforcement officers see client information.
Furthermore, the company keeps minimal data on clients, data which is protected by encryption and two-factor authentication. Naturally, no client data is ever shared or sold.
Law Enforcement Today is immensely grateful to OfficerPrivacy.com for their tireless dedication to protecting the privacy – and safety – of police officers nationwide, and for generously walking along with us to “Re-Fund Our Police” in the face of political and media-based pushes to defund those who protect and serve.
OfficerPrivacy.com has also graciously offered to back the “Re-Fund” cause with their own media campaign efforts.
As LET’s Executive Director, Kyle S. Reyes, notes:
”In an age where countless officers are doxxed and their families are being targeted for no reason other than their service to the community, it’s crucial that we find a way to protect them from those who seek to do them harm.
“Law Enforcement Today has partnered with OfficerPrivacy.com because there’s no greater way of helping put a digital shield of protection around them.
“Every officer and their family need to sign up. It’s perhaps the best ‘insurance policy’ we’ve seen yet.”
Pete James has honored Law Enforcement Today and our “Re-Fund the Police” campaign with these words:
“OfficerPrivacy.com is honored to partner with Law Enforcement Today, a solid and dependable supporter of LEOs, to ‘Re-Fund The Police.’
“Instead of cowering to those who scream the loudest, we must challenge with facts the anarchists and uninformed who want to destabilize and destroy our country by calling for defunding the police.
“The ‘Re-Fund the Police’ marketing campaign will make great strides in educating policy makers while honoring those who stand for the thin blue line.”
Re-Fund the Police”: Law Enforcement Today launches nationwide campaign for Americans to back the blue
Originally published October 10, 2021
Editor note: In 2020, we saw a nationwide push to “defund the police”. While we all stood here shaking our heads wondering if these people were serious… they cut billions of dollars in funding for police officers. And as a result, crime has skyrocketed – all while the same politicians who said “you don’t need guns, the government will protect you” continued their attacks on both our police officers and our Second Amendment rights.
And that’s exactly why we’re launching this national crowdfunding campaign as part of our efforts to help “re-fund the police”.
For those looking for a quick link to get in the fight and support the cause, click here.
—
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – You back the Blue. You support the police. You quietly buy an officer a cup of coffee at your local coffeehouse. You bring homemade cookies to your local police station. You make it a point to thank an officer when you see one out in public.
You watch the news, aghast to see crowds of anti-police protesters and rioters committing acts of violence and massive property damage. You pray daily for the Blue family.
And yet, you may feel quite alone.
Politicians and the mainstream news media would have you think that police support is at an all-time low.
Some of you may have found it necessary to take down your Thin Blue Line flags from your house, or to scrape off the Thin Blue Line sticker from your vehicles, due to the potential for violent retaliation by those who hate the police.
Yes, it is the loudest voices that are the ugliest. They revile and attack those who back the Blue. They call, “Defund the Police!” at every turn, fueled by the lie that police officers are racists who are out to kill.
But you are actually in excellent company in your support of the blue family.
According to a Gallup poll, 85% of Americans support law enforcement. That means supporters of the Thin Blue Line are 285 million strong.
That would be 285 million who, like you, refuse join in the calls to defund the police.
And that means you are in the company of those who have logic and reason on their side.
After all, we at Law Enforcement Today bring you stories daily of exploding crime in police-defunded areas such as Austin, Portland, New York City, or Los Angeles.
Homicide rates since defunding are up 58% in Atlanta, up 533% in Portland, and up 37% in Philadelphia.
Shootings in post-defunded New York City are up 64%, and they are up 51% in Los Angeles and up 18% in Chicago.
In addition, you have also followed our disturbing and often tragic stories of attacks on police officers in the era of police defunding.
Felonious attacks on police are on the rise, as documented by the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Data Collection.
According to LEOKA:
“The 50 law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the first 8 months of 2021 represent a 51.5 percent increase compared to the 33 officers killed during the same period in 2020.”
