L.A. County Man Arrested 3 Times in 16 Hours Due to ‘Zero-Dollar’ Bail Order, Police Say

A California man was arrested three times in sixteen hours last Sunday due to Los Angeles County’s emergency “Zero-Dollar” bail order, police say.

Shortly after 3:00 a.m. on February 13, patrol officers noticed a man — later identified as 47-year-old James Langdon — pacing back and forth in a parking lot near Colorado Street and Louise Street intersection in Glendale, the Glendale Police Department (GPD) said in a press release. The patrol officers then watched as Langdon walked through a crosswalk with a “Don’t Walk” sign and attempted to stop him for the infraction, but he took off running, police said.

Officers eventually caught up to Langdon and arrested him for obstruction, the GDP said. He was taken to a hospital before booking as he requested medical attention and was subsequently released from the hospital with a notice to appear in court at a later date, police stated.

Later that morning, at around 9:30 a.m., officers responded to the 1400 block of Chevy Chase Drive where Langdon was allegedly trespassing at a business. Police say an employee spotted the 47-year-old as he attempted to access a closed portion of the establishment using a screwdriver. “Langdon was subsequently arrested and booked for trespassing, but due to L.A. County’s emergency “Zero-Dollar” bail order, Langdon was released from custody within three hours of being booked with a notice to appear in court at a later date,” the GPD said in its release.

California’s Judicial Council implemented the emergency zero-dollar bail policy for most suspects accused of misdemeanors and low-level felonies in April of 2020 “as part of a larger effort to empty prisons during the Chinese coronavirus crisis,” Breitbart News previously reported. According to the Associated Press, the policy ended in June of 2020, but Los Angeles County implemented a “temporary but indefinite” zero-dollar bail measure for those accused of misdemeanors and low-level felonies, which took effect just as the state’s order expired, KTLA reported.

Police arrested Langdon yet again later that night after being called to a reported burglary at an apartment complex at the 600 block of Balboa Avenue just prior to 7:00 p.m., the GPD said. “Officers were notified that residents had arrived home to find their door ajar, several items displaced within the apartment, and could hear a male’s voice yelling inside of the unit,” the release states.

Once on scene, officers said they saw Langdon walking the building’s hallways. When the suspect became aware of the police presence, he returned to the victim’s apartment unit, which was unoccupied at the time, and locked himself inside, police said.

Officers set up a perimeter and began negotiations with Langdon in an effort to have him exit the apartment. Langdon refused to leave the residence, prompting officers to enter the apartment and continue negotiations while the 47-year-old was barricaded in a bedroom, police said. Eventually, he complied with their requests to exit the bedroom and was subsequently arrested without further incident, according to the release.

“After further investigation, officers discovered Langdon caused an estimated $6,000 in property damage to the victim’s apartment and to the apartment complex,” the GPD said.

He was booked for felony vandalism and burglary and was being held on a $150,000 bail. His next court date is set for March 1, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s online arrest records show.