Although this is the first time I’ve used the above blog title, I’m calling it the latest in a series because I’ve posted so many other reasons California is going to hell in the recent past.
From Patrick Reilly’s article in the New York Post:
A Bay Area serial thief who has been busted a stunning 90 times for shoplifting was arrested again just hours after he was released from jail, according to a local report.
Jesse Leonardo Otero, 44, is well known to the California businesses he frequently targets as well as several local police departments who’ve dealt with his antics repeatedly over the years, KRON reported.
Otero, who is homeless, survives and supports his drug addiction by shoplifting and then selling the stolen merchandise, cops told the outlet.
His lengthy rap sheet shows he goes after both small businesses and big-box stores — and often returns to steal from them again to the extent that many store employees know him on a first-name basis.
His lengthy rap sheet shows he goes after both small businesses and big-box stores — and often returns to steal from them again to the extent that many store employees know him on a first-name basis.
Otero’s typically cited or briefly jailed before he’s released back out on the streets again.
He rarely steals more than $950 worth of products, according to police, which keeps him out of jail due to a 2014 change in state law.
That year, California residents voted to up the felony charge threshold for shoplifting from $400 in stolen property to $950, making most shoplifting crimes misdemeanors, according to the outlet.
Police are then left with no choice but to set him free despite his incredible criminal record.
Gee, what a surprise. You make it as easy as possible, with as little likelihood of punishment as possible, for people to steal up to $950 per incident. And then – wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles, you get the jesse leonardo otero’s of the world doing just that.
Remember, folks: unlike shenna bellows’ unilateral removal of Donald Trump from the Maine ballot, this was not the act of one unhinged lunatic in public office. Californians voted this proposition into law. Nine years ago.
And now, as homeless camps proliferate, businesses close, and productive residents – mostly the ones who pay taxes, let’s remember – flee the state, California is getting….
…..exactly what anyone with a brain would expect to happen.
If you make it easy for people to steal, people who steal will take advantage of the opportunity you’ve provided them. How hard is that to understand?
So ends the latest in this series. But, California being in its current condition – i.e. run by Gavin Newsom and with DAs in its major cities who refuse to do a thing about most street crimes – you can bet there will be more to come.