Also thanks to defunding, police departments across the country now lack training, resources, and equipment. Ironically, calls for additional training in cultural awareness, de-escalation, and use of force often have to go unheeded due to the lack of financial resources.
Another irony is that the push to do away with less-lethal options such as Tasers and tear gas will simply lead to more fatal police shootings.
These alarming stories and statistics indicate beyond a doubt that defunding the police is absolutely the wrong move for this great country. You know this, yet you and 285 million other voices are all too often silenced by social pressures as well as physical threats of violence.
You are even told, “Silence is violence,” when it comes to refusing to stand against law enforcement.
Your voice matters, and you need to be heard.
As Law Enforcement Today National Spokesman Kyle Reyes points out:
“Americans have stood by in disbelief as this ‘defund the police’ movement has spread across America and ravaged our communities.
“We’ve watched our cities burn, our officers be attacked and violence skyrocket.
“It’s time to come out of the twilight zone. It’s time to fight back.”
Law Enforcement Today, the nation’s largest police-owned media outlet, has developed a way to make your voice heard and oppose those who would seek to remove funding from those who protect and serve.
It’s called the “Re-Fund the Police” campaign.
Reyes explains:
“We wanted to make the “Re-fund the Police” campaign something that everyone- whether you can spare $1 or $1 million – can be a part of.
“People will donate to politicians all day long in hopes that person will get elected and possibly make a difference.
“We are asking for people to come forward and support those who make a difference and save lives every single day.”
Through your generous donations, Law Enforcement today will direct a media and advertising blitz to rally other Americans who, like you, are done with attacks on law enforcement, both physical and financial.
Here’s what the funds go towards:
- We’ve assembled a “strike team” of researchers and reporters who will delve deeply into the devastating impact that defunding the police has on communities and families. They’re going after not just the “leaders” in Congress who are pushing to defund the police… but they’re exposing everyone from the local politicians and city councils who are behind it. They’re also tracing the money of exactly who is funding this “defund the police” movement.
- We will focus on publicizing all the negative effects of defunding police while expressing support for our brothers and sisters in blue. The advertising blitz will be a show of support for police officers all across America.
In addition, we will be sending a team of reporters into our communities to share positive stories of law enforcement, stories which are consistently ignored by the mainstream media.
As a thank-you for your generosity in standing strong for the blue family, we are offering access codes for Law Enforcement Today’s Wounded Officer documentary and Border Crisis documentary. In addition, we offer additional perks such as stickers and Thin Blue Line face masks or yard signs.
Donors are also able to honor or memorialize a member of the blue family.
For those who cannot afford to contribute, we invite you to be a part of a nationwide chain of prayer warriors.
You can join our prayer chain along with other supporters who are willing to pray for our brothers and sisters in blue.
Also, when you sign up for our newsletter, we will keep you informed on how we are continuing to back the Blue, and bring you the stories the mainstream media will not touch.
Now to small businesses who are sick and tired of watching our cities burn as the “defund the police” movement spreads.
For business donors, we are pleased to offer a unique opportunity to make a difference in police departments across the country.
Reyes explains:
“We wanted to make sure small businesses could get in the fight, so we are rolling out the ‘adopt a police department’ program.”
Your business donation will be used to cover stories in the community of your choice, and expose those who are attempting to defund the police. Those stories, if you choose, will also include a thank you to your business and a link back to your business website.
In addition, your generous business donation will go toward advertising campaigns that highlight the negative effects of demonizing and defunding the police.
This will give you the opportunity to show to millions of Americans that, unlike “woke” anti-police organizations, you support and appreciate law enforcement.
Reyes points out:
“Corporate America rallied around the Black Lives Matter movement, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to a campaign that brought widespread looting and destruction in our cities.
“This is an opportunity for businesses to show America that law and order and keeping people safe still means something to them.”
Please join your voice with Law Enforcement Today in this campaign to support all those who protect and serve us.
We invite you to visit the Re-Fund the Police website for further information.
If you have questions, or you want to start your own fundraising team, feel free to email us at [email protected]
It’s time to get in the fight.
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