Fresno man serving 10-years for violent crime getting out of prison early, due to COVID-19
A Fresno man convicted of hurling a racial slur and using a sword, threatening to kill a Black man, is getting out of prison after serving less than half of his sentence.
The development has angered Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp, who called it a “miscarriage of justice.”
Timothy Alan Ray, 65, was sentenced in January 2016 to 10 years in prison for criminal threats and carrying a concealed knife. In December he requested to be paroled, but was denied. The parole board said: “The inmate poses a current unreasonable risk of violence.”
“The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office firmly believes that nothing has changed and that Mr. Ray continues to pose a threat to public safety and that his early release constitutes a gross miscarriage of justice,” said Smitttcamp
Andrew Janz, the prosecutor who put Ray in prison, said he was told by prison officials that Ray was being released on Tuesday from the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad because of COVID-19.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Tuesday sent a statement to Fresno Bee, saying Ray has been released to parole supervision in Fresno County.
CDCR spokesman Luis Patiño Jr. said Ray’s release was part of CDCR’s COVID-19 expedited releases of those who have 180 days or less left to serve on their sentences.
“The releases are being implemented to help create more physical distancing space in hopes of mitigating potential infections. Ray arrived at CDCR on February 2, 2016 convicted of criminal threat to cause great bodily injury, carrying a concealed weapon, a dagger, and an enhancement for having a prior felony, for which he was sentenced to a total 10 years in prison,” Patino wrote in an email.
“The sentencing court gave him 811 days of pre- post- and vested credits, (the majority of which are usually given for time served in jail while awaiting sentencing.) He also received additional work and meritorious credits and eligible, per law, for up to 33.3% goodtime credits.”
Response from the victim
Janz said he had the unfortunate task of telling the victim Charlie Roberts, 56, what was happening.
“We put a lot of work into investigating and prosecuting this case,” Janz said. “As a prosecutor, I hate having to go back to tell a victim that his attacker will be escaping justice. This decision by the Department of Corrections seems to have been made without regard for its impact on Mr. Roberts.”
Although he was not injured, Roberts said he can still vividly recall that day in the Tower District, outside of Starbucks, when he spotted Ray coming towards him, challenging him to a fight and yelling racial slurs.
“I didn’t even know the guy, but all of sudden I see this guy with a big trench coat looking at me and then he opens his jacket and pulls out this sword and knife,” Roberts said. “Once he did that I thought holy smokes, I got to get out of there.”
Ray, an Army veteran, was arrested by Fresno police shortly after. It took a jury about 20 minutes to convict him and during his sentencing he pleaded with the judge for leniency, saying he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, drug and alcohol addiction.
Judge Judge Arlan Harrell sentenced him to 10 years, saying he has a long criminal history and remains a danger to society.
Court records show Ray’s criminal history goes back more than 40 years and includes a conviction for robbery, three convictions for driving under the influence, and convictions for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
Roberts, a former Fresno Unified School District campus safety supervisor, said he is frustrated that someone with Ray’s criminal history and drug abuse issues is being allowed back into the community.
“I’m not scared, I will protect myself if I have to protect myself,” Roberts said. “I just don’t want him to hurt somebody else, but I have a feeling that is what’s going to happen.”
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 3:22 PM.
