Man Freed Amid Court Backlog Is Murder Suspect

A carjacking suspect who was released from jail when judges refused to arraign him because of a case backlog is now suspected of shooting a man to death, according to authorities.

Los Angeles police allege that Jerrell Patrick, 23, shot and killed Lawrence Andrew Middleton, 22, during a confrontation June 26 in South Los Angeles. One month earlier, Patrick had been in jail awaiting prosecution in connection with a carjacking, but he was released with about 30 other criminal suspects because of a crush of cases in Los Angeles Superior Court after the Memorial Day weekend.

Three judges chose not to arraign the suspects on May 28 because the cases came up after a 4:30 p.m. cutoff time the judges had established. The suspects were then released by the Sheriff’s Department because the 48-hour deadline for their arraignment had expired.

The suspects were ordered to return to court the next day, but 11 of them -- including Patrick -- did not.

A county prosecutor’s association says Patrick would still be in jail and his alleged victim would still be alive, had the judges agreed to arraign him.

“They released dangerous criminals instead of doing their jobs,” said Steven J. Ipsen, president of the Assn. of Deputy District Attorneys, a group representing prosecutors. “They shouldn’t be judges.”

The association has filed a complaint with the Commission on Judicial Performance, accusing Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Dan T. Oki, David S. Wesley and Carol H. Rehm of negligence.

All three judges referred questions on the matter to a spokesman for the county courts.

“This is a regrettable incident, although it is overly simplistic to ascribe responsibility for this alleged crime simply to the release of individuals on May 28,” said Allan Parachini, Los Angeles County Superior Court spokesman.

Parachini said a combination of factors -- a backlog created by the long Memorial Day weekend, concerns over budget overruns, efforts to smooth the courtroom process -- resulted in the releases.

When the judges decided to hold the cases over for the following day, Parachini said, they did not anticipate that the suspects would be released, but assumed that the suspects would remain in custody overnight.

Parachini said the court recognized the problem and was working to prevent it from happening again. He said officials would open a second courtroom to handle additional arraignments if necessary.

“Our intention from now on is that we’ll provide whatever resources are required to process caseload,” he said.

Police issued a warrant for Patrick’s arrest earlier this week but have been unable to locate him.

Homicide investigators said Middleton, the shooting victim, was talking with friends in the parking lot of a barber shop at 43rd Street and Crenshaw Boulevard when Patrick pulled up with another man about 3 p.m. on June 26.

Patrick and his friend allegedly confronted Middleton, demanding to know whether he belonged to a gang. Police allege that Patrick’s friend got out of the car and began fighting with Middleton. Patrick then jumped out of the car, pulled a pistol and shot Middleton three times in the chest, police say.

Middleton’s family said they were confused by Patrick’s release.

“Why not open all the prison gates and say, ‘Come back tomorrow’? Look at this guy. He was supposed to come back for his arraignment. Did he show up? No, he decided to kill my brother,” said LaToya Middleton, 20, of Moreno Valley.

Middleton said her brother was a devoted father to a 10-month-old son and had just begun working as a barber.

“He was a good brother,” she said. “He was somebody that was there if you needed him.”

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Times staff writers Jean Guccione and Kathleen Flynn contributed to this report.