San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond wants a judge to reject the release of two sexually violent predators into a rural community east of San Diego. His push follows the disappearance of another predator who cut off his GPS monitor and remains at large.
Desmond, who represents Carlsbad as the District 5 supervisor, and District 2 Supervisor Joel Anderson are bringing an urgent item to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The board letter asks Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers to deny the placement of Michael Poulsom and Reynaldo Delrosario in Boulevard, a small unincorporated backcountry community, according to The Vista Press.
Weathers is expected to rule on the placements on Thursday, Oct. 15. Both men are held at the California Department of State Hospitals.
The push comes as Merle Wakefield, 69, remains at large more than a week after he removed his GPS monitoring device and disappeared from a Rancho Bernardo worksite on Friday, Sept. 25. Wakefield was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and rape by force, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
"So the same state agency and the same contractor that lost track of Wakefield are now asking a court to trust them with two more," Desmond said in an Oct. 2 statement.
Liberty Healthcare, the private contractor that monitors sexually violent predators on conditional release in California, received a GPS tampering alert around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 25. Staff responded to Wakefield's workplace in the 16000 block of Via Esprillo and found his GPS device and cellphone in nearby bushes. Wakefield was gone, the Sheriff's Office said.
Security video showed Wakefield getting into the passenger side of a white Tesla, according to a Monday, Sept. 28 court filing cited by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
A court revoked Wakefield's release and issued a no-bail arrest warrant. But removing a GPS device is classified as a misdemeanor under California law. San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez called that classification "a bit problematic" because investigators lacked immediate access to felony-level tools such as search warrants, the Union-Tribune reported. Law enforcement had to wait five business days to obtain a felony warrant.
Wakefield had been on conditional release since November 2024. A judge approved that release as a "transient" placement because no specific home could be found for him. The county opposed the release at the time, Desmond said.
The board letter also directs the county to demand answers from the Department of State Hospitals and Liberty Healthcare about what steps are being taken to find Wakefield and prevent future monitoring failures. No public response from either agency was available as of Oct. 4.
Under California's conditional release program, sexually violent predators are monitored by Liberty Healthcare, not by law enforcement. Judges, not the county, have final say over placements.
San Diego County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to Wakefield's arrest. Anyone who sees Wakefield should not approach him and should call 911 or the SAFE Task Force tip line at 858-868-3200. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
