OAKLAND — In separate cases, federal prosecutors have charged two men who were re-arrested a short time after being freed from county jail through a statewide policy intended to reduce pretrial incarceration during the COVID-19 pandemic — and then had their cases publicized by local authorities eager to curtail the policy.
The filing of federal charges may lead to longer jail stays for both men, as federal judges — unlike their counterparts in state court — use a different set of guidelines to determine whether a criminal defendant should be jailed pending the resolution of his or her case.
Over the past week, federal prosecutors have charged Kristopher Sylvester, 34, with illegal gun possession, and Rocky Music, 32, with carjacking. If convicted, Sylvester faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, while Music faces a maximum of 15 years.
The complaint against Music alleges that he assaulted a man to steal his car within 30 minutes of his release from Alameda County Jail. Sylvester, meanwhile, was allegedly caught with two loaded guns within the span of a week and is a suspect in several burglaries around the Bay Area.
Music and Sylvester’s cases were two of several highlighted by police departments in Alameda County, who have become increasingly vocal in their opposition to a statewide policy that has reduced bail to $0 for most misdemeanors and low-level felonies. The zero-bail policy was instituted by the California Judicial Council in April, as a means of reducing jail populations in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 in county jails.
In state court, each county sets bail for every offense, though judges are allowed to withhold bail completely under certain circumstances. In federal court, by contrast, a judge can set bail only if they find the defendant is neither a danger to the public nor at risk of fleeing the area to avoid the criminal case.
And while state law enforcement agencies — including the Alameda County Sheriff — have agreed to release inmates over the threat of COVID-19, federal prosecutors in Northern California have taken the opposite approach, opposing release of all roughly 400 federal detainees in the Bay Area, except one.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office — which put out a news release on Music’s arrest in April — has been particularly vocal in its opposition to the policy, using its official Facebook page to advocate against it, in posts that sometimes contain the slogan “Zero Bail Fail.” The sheriff’s office has framed it as a public safety issue, writing in one Facebook post: “We oppose zero bail and the other releases. Including a serial rapist that was let out.”
Alameda County Sgt. Ray Kelly said there have been roughly 50 re-arrests in Alameda County over the six weeks since the zero-bail policy was instituted. Some of those people tested negative for COVID-19 when they were first booked, but then had come down with the virus when were booked subsequently.
“Time will tell but I think there are unrealized consequences to the zero-bail protocol,” Kelly said. “What we are seeing now in terms of crime trends is concerning. You can steal a car every day and just do the revolving door at the jail. We’re working on ways to mitigate that now, but it has been very frustrating.”
But critics have charged that the sheriff’s public opposition to the zero-bail policy is counterproductive, at a time when various government entities are working to prevent the virus from spreading through the Santa Rita Jail. The sheriff’s website says there were two active confirmed cases in Santa Rita as of Monday, and 46 inmates have recovered.
Jeffrey Bornstein, a Bay Area attorney who is representing several Santa Rita inmates in a suit over the treatment of prisoners suffering from mental illness, said the virus has been relatively contained at the jail because of a concerted effort to reduce its population, which started in March, before the first recorded case there.
“We did think the sheriff’s comments and appeal to constituents who may be more knee-jerk about locking people up is disheartening and counterproductive when we’re trying to work together to protect some of the most vulnerable in our society who are incarcerated in jails like his,” Bornstein said, later adding, “(Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahearn) has made it clear he doesn’t like the idea of people being released.”
Both Music and Sylvester remain at Santa Rita County Jail, in Dublin, for now. Sylvester, who was charged last week, has a detention hearing set for May 28, where a judge will determine whether to free him or keep him in custody. Music, who was charged Friday, is also entitled to a detention hearing, but because his case was filed only one business day ago, such a hearing has not yet been set.
The allegations behind Music and Sylvester’s arrests fit a similar narrative.
In Music’s case, he was released from jail April 19 around 7:30 p.m., after being arrested on suspicion of auto theft. By 8 p.m. that day, prosecutors allege, Music had committed a carjacking that involved him punching the victim several times and making off with his Toyota Prius. He was identified in part because he was wearing the same outfit he had when he walked out of jail.
In Sylvester’s case, he was arrested in connection with a burglary at a Hertz car rental business in Fremont on April 2, and a gun was allegedly found in his possession. After being released from Santa Rita Jail, Sylvester was arrested again on April 16, after officers responded to a burglary at Hana’s Bottle Shop in Santa Clara.
After leading police on a chase in what turned out to be a Ford Mustang stolen from Hertz, Sylvester was arrested on suspicion of evading officers. Once again, he was released from county jail. A week later, he was re-arrested in San Francisco. Police found a loaded gun and items “related to several burglaries in the San Francisco Bay Area,” according to the complaint.
Neither defendant has yet entered a plea, according to court records.
