Frustration with criminal justice system is high after ‘porch pirate’ targets Oak Park neighborhood

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CBS 8 previously reported on a woman named Kim who allegedly stole items from doorsteps in an Oak Park neighborhood. Bruce Thompson, a resident in the area, helped her out at one point, because she had said she was homeless. He said since then she’s been terrorizing the neighborhood for over a year, vandalizing homes and harassing neighbors.

Kim is currently in jail, awaiting her next hearing in April. However, Thompson fears she could get released again and he wants changes made in the criminal justice system.

“You know, the community is frustrated, but we’re frustrated with them as well. And sometimes I think people take it out on us not understanding that we’re trying as much as we can do,” said San Diego Police Department’s Captain Julie Epperson who has been following the case intensively.

She said overcrowding in jails and low staffing is a part of the problem.

“Unfortunately, in this county, there’s a lot of package theft in this county. There’s low staffing, there’s no way with the staffing that that the prosecutors have that they can individually prosecute every case, there’s just no way,” said Cpt. Epperson.

Cpt. Epperson said in this case, a suspect, like Kim, gets arrested for a misdemeanor and released and it becomes a cycle in that they can’t keep that person in jail anymore.

“It’s out of our hands at that point. It’s up to the criminal justice system,” said Cpt. Epperson.

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