DA: Parole Board recommends release of man convicted of 1993 murder
Jul. 8—The California Board of Parole Hearings has recommended the release of a Bakersfield man convicted of a 1993 second-degree murder and attempted murder.
Harold Gann was found suitable for parole and was found not to pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society during a nearly four-hour hearing on Wednesday, the Kern County District Attorney's Office reported. A review process will follow.
"Recent changes in parole laws benefit convicted murderers by making release on parole increasingly likely," District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said in a news release. "Gann's crimes were horrific and the finding that he is suitable for parole before even serving the minimum term of his life sentence does not pay proper regard to public safety."
Convicted on Dec. 4, 1995, a jury also found true that Gann used a firearm during the commission of both crimes. He was sentenced to 33 years to life in prison, and has served 28 years.
The convictions stem from July 22, 1993, when Gann solicited two prostitutes in the 500 block of Union Avenue to help him buy cocaine, which he smoked with the women. When he wanted more, the women said they knew where he could buy some, but they needed to see his money, according to a DA's news release.
He drove to an ATM at 3rd Street and Chester Avenue. The women told Gann they wanted to be dropped off where they were picked up.
Gann parked his truck under the pretext of using the ATM, according to prosecutors, and insisted the women had cocaine with them while they said they didn't.
Gann shot one woman in the head, killing her, and shot the other woman, who tried to get away, in the hand, the DA's office reported. She ran from the truck; Gann shot her twice in the back and a bullet lodged in her lung. She also lost a finger. She hid under a large truck while Gann looked for her.
When Gann was arrested in 1995, he was on probation for possession of cocaine and a 9 mm handgun, according to prosecutors.
