It’s happened again, and this time authorities are putting the blame entirely on California’s sanctuary status. This time the suspect, Carlos Eduardo Arevalo Carranza, a Mexican national who is a known gang member with a lengthy criminal history. Police arrested him on Monday for the murder of 59-year-old Bambi Larson, who was found dead at her home in San Jose on February 28.
“When he was arrested for Larson’s murder,” the Daily Mail reports, “Carranza was on probation for possession of methamphetamine, paraphernalia, false imprisonment and burglary.”
But the real kicker, according to San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia, is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had applied for a detainer on Carranza on nine separate occasions and all nine times the requests were ignored by county officials in accordance with California’s standing as a sanctuary state. As a result, Carranza was freed so he could offend again.
This time the crime he committed was for keeps. Police say Carranza, who has no address, stalked Larson before breaking into her home and attacking and ultimately killing her.
ICE field director Erik Bonnar is quoted as having asked rhetorically:
How many more people have to be killed or injured before California lawmakers will open discussions to revise the state policy prohibiting local law enforcement agencies from working with ICE to apprehend dangerous criminal aliens?
It’s unfortunate that our communities face dangerous consequences because of inflexible state laws that protect criminal aliens.
These sanctuary policies have unintended, but very real, and often tragic consequences to public safety.
But this is California, whose governor just yesterday granted a reprieve to all 737 murderers on California’s death row, so the answer to Bonnar’s question, one supposes, is never.
