Judge’s Release of Kidnaper Draws Police Criticism
A judge Friday ordered the release of an Oregon auto mechanic who was convicted of kidnaping and assaulting a prostitute, a move that drew criticism from police investigators who worked on the case.
San Diego Superior Court Judge J. Perry Langford placed Glesty Waters Jr., 35, of Coos Bay, Ore., on five years’ probation, ignoring the prosecutor’s request for a nine-year state prison term. Langford said he does not think Waters is dangerous.
The San Diego Metropolitan Homicide Task Force, which investigated the case, issued a formal response, saying its members “are extremely disappointed.”
“The sentence shows a lack of appreciation for what the jury found to be true in this case,” the statement says.
On July 21, a jury convicted Waters of the January kidnaping and assault of Helen Ruth Toy. Waters has admitted picking up Toy in the area of 43rd and Delta streets in Southeast San Diego, but he denied ever harming her.
The task force first investigated Waters in the course of looking into the mysterious deaths since 1985 of 42 women--mostly prostitutes--in San Diego whose bodies have been dumped in East and North County. Waters has since been eliminated as a suspect in those slayings.
Langford said he did not fully believe the testimony of either Waters or Toy.
“They each have something to hide,” he said.
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