Probation said no; DA and judge said yes
The Times reports today that the County Probation Department had serious reservations about releasing Curtis Harris on probation to get his affairs in order. The release came after Harris was convicted of several crimes stemming from the kidnapping of his former wife, Monica Thomas Harris.
Thomas-Harris also had a restraining order against Harris, but it had expired, officials told the Times.
From the Times story by Andrew Blankstein, Mitchell Landsberg and Paloma Esquivel:
Court records indicate that Harris had a felony criminal record that stretched back to at least 1993, when he was convicted in San Bernardino County of discharging a firearm in a public place. The San Bernardino County district attorney's office said he was sentenced to 16 months in prison in that case.
In 1999, Harris was charged with three felony counts in San Diego: possession of marijuana, resisting an officer and unlawful possession of a weapon or ammunition. Los Angeles County probation officials said he received a 32-month state prison term on narcotics charges in that case.
"He was not a nice guy, not a nice guy at all. I was afraid of him," said Tamara Cerven, Thomas-Harris' manager at Nutro Products Inc. in the City of Industry.
Harris and Thomas-Harris were married in June 2001 and separated in October 2003, according to divorce papers filed in December 2005.
About the same time as the divorce filing, Thomas-Harris and members of her extended family were granted a temporary restraining order against Harris after an incident at her home in West Covina.Our story, which gives some official reaction to the unfolding tale, is here.