Monrovia Police Arrest Wanted Man at Panda Express After 2 Freeway Escapes

Q: What original crime led to the fugitive's felony probation, and will this bizarre restaurant capture trigger a full sentence reinstatement?

The original crime is not publicly known, and the Panda Express arrest alone does not automatically reinstate a full sentence. In the reporting provided, Monrovia police said only that the man was wanted on a no-bail felony probation violation warrant. Multiple accounts note that details of the underlying offense tied to his felony probation were “not immediately available,” and the department said its video and social-media post were its full public statement. So, based on the available public record here, there is no confirmed answer yet on what offense originally put him on felony probation. As for punishment, California law does not make a bizarre or high-profile arrest an automatic trigger for full sentence reinstatement. What matters is the alleged probation violation and what a judge decides at a revocation hearing under Penal Code section 1203.2. The court only has to find a violation by a preponderance of the evidence, a lower standard than in a criminal trial, but the judge still has broad discretion. That means several outcomes are possible. A judge could continue probation, modify its terms, add jail time or treatment conditions, or revoke probation and impose some or all of the original suspended sentence. If prosecutors argue he absconded or repeatedly fled arrest, that could weigh against him. But a full sentence reinstatement would require a court decision after the probation process, not simply the fact that he was finally caught in a restaurant.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 29

July 17 bodycam video shows Monrovia officers pinning down a man wanted on a no-bail felony probation warrant after he walked into the Panda Express where they were eating lunch.
Two earlier arrest attempts had failed because the suspect allegedly ran onto a freeway and escaped, with one officer telling him he had been "running from me for like a month."
Police said the man was not identified and offered no further details beyond the video and social media post released Thursday.
The unusual arrest ended a monthlong effort to take the suspect into custody after chance put him directly in front of the same officers.