Highland Park Gang Member Will Not Be Freed on Bail

A Highland Park gang member and alleged auto thief who was expected to resume his parole and become eligible for bail by the end of this month is not scheduled to be released from prison.

According to Detective Steve Aguilar of the Los Angeles Police Department's Northeast Gang Intervention Unit, a judge has denied bail to 36-year-old José Samuel Arviso, based on concerns expressed by officers that he could be a danger to the community.

Arviso was arrested at Eagle Rock Plaza on Aug. 2, 2012 for alleged grand theft auto while on parole following a conviction for a narcotics-related crime. His subsequent imprisonment for violating parole was expected to end on Oct. 22, according to Aguilar.

Aguilar said that Arviso was denied bail based on section 1275 of the California Penal Code, which grants the judge discretion to make public safety the "primary consideration" when setting, reducing or denying bail. 

Officers had expressed concerns to the District Attorney about Arviso's pending release, Aguilar said, given their belief that he was a major shot-caller behind the string of shootings that took place on Monte Vista Street in the summer of 2012.

A LAPD Northeast Division officer who had served previously with the gang unit in Highland Park told Eagle Rock Patch that “the media attention” surrounding the news about Arviso’s bail—initially reported on Patch and later picked up by KCAL9—might have been a factor in the decision not to release him from prison.

The District Attorney's office had also made a motion asking the judge to require that Arviso show that his bail money did not come from any of the illegal activities in which he is believed to be involved.

According to the Inmate Information Center of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Arviso is ineligible for bail and there is “No Information” on the date of his release from the North County Correctional Facility in the City of Castaic.

The LASD website also lists a court appearance for Arviso on Monday, Oct. 29, in connection with a Rampart Division case in which he is alleged to have received stolen property. Arviso is scheduled to appear in Dept. 113 of the Los Angeles Superior Court, located on 210 W. Temple St., at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.