| For Immediate Release
July 12, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
|
PAROLE DENIED FOR MAN CONVICTED OF SHOOTING-MURDER DURING 1972 ROBBERY ATTEMPT
SANTA ANA – Orange The Board of Parole Hearings (Board), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations, denied the parole today for a man convicted of shooting and killing a man during a robbery attempt in 1972. Jerry Michael Wade, 64, is currently being held at California Medical Facility in Vacaville, CA. Wade was sentenced April 19, 1972, to seven years to life in state prison for one felony count of first degree murder with a 5-year sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm during the commission of a robbery. Deputy District Attorney James Enright originally prosecuted this case. Wade will be eligible for his next parole hearing in 2014. Before denying the inmate’s parole, the Board took into consideration the facts of the case, and Wade’s lack of rehabilitation as evidenced by the 50 prison violations he’s committed since his incarceration.
Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Alison Gyves appeared at the hearing to oppose Wade’s parole.
Arrests Prior to Shooting-Murder
Wade was arrested by the Anaheim Police Department Aug. 31, 1969, on suspicion of burglary. While out of custody during pending investigation, he was again arrested for burglary by the Santa Ana Police Department Sept. 26, 1969. Wade was charged for both the Anaheim and Santa Ana burglaries Oct. 17, 1969 and Dec. 26, 1969, respectively, with one count of second degree burglary for each incident. The inmate pleaded guilty to these charges and was sentenced to two years in state prison. This sentence was suspended and the inmate was placed on probation, with the condition that he serve one year in county jail for each offense, with the terms to run consecutively.
On May 30, 1970, Wade escaped from Orange County Jail and stole a vehicle from a used car dealership. He was arrested a short time later and his probation was revoked. He was sentenced for the burglaries and escape July 29, 1970, to a sentence ranging from six months up to 20 years in state prison. Wade was transferred by the California Department of Corrections to the Don Lugo Community Center in San Bernardino County subsequently, to participate in a work furlough program, which granted him leave from the facility to work. This leave was the opportunity used by the inmate to commit the murder.
Shooting-Murder of Gerald Mitchell
On Jan. 21, 1972, while on leave for the work furlough program, then-25-year-old Wade and two accomplices, William Cartwright and Susan Sutcliffe, pulled into an apartment complex in the City of Orange. Wade and Sutcliffe exited the car and confronted 25-year-old Gerald Mitchell and his wife Karen Mitchell, both of whom had been standing on the sidewalk next to the complex with their dog. The couple did not know the attackers. Wade demanded Gerald Mitchell’s wallet and Sutcliffe demanded Karen Mitchell’s purse.
Gerald Mitchell handed over his wallet, while Karen Mitchell explained that she had no purse