The body of an elderly woman was found in the backyard of a home in an east Stockton neighborhood Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013
STOCKTON, CA - Two state senators question how the San Joaquin County Jail determines it's releases, following the disturbing murder last week of a Stockton grandmother.
In a letter, Senators Loni Hancock and Cathleen Galgiani write about "recent incidents involving parolees which may indicate an increased risk to public safety."
MORE: Read the letter Hancock and Galgiani sent
The letter called the murder of Racheal Russell "horrific" and "allegedly committed by a parolee who had repeatedly been given early release from jail."
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The suspect is Jerome Deavila, who had been arrested a dozen times since last May. Prosecutor Sherri Adams, who is on the case, said last week Deavila had recently been sentenced to 30 days in jail for a failure to register as a sex offender. Adams said Deavila spent just one day in jail and had been released by the "county jail."
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The letter to Presiding Judge David Warner and Sheriff Steve Moore also mentions that San Joaquin County has received $80 million in state money for jail construction and expansion. The senators write "with the exception of one other county, all other Phase 1 AB 900 projects are underway except for San Joaquin."
Late Tuesday, neither Warner nor Moore had offered a response to the letter.
By Tim Daly, tdaly@news10.net
News10/KXTV