A MOST WANTED DELINQUENT PARENT IS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE

 

 

 

NEWS FROM DON KNABE

Supervisor, Fourth District

County of Los Angeles

822 Hahn Hall of Administration

 

 

 

        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                           Contact:        David A. Sommers

                                                                                                                   (213) 974-1095

                                                                                                                   (213) 453-6446 (cell)

 

 

 

 

A MOST WANTED DELINQUENT PARENT IS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE

 

LOS ANGELES, July 23, 2009 – One of Los Angeles County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parents was jailed today following his arrest on Tuesday morning.  Bartolome Salazar had been sought by District Attorney Investigators since June 9, 2009 when he failed to surrender at the county jail to serve a court-ordered jail sentence.  Salazar appeared in custody this afternoon in Department 82 at the downtown Central Arraignment Court (CAC).  Following a brief hearing, Judge Mildred Escobedo issued an order remanding Salazar to serve a 180-day sentence.

 

Salazar was jailed almost two years to the day since standing convicted on charges in two separate criminal cases for failing to support his minor son and daughter, owing $82,053.49  On July 24, 2007 Salazar pleaded no contest to separate counts of contempt of court, for failing to abide by court orders to pay support for his two children.  At that time, Superior Court Commissioner Marshall H. Rieger placed Salazar on 36 months probation on condition that he make monthly payments toward the children’s support.

 

On June 2, 2009 following repeated failures to comply with the terms of probation, Salazar found himself back in Commissioner Rieger’s courtroom at the Central Civil West Courthouse.  After a hearing, Rieger found Salazar in violation of probation, sentenced him to serve 180 days in the county jail, and ordered him to surrender on June 9 in Department 82 at CAC to serve his sentence.  Although Salazar walked into the courtroom on the appointed date, he excused himself to say goodbye to a family member but did not return to surrender himself as ordered.  A bench warrant was issued for his arrest with bail set at $100,000.

 

Salazar’s photo was quickly placed on LA County’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parents website.  Simultaneously, a team of two District Attorney Investigators was assigned to locate and arrest Salazar.  The investigators are members of the County’s Child Support Arrest Warrant Project, a collaborative effort of the Child Support Services Department and the District Attorney’s office.

 

After pursuing a number of unproductive leads, the Investigators acted on a tip from an informant.  They stationed themselves outside the Pasadena home of the mother of Salazar’s current girlfriend with the hope that he might be found there.  The informant’s tip paid off.  Salazar was taken into custody without incident on Tuesday, July 21 at approximately 11:30 a.m. after he exited the home with his visibly pregnant girlfriend and entered a vehicle parked on the street.  At the time of his arrest, Salazar informed the Investigators that he and his girlfriend were on their way to a shower for the unborn baby.

 

Since the inception of the Most Wanted Delinquent Parents website in March of last year, 22 parents have had their photos posted with details of their cases and the warrants for their arrest.  14 of the 22 have been arrested or surrendered to court after their photos and stories were made public.

 

The Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department maintains the Most Wanted Delinquent Parent List.  It was developed as a result of an appropriation by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors on the initiative of Supervisor Don Knabe. 

 

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