Police in Glendale, Calif., say that the office of left-wing Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón recommended “zero bail” for a 21-year-old man arrested on multiple charges including kidnapping and having sex with a minor girl.
According to a press release, police arrested Simon Lopez, who is homeless, in a residential neighborhood of Canoga Park on Monday. His arrest was linked to a reported confrontation involving a minor and an adult male earlier this month in Glendale, according to police, who said that the male was witnessed assaulting the minor before fleeing the scene in a vehicle.
In addition, police discovered that Lopez was involved romantically with a minor under the age of 15 and that he also had an arrest warrant from a non-local jurisdiction, the department said. Officers tracked Lopez to a location in Canoga Park Monday afternoon and arrested him. Police charged him with domestic violence, kidnapping, engaging in sexual intercourse with a minor, and for his outstanding warrant. Reports said he was placed in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles.
Afterward, Glendale police claimed that Gascón’s office recommended that bail for Lopez be set at $0 under the county’s emergency “Zero-Dollar” bail order. But when Gascón’s office was reached for comment, a spokesman pushed back on the Glendale police claim, telling Fox News that the prosecutor did not recommend zero bail and ultimately, a judge set the suspect’s bail at $100,000.
So-called ‘criminal justice reform’ advocates have long claimed that cash bail negatively impacts low-income and minority communities the most. That said, the California Supreme Court ruled earlier this year to eliminate cash bail for any defendant who cannot afford to pay it, which essentially decreed that poor defendants be released from incarceration while awaiting trial unless deemed to be too dangerous.
The state high court’s ruling came in spite of California voters rejecting a proposal to end cash bail in November 2020.
In addition, the “zero bail” policy has come under fire in recent months following a series of gang-style “smash-and-grab” robberies, many at high-end retail outlets. Critics, including law enforcement officers, have blamed left-wing policies for the rise in brazen criminal activity.
Gascón’s leftist policies have also made him the subject of several recall efforts.
American Bail Coalition Executive Director Jeff Clayton blasted Gascón, telling Fox News in a statement if he had his way, “Simon Lopez and many, many others would be out on the street to re-terrorize their victims.”
“It is important to note that Lopez is a transient, who also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest,” Clayton said. “This would lead any reasonable person to conclude that he was a severe flight risk and danger to the community.
“But apparently not to DA Gascón. According to his standards, Lopez is innocent and free to go,” he said.
Jon has over 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
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