The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Police Hunt Homeless Suspect

Posted on | April 2, 2013 | 4 Comments

Tobias Dustin Summers is homeless. He is also a career criminal. And now he is the object of a manhunt in California:

Los Angeles police on Saturday identified a suspect in the kidnapping and sexual assault of a young Northridge girl last week as a 30-year-old transient with an extensive criminal history.
Tobias Dustin Summers, who was released from jail in January after serving six days for a probation violation, is the primary focus of the police investigation, LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said at an afternoon news conference at police headquarters downtown.
Summers has a criminal history dating back to 2002 that includes charges of kidnapping, robbery, explosives possession and petty theft, Albanese said. Summers is not a registered sex offender, but authorities said he was arrested on suspicion of battery in 2009 in a case that involved child annoyance. . . .
Authorities described Summers as a transient who frequents North Hollywood and other areas of the San Fernando Valley.

Ten years ago, I wrote an article about the criminal threat posed by the homeless population:

A survey conducted [in 2001] by the Boston Rescue Mission found that 49 percent of their clients said they had criminal records, and 32 percent said they had spent time in prison, while 12 percent said they were discharged directly from a prison to a shelter.
A study in Cambridge, Mass., found that the homeless, though 0.5 percent of the population, accounted for 10 percent of all arrests during a two-year period — including 40 arrests for assault or aggravated assault, 18 for burglary, eight for robbery, 54 for shoplifting, 18 for sale or possession of narcotics, and one for rape.
In Los Angeles, a police sweep of the homeless in December resulted in 214 arrests, including the capture of more than 100 parole violators. . . .

You can read the whole thing, which is still as valid as it was in 2003, when a homeless man named Brian David Mitchell was arrested for the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart.

Category: Crime

Comments

4 Responses to “Police Hunt Homeless Suspect”

  1. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    April 2nd, 2013 @ 11:38 am

    We really do need a Hobo Season.

  2. richard mcenroe
    April 2nd, 2013 @ 12:02 pm

    California, where good governance equals turning thousands of convicted felons back out onto the streets while disarming law-abiding families.

  3. Quartermaster
    April 2nd, 2013 @ 12:31 pm

    Opening right after Dimcrat Politico season. No bag limit.

  4. Dai Alanye
    April 2nd, 2013 @ 2:06 pm

    Crimes of violence, particularly aggravated violence rather than pushing and loud talk or fights between peers, ought to be treated more seriously than it is. Multiple violations, whether by juveniles or adults, seems to be a strong indicator of future serious felonies.