Before the DA's press release today, there have been several posts on this blog about Joshua Cooley, his record and about his placement. Thank you Nic Rig for your tireless effort and information in the comment section since my initial post.
Working on those posts was not easy since there was no public record or minutes accessible regarding this placement. Glad to see that the August 23 hearing will be public.
All posts are linked below including the ones showing the Humboldt County DA has been opposed to this placement.
Let's hope the Humboldt Superior Court and State of California listen to the DA and the public because Cooley is not someone who should be released into any community.
DA's press release:
In response to strong public interest in the potential release of a person previously determined to be a sexually violent predator into the Howard Heights area, the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office seeks to share information about the general process and the current specific situation.
In California, a person may be committed to a state hospital if they are determined to be a Sexually Violent Predator, defined as “a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense against one or more victims and who has a diagnosed mental disorder that makes the person a danger to the health and safety of others in that it is likely that he or she will engage in sexually violent criminal behavior.” The determination requires a conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt.
In this case, Joshua Cooley was determined to be a Sexually Violent Predator in 2010 and committed to Coalinga State Hospital. This commitment occurred after the defendant had served time in prison for sexually assaulting a minor.
In 2013, Cooley petitioned for release to the California conditional release program. The petition was opposed by the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office and denied by the Humboldt County Superior Court. That decision was later appealed, and the Court of Appeals remanded the petition for a new hearing; that hearing occurred in December 2016.
District Attorney Maggie Fleming opposed the release at the December 2016 hearing, given that multiple qualified examiners continued to conclude that the person is likely to engage in sexually violent criminal behavior due to his diagnosed mental disorder. However, the Humboldt County Superior Court ruled that Cooley should be released. The search for a suitable placement site has been ongoing since the Court order in 2016. On July 30, 2018, the Department of State Hospitals notified the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office of the proposed placement. The District Attorney's Office immediately began investigating it; District Attorney Investigator Kyla Baxley has conferred with many concerned community members.
At an upcoming hearing on Thursday, August 23 at 8:30 a.m., in Humboldt County Court Department 4, Judge Feeney will decide whether to authorize the proposed placement. The District Attorney's Office will strongly oppose the placement, because the District Attorney has concluded it would represent a significant risk to public safety. The District Attorney's Office will include in its presentation specific information about the placement site and input it has received from the public.
The Office invites community members to provide any additional information regarding the specifics of the proposed placement. In addition, Judge Feeney has indicated that members of the public wishing to make a statement at the hearing will be allotted 5-minutes each to do so.
Previous posts:
https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-confidential-placement-has-been-found.html?m=1
https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-humboldt-county-district-attorney.html?m=1
(with all other prior coverage on this case in this blog and comments )
https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2018/06/over-objection-of-district-attorney.html?m=1
https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2018/07/no-information-or-case-listed-about.html?m=1
Based on public records and online search, the landlord making a deal to house the Violent Sexual Predator in their property on Howard Heights is Aleen Arbaugh, retired teacher at Zane Middle School and now manager of Arbaugh Rentals. Arbaugh and her husband Scott Arbaugh, apparently owner of Humboldt Plumbing, do not live on Howard Heights. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that they had not read the full case file, including for example that Cooley was found guilty of 7 counts of rape against a 12-year old and that his Traumatic Brain Injury among other factors caused multiple experts to say he was at high risk of recividism.
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