| For Immediate Release
August 8, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
OCDA TO OPPOSE PAROLE OF INMATE CONVICTED OF MURDERING MAN IN BOTCHED ROBBERY TWO DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS
SANTA ANA – Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Tony Rackauckas is opposing the parole of an inmate convicted of murdering another man in a botched robbery two days after Christmas in 1993. Carlos Sanchez, 36, is currently being held at Calipatria State Prison in Calipatria, CA. Sanchez was sentenced Dec. 9, 1994, to15 years to life in state prison for one felony count of second degree murder. This case was originally prosecuted by former Deputy District Attorney David Brent. Sanchez is scheduled for a parole hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011, at 1:30 p.m., at the prison before the Board of Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations.
Deputy District Attorney Renee Jones will attend the hearing to oppose Sanchez’s parole.
Murder of Bill Langstaff
On the night of Dec. 27, 1993, 19-year-old Sanchez and his 20-year-old relative, Jesus Gutierrez, approached 39-year-old Bill Langstaff and his younger brother at a bus stop. They accosted the unarmed victims and asked for cigarettes. Gutierrez took out a gun, aimed it at Langstaff, and demanded money. A fight broke out between the inmate, his co-defendant, and Langstaff. As the victims ran away, Gutierrez shot Langstaff in the back as Sanchez yelled, “Pop him, pop him, pop him!”
Langstaff died in his brother’s arms from a gunshot wound to the back of his neck. Sanchez and Gutierrez fled the scene without the victim’s property.
Lack of Rehabilitation and Lack of Remorse
Since his incarceration, Sanchez has accumulated 21 prison rules violations, 15 of which are major rules violations including battery on an inmate, battery on staff, and mutual combat. In 2009, Sanchez was convicted of possession of a deadly weapon in prison and presently has another major rules violation pending. The inmate has failed to improve his education or gain vocational skills and has not sought self-help. Instead, he has affiliated himself with a race-based criminal prison gang.
After 17 years, the inmate still displays a lack of remorse for the murder. The OCDA’s opposition letter states, “There is no indication Inmate Sanchez has begun to take responsibility for the… crime, much less exhibit remorse. To the contrary, he has consistently minimized and made excuses for his participation in this cold blooded murder.” It is clear that the inmate has experienced neither significant levels of remorse for his murder nor used his time in incarceration productively.
Considering the inmate’s lack of rehabilitation and remorse, and his multiple major prison rules violations, the inmate poses a danger to the community and should not be released.