http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/10933484.h tm Feb. 18, 2005 Ex-guard draws prison term By GEORGE B. SANCHEZ Herald Salinas Bureau A former guard at Salinas Valley State Prison was sentenced Thursday morning for his role in setting up a gang-initiated attack on an inmate.Leon Holston agreed to a sentence of two years and eight months in state prison. After sentencing, he apologized to the court, his family, and the California Department of Corrections.In November, Holston struck a bargain with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and filing a false report. The Monterey County District Attorney's Office agreed to drop three of the charges against him and agree on a sentence of no more than four years in prison.Before being sentenced, Monterey County Judge Marla Anderson reminded Holston on Thursday that he had the option to withdraw his plea and opt for a criminal trial, but he did not. "He elected this morning not to withdraw the plea and get this part of his life behind him," said Holston's attorney, Bud Landreth. "He's going to go to prison and straighten out his life." Last year, former Salinas Valley State Prison interim Warden Edward Caden asked the District Attorney's Office to investigate allegations that Holston helped arrange an Aug. 14, 2003, attack on a man identified in court papers only as "Inmate Tillis." According to court documents, Holston was supervising a cellblock housing members of a San Francisco Bay Area street gang who beat Tillis unconscious.Caden told The Herald that he believed Holston also helped the imprisoned gang members communicate with others inside and outside prison. Those charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.Less than a
week before Holston agreed to his plea bargain, nine other Salinas Valley
State Prison guards were served termination notices in connection with
the beating of inmate Rafael Serrano in October
George B. Sanchez can be reached at 646-4346 or gesanchez@montereyherald.com .
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/10051334.htm Posted on Fri, Oct. 29, 2004
Court upholds guards' convictions; agency cover up revealed DAVID KRAVETS
SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the 2002 convictions and sentences of two former Pelican Bay State Prison guards who arranged assaults on disliked prisoners. The prosecution prompted a federal judge to consider appointing a receiver to run the California Department of Corrections amid accusations the agency lacked internal controls to investigate guards' malfeasance. It also spawned a judge to consider holding in contempt the then-corrections department chief accused of trying to cover up that malfeasance. Edward Michael Powers was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, three years of supervised release and was fined $25,000. Jose Ramon Garcia was sentenced to six years and four months in federal prison and three years of supervised release - all of which was upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here. The two were sentenced in U.S. District Court here for their conduct between 1992 and 1996 when they would solicit inmates to attack child molesters, sex offenders and other inmates disliked by the defendants. In two cases, prosecutors said, the two attacked inmates themselves. One former inmate testified that in one instance, Powers offered to pay a half-ounce of heroin and a half-ounce of methamphetamine for the stabbing of a prisoner, and even supplied a knife for the attack. Garcia has also been convicted in a separate state trial on a charge of conspiracy to assault inmates and supplying alcohol in the prison. He served nearly four years in state prison for that conviction. Pelican Bay, in Crescent City near the Oregon state line, is home to California's most hardened criminals, most of whom are serving lengthy terms for violent crimes. Powers' and Garcia's prosecution prompted a probe by U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson into allegations that guards who took the stand on Powers' and Garcia's behalf committed perjury. Then-California Department of Corrections chief Edward Alameida had promised Henderson he would investigate whether guards lied in court. Alameida said he would fire guards that committed perjury or were involved in abusing inmates. However, Alameida did not follow through, according to Henderson's investigation, which concluded the probe was a "sham." The Henderson report found the department had no effective method for investigating inmate abuse, it was overly influenced by the prison-guard union, and that the department, as a whole, exhibits a rampant code-of-silence culture. Alameida took the stand to deny he covered anything up, but resigned amid the allegations last year. Henderson is expected to rule within weeks whether to hold Alameida in contempt of court for not following through with his promise. Henderson will also rule if a federal receiver is needed to run the agency. The guard cases are United States v. Garcia, 03-10067; United States v. Powers, 03-10071. The contempt and receivership case is Madrid v. Rimmer, 90-3094. --- Editors: David Kravets has been covering state and federal courts for more than a decade.
Lengthy sentence likely for ex-prison guard By Craig Koscho San Andreas resident Neil Alden Leash II, 47, will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison on child molestation and pornography charges. The former guard at the Sierra Conservation Center near Jamestown pleaded guilty Monday in Eastern District Federal Court of California in Sacramento on 12 child pornography charges, according to court spokesperson Karen Ernst. He was transferred to Sacramento Friday from the Calaveras County Jail where he was being held on $1 million bail. A plea agreement involving four of 95 molestation charges in Calaveras County Superior Court is all but a done deal, according to county District Attorney Jeff Tuttle. Leash was arrested Sept. 17, 2002, at his San Andreas apartment and eventually charged with 95 counts of child molestation involving three girls under the age of 14. The federal child pornography charges were filed in January and accuse Leash of videotaping minors involved in sexually explicit conduct. Leash faces a maximum sentence of 20 years on the pornography charges, Ernst said, plus a $150,000 fine for each count. Formal sentencing is set for 9:30 a.m., Feb. 23. Prior to that, Leash will return to Calaveras County where he is expected to plead guilty to four counts of child molestation. An agreement in Calaveras County Superior Court stipulates Leash will plead guilty to one count of forced oral copulation on a minor and three counts of lewd and lascivious acts involving children, according to documents filed Dec. 5 in Calaveras County Superior Court. He faces two concurrent sentences of 15 years to life on charges one and two. He also will serve eight years on the third charge and two years on the fourth count, to be served after the sentences on the first two counts, according to court records. The sentencing means Leash would be 72 years old before even being eligible for parole. No date has been set yet for the formal plea, but Tuttle expected that to happen in seven to 10 days. It's not known at this time how the federal and state penalties will be arranged. Tuttle said Leash will serve at least the first part of his sentence in a federal facility, which was a major stipulation for the defense because of the defendant's former job in a state prison. Overall, Tuttle was pleased with the arrangement. "I feel it's a good disposition," he said. The district attorney noted Leash will be in his 70s before he even has a chance at getting out, and probably won't succeed in any of those efforts. "With this type of molestation record, I think it's going to be tough for him to get (parole) even when he is considered," Tuttle said. And there was also concern about the children should the case have gone to trial. "There's always a real big consideration for the victims in this kind of case, and it played a big part in this decision," Tuttle said. Tuttle observed that this is probably the toughest sentence ever handed down on a molestation case in the county. "It was a real nasty case," Tuttle said. "We'll all be glad to see the file closed." Contact Craig Koscho at ckoscho@calaverasenterprise.com
|