SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – A judge today rejected placing a sexually violent predator poised for conditional release at a home in the Mount Helix neighborhood, saying the residence was located in a densely populated neighborhood and in close proximity to children.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Albert Harutunian III said the home at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive, which was proposed by state hospital officials to house 64-year-old Merle Wade Wakefield, was “not what the legislature intended for SVP placements.”
Wakefield, who is currently housed at Coalinga State Hospital, is classified as a sexually violent predator, a designation for those convicted of sexually violent offenses and diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes them likely to re-offend. According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Wakefield was convicted of sex crimes in 1981 and 1990 and served prison terms for each crime.
Merle Wade Wakefield
MOUNT HELIX (KUSI) – A judge today rejected placing a sexually violent predator poised for conditional release at a home in the Mount Helix neighborhood, saying the residence was located in a densely populated neighborhood and in close proximity to children.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Albert Harutunian III said the home at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive, which was proposed by state hospital officials to house 64-year-old Merle Wade Wakefield, was “not what the legislature intended for SVP placements.”
Wakefield, who is currently housed at Coalinga State Hospital, is classified as a sexually violent predator, a designation for those convicted of sexually violent offenses and diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes them likely to re-offend. According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Wakefield was convicted of sex crimes in 1981 and 1990 and served prison terms for each crime.
MOUNT HELIX (KUSI) – A judge today rejected placing a sexually violent predator poised for conditional release at a home in the Mount Helix neighborhood, saying the residence was located in a densely populated neighborhood and in close proximity to children.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Albert Harutunian III said the home at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive, which was proposed by state hospital officials to house 64-year-old Merle Wade Wakefield, was “not what the legislature intended for SVP placements.”
Wakefield, who is currently housed at Coalinga State Hospital, is classified as a sexually violent predator, a designation for those convicted of sexually violent offenses and diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes them likely to re-offend. According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Wakefield was convicted of sex crimes in 1981 and 1990 and served prison terms for each crime.
Updated on May 10, 2021 at 5:22 pm
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A judge on Monday rejected placing a sexually violent predator poised for conditional release at a home in the Mount Helix neighborhood near El Cajon, saying the residence was located in a densely populated neighborhood and in close proximity to children.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Albert Harutunian III said the home at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive, which was proposed by state hospital officials to house 64-year-old Merle Wade Wakefield, was not what the legislature intended for SVP placements.
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