By Alex Jimenez
OAKLAND, CA- Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris D. Jacobson took a cautious approach when considering the release of two different incarcerated suspects late last week, although he declared he remains open to other resolutions as he considers the implications for release.
Anthony Garcia, charged with unlawfully driving a stolen vehicle, second degree burglary, and evading an officer, has an extensive criminal history with “18 arrests since 2018,” according to Deputy District Attorney Nathan Feldman.
Judge Jacobson appeared to struggle in making a decision, given the fact that the crimes are nonviolent, as he noted. But the judge added that Garcia appears to be prolific in committing crimes when out of custody. Garcia also lives out of county in San Joaquin County, further complicating the judge’s ability to supervise Garcia. 
“I am disinclined to release him…simply releasing him because these are not crimes of violence (but) there’s too many of them,” said Judge Morris, who added he was open to a structured plan, but once again emphasized that simply releasing him would be problematic.
It is evident that Garcia does not pose a danger to community safety as outlined by Assistant Public Defender Laura Bull and the judge agreed, telling the PD she is welcome to revisit the matter.
In another pretrial release hearing, the judge considered releasing Allan Reed, who is charged with grand theft, assault, and inflicting great bodily harm—public safety was more of a concern in this case.
Defense attorney Robbie Abrams Cook requested Allan be released to await further court action, taking issue with the pretrial release report regarding level of risk. Cook claims that an error was present in the report.
It also appears that the evidence is not clear regarding a victim who was allegedly choked unconscious. The judge was unsure if Reed is the person who choked out the victim and, similar to the Garcia matter, was inclined to hold off on release for the time being until the evidence is cleared up.
“I’m concerned if he’s the person that choked the victim, that demonstrates a level of violence that needs to be dealt with,” according to the judge. At this point Morris is concerned that he lacks a clear understanding about Reed’s potential safety risk and will hold off on a decision until he can better analyze the facts.
A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 9, when the matter of release will be revisited.
