| For Immediate Release April 17, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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OCDA TO OPPOSE PAROLE OF INMATE CONVICTED FOR HIS ROLE IN 1990 ROBBERY-MURDER
SANTA ANA – Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Tony Rackauckas is opposing the parole of a man convicted of a 1990 murder during a robbery. Luis Cervantes-Tomayo, 39, is currently being held at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, CA. Cervantes-Tomayo was sentenced Jan. 28, 1993, to 15 years to life in state prison after being convicted of second degree murder, residential robbery, residential burglary, and a sentencing enhancement of being armed with a firearm in the commission of a robbery. This case was originally prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Randy Pawloski. Cervantes-Tomayo is scheduled for a parole hearing tomorrow, April 18, 2013, at 8:30 a.m., at the prison before the Board of Parole Hearings (Board), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Paul Odwald will appear at the hearing to oppose Cervantes-Tomayo’s parole.
Facts of the Case
On July 10, 1990, Cervantes-Tomayo, then 16 years old, and four others arrived at an apartment in Anaheim with the intention of committing a robbery. They were armed with a .357 handgun and a shotgun. Cervantes-Tomayo and three others went inside while the fifth perpetrator waited outside in a getaway car. When they entered the apartment, there were four people inside. While Cervantes-Tomayo and two other co-defendants were tying up the victims, another co-defendant killed Cirilio Gutierrez, who was unarmed, by shooting him execution-style. The four co-defendants stole some property and fled the scene.
Cervantes-Tomayo was charged as an adult in this case, and he pleaded guilty to the charges.
Lack of Rehabilitation, Remorse, and Risk to Public Safety
Cervantes-Tomayo has failed to take full responsibility or show remorse for his crime and has expressed to the Board in previous proceedings that he has served a sufficient amount of his sentence. Additionally, Cervantes-Tomayo has exhibited violent tendencies while imprisoned, compiling 18 major prison rules violations including possession and manufacturing of a deadly weapon in 2002, indecent exposure in 2006, and battery on an inmate with a weapon in 2007.
In a letter of opposition, the People state, “The current Comprehensive Risk Assessment rates the inmate a HIGH RISK for recidivism. This assessment notes that ‘Mr. Cervantes-Tomayo has continued to violate the rights of others, failed to conform to social norms, and engaged in impulsive, irresponsible, and violent behaviors…He demonstrates little remorse for his misconduct. He evidences self-centeredness, grandiosity, and indifference to the rights or welfare of others.’”
The inmate has not utilized therapy programs or taken up a vocation while incarcerated.