Zachariah Timothy Lehnen, Accused in Double Murder of Culver City Pair, Could Have Been in Prison Until 2013 But Was Released Early

By Dennis Romero Thu., May 12 2011 at 4:53 PM

Categories: Crime

Patrick Healy

Zachariah Timothy Lehnen.

Updated after the jump: Some doubt this was an "early" release but still question the level of supervision the suspect had.

The transient accused of killing two people in Culver City this month was let out of prison late last year -- with three years cut off his time -- via a controversial early-release program.

Thirty-one-year-old Zachariah Lehnen's parolee information sheet, obtained by the Weekly, shows that he could have remained in prison until November of 2013 but was let out under California's "non-revocable parole" law, which went into effect last year as an attempt to save taxpayer money by letting low-level, nonviolent offenders out early.

The program has seen other early-release recipients allegedly commit violent acts, including the man accused in last year's murder of Valley Village bride-to-be Cheree Ozmanhodzic. (In that case her fiancee actually arrived and came across the suspect as he was fleeing).

Lehnen was in prison for drug possession. And, as such, he would have been eligible for the early-release program. Culver City police Chief Chief Donald Pedersen, announcing the transient's arrest, said he also had domestic violence on his record. That too, however, would not have prevented non-revocable parole.

Patrick Healy

Lucien Bergez and Erica Evelyn Escobar.

The bodies of 89-year-old Lucien Bergez, said to be a World War II veteran, and 27-year-old Erica Evelyn, were found in Bergez's home near Washington Boulevard and Huron Avenue on May 3 after the elderly man's maid called police. It happened barely six months after Lehnen's release.

Lehnen, who reportedly was seen with the two at a 7-Eleven on Washington and apparently knew the victims, is charged with two counts of suspicion of murder with special circumstances -- robbery and torture -- that would make him eligible for the death penalty.

His parole sheet lists him as a Social Security-collecting, bipolar transient from Hollywood who had to undergo mandatory drug testing as part of his parole. He was prohibited from drinking alcohol and was listed as in need of regular psychiatric evaluation.

Under the non-revocable parole program, however, police couldn't automatically jail him with no bail if they suspected he was up to no good -- as they would be able too with regular parolees.

[Added]: November 9, 2013 was listed as his "max discharge date," which means authorities could have held him until then (but it appears unlikely in any case, although her certainly could have stayed a little longer). Some like former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, would argue that his not an "early" release (see more below).

[Added No. 2]: A trusted expert called us and denied the notion that this was an "early" release, characterizing it more as an inevitable release that was done under non-revocable parole (which means you can't be put back in prison for a technical violation) versus regular parole. The point of non-revocable parole is keep prisoners from going back behind bars for small time violations such as testing dirty for drugs versus committing a new crime. Thus, we save some money on the hotel bill.

In Lehnen's case it's possible (or not) that he had technical violations that would have put him back behind bars under regular parole.

In any case, his eligibility as a non-revocable parolee should be up for debate.

Some public safety advocates have still characterized the non-revocable parole program as constituting early releases, however.

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Authorities picked up Lehnen at 1:30 a.m. on May 5 in a West Hollywood alley.

Public safety advocates, including the union the represents Los Angeles police, have been up in arms over the early-release program, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was all for it in the name of saving the red-ink plagued state some money, described as "no prison releases at all."

Retired parole agent Caroline Aguirre told the Weekly the Lehnen case once again proves that early release is a disaster.

"This policy is a dangerous," she said. "It is a health and safety issue."

We have a call into Culver City police requesting reaction from Chief Pedersen.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]

Tags:

Culver City, early release, Erica Evelyn Escobar, LAPPL, Lucien Bergez, non-revocable parole, parole, Schwarzenegger, state prison, Zachariah Lehnen

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Ilo250

This guy Lehnen needs to stay in prison for the rest of his life. He should not be allowed to enjoy his freedom ever.

malibu1369

He was not released early under "Non-revocable parole" as non-revocable parole does not allow for early release. His release was correct under the terms of his sentence and the "non-revocable" part then entered the equation.

Sorry, but challenging or legislating based on anecdotal evidence instead of scientifically arrived at statistical evidence is stupid, expensive and just plain wasteful. If you, as did the local Assembly Member, claim that the deaths would have not occurred if he had been on supervised parole, you are just clueless. He would have been on quarterly contact with his PO. You cannot and the stats prove you cannot prevent one person from committing a crime based on legislation. Incarceration is NOT a deterrent. He would have been released when he was. If you want to prevent deaths, outlaw personal ownership of guns, automobiles and tobacco. That will save tens of thousands of lives, not just one or two. I realize one or two are important, but I stand by my previous statement.

Finally, I hope you all realize what the true stats are (according to the most current CDCR "state of the department" 2010 report). Those least likely to re-offend with the same or any other crime when released are: 1) Murderers (any degree) and 2) Sex Offenders (except the less than 1% classified as Sexually Violent Predators who are under a separate category).

Sensationalist reporting and sensationalist grandstanding by officials don't make me, you or anyone else any safer and, in reality, give too many either a false sense of security or a false sense of danger (from the wrong direction).