Alameda County prosecutors have struck plea deals with two alleged robbers, both of whom were accused of luring their victims into a false sense of security with the help of a suspected prostitute. In one case, Nicholas Lewis, 31, was sentenced to nine days he already served in jail plus probation after pleading no contest to grand theft. In another, Luis Silva, 24, also pleaded no contest to grand theft for a two-year probation term, court records show.
Edgar Coc-Sacul, 24, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He had originally been charged with two felonies, contacting a minor with intent to commit a sex crime and sending harmful material to a minor, but those charges were dropped in a plea deal, court records show. Coc-Sacul was sentenced to one year of probation, given one day of credit for time served in jail, and ordered to stay away from the victim, according to court records.
Ministers are pushing through powers to photograph, name and shame offenders who have been ordered to complete unpaid community work in England and Wales. The sentencing bill, now moving through parliament, will for the first time give probation officers a legal power to take and publish the names and pictures of individuals ordered by courts to tidy grass verges, litter-pick or scrub graffiti.
Serious violent crime in England and Wales should be expected to rise unless urgent steps are taken to boost the probation service. That is the alarming warning from Martin Jones, HM chief inspector of probation. He estimates that 100,000 offenders on probation are currently not being properly managed. This overstretched service cannot be expected to manage the increased workload that will follow from sentencing reforms.
Nearly all of the 58 students placed on probation - the highest number since at least the 2017-2018 academic year - were disciplined for participating in a November 2023 pro-Palestine occupation of University Hall and an April to May 2024 pro-Palestine encampment at Harvard Yard, according to the Crimson. An additional 31 students were "formally admonished" but not placed on probation.