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.
SAN DIEGO
A San Diego judge on Monday rejected a request by state hospital officials to place a sexually violent predator in a Mount Helix-area home, saying the site was not appropriate given the area’s density and the home’s proximity to children.
“There is not a basis in my view for approving this property,” Judge Albert Harutunian said. “It is a nonstarter.”
“It is not an appropriate placement, in my view, the judge continued. “It is not something that is a safe placement for the community.”
Harutunian made his decision to reject the placement of Merle Wade Wakefield before hearing from the public on the proposal that Wakefield live at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive.
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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