
The newfound “progressive” mission to bail suspected criminals out of jail appears to be backfiring, as evidenced by the recent recidivism of one known career criminal.
Flashback to Oct. 3, when the far-left Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights nonprofit spent $750 to bail career criminal Tamika West, 44, out of Rikers Island to save her from having to rot in jail as she waited to go on trial for alleged burglary and drug possession.
Never mind that according to the New York Post, West is a career criminal who’s been arrested 27 times since 2008 alone on allegations of burglary, prostitution and drug possession.
According to the RFK Center, she deserved a second (or rather 28th) chance, as did the hundreds of other suspects whom the center reportedly spent millions to get released.
Kennedy charity to spend millions bailing out women, minors from NYC jails https://t.co/4PysAQajb2
— NYPD bot (@NYPDbot) September 19, 2018
Included among those who deserved another chance was Rickeem Parker, 18, who was being held at Rikers Island on allegations of assault when he attacked a corrections officer in October.
Watch:
The center reportedly bailed him out a week later.
At the time local law enforcement slammed the agency, arguing that by paying the bail for criminals such as West and Parker, the center was incentivizing them to commit more crime.
“If a relative puts their house up for bail, the odds are pretty good that the arrested person will show up in court,” one law enforcement official said. “The odds are not that good if some rich person puts up the money. You won’t feel as obligated to show up.”
West’s actions since her release in October suggest law enforcement was right.
First, she failed to show up for a court hearing on Oct. 23. Then two months later she broke into the Bronx office of New York State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, lit up a crack pipe and then tried to flee the scene with toys she stole from a donation box.
“Inside, she kindled a festive mood by lighting up a crack pipe — then swiped a bag and loaded it with office items, wallets and gifts for the needy that Dinowitz’s staff had been collecting for a toy drive, according to the indictment and the assemblyman,” the Post reported.
She also reportedly swiped a $500 check from Dinowitz’s campaign checkbook and signed it over to herself. Her plan fell apart when local police busted her as she tried to flee out the back door.
She’s since been jailed on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, attempted grand larceny, attempted petit larceny and possession of a controlled substance.
And according to records maintained by the NYC Department of Corrections, this time her bail has been “remanded,” meaning she may not be bailed out of jail:
Speaking with the Post, Dinowitz seemed to express shock at West’s actions: “The toys particularly hit home, because my staff used their own money to buy them,” he said.
What remains unclear is whether the career criminal’s actions have inspired the New York legislator and state Judiciary Committee chair to rethink his support for abolishing the bail system.
His rhetoric suggests not.
“They bailed out a person who was arrested several dozen times already,” he said, referencing the RFK Center center. “She would not have been there but for them.”
It sounds as if he believes that suspected criminals without a criminal history should still be released and not held behind bars as they await trial. He’s not alone in this belief.
Earlier this year California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that effectively eliminated bail and mandated nonviolent suspects be released from custody within 12 hours of their arrest.
And just last month the Philadelphia Eagles spent $50,000 to bail nine suspected criminals out of jail. It’s unclear whether any of the suspects have been rearrested since.
“The cash bail system punishes poverty and … punishes people of color at a grossly disproportionate rate,” defensive back Malcolm Jenkins said at the time.
“Some people say we need the system to make our community safe — but as you can see here with these groups, we have everything we need to make our community safer, when we decide to invest in people and wrap our arms around people, as opposed to locking them up.”
This plan of “invest[ing] in people” did not appear to work in the case of West, whom the RFK Center invested $750 in to try and save. And according to social media users, this method of “invest[ing] in people rarely works.
Look:
The “do gooders” terrorize neighborhoods, if these people were released into their neighborhoods they would think differently. RFK bail recipient busted for stealing toys from donation box https://t.co/aFdTC1hd8G
— Dan Callahan (@DannCallahan) December 18, 2018
A Bronx Assemblyman who supports ending cash bail had his office burglarized by a woman who recently skipped court after her cash bail was covered the RFK Human Rights Foundation.https://t.co/UBxja1Z10x
— Ken Garger (@kgargs) December 18, 2018
Lib Kennedy dog and pony show allows jailbird to steal again.
RFK bail recipient busted for stealing toys from donation box: https://t.co/lH3gSKjmU5
— ❌✝️ American Pitbull ??❌ (@MelissaRNMBA) December 18, 2018
Good job Democrats, RFK bail recipient busted for stealing toys from donation box https://t.co/ocywC7SuKP via @nypmetro #TuesdayMorning #TuesdayThoughts
— RogueRdr©®? ︻╦̵̵͇̿̿̿̿╤── (@Rogueraidr) December 18, 2018
Thanks Kerry Kennedy! For bailing out someone with 27 prior arrests. There’s better things to do with that money. RFK bail recipient busted for stealing toys from donation box: https://t.co/2hyz9AiouI
— Darla (@RoxyCoco09) December 18, 2018
That makes two now…
— DJW (@D_J_W_5) December 18, 2018
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