BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — He noticed something was terribly wrong when returned home Tuesday afternoon.
Henry Slivers, a new tenant in Downtown Bakersfield, says he confronted a homeless man ransacking his apartment.
"I was going to [expletive] him up," Slivers said. "I said I better go get the maintenance man before I get in trouble."
An apartment employee assisted Slivers and called the Bakersfield Police Department shortly before 4 p.m.
Arnoldo Jimenez Bringaz, a 33-year-old repeat offender, was arrested for residential burglary, according to the BPD Sergeant Nathan McCauley.
The Kern County District Attorney's Office says Bringaz has been arrested over 10 times within the last two years or so for various crimes including, trespassing, obstruction, petty theft and disorderly conduct.
Not a single charge has stuck, according to DA spokesman Joe Kinzel, who says the majority of Bringaz's crimes in recent years have been dismissed.
"This is all coming down to the issue of when officers are arresting people for warrants or crimes," Kinzel said over the phone. "They can't take them to jail because the jail doesn't have any place to put them."
Kinzel is referencing a staffing issue at the jail, which he says is a product of changes to the criminal justice system in 2014, such as props 47 and 57.
Prop 47 re-categorized some non-violent offenses, like possession of controlled substances, to misdemeanors rather than felonies.
Prop 57 allows parole considerations for non-violent offenders, reclassified sentencing laws for minors and authorizes sentencing credits for rehabilitation, good behavior and education.
This phenomenon has made, Kinzel says, has made it difficult for jails to retain detention officers and prosecute crimes they would have prior.
Bringaz, according to the DA, has never shown up for a court date, is constantly cited and released, and Tuesday marks just another crime he was arrested for.
Slivers says he is going to be overtly cautious moving forward.
