SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Red Bluff), who served as chair of the California Board of Parole Hearings for nine years, issued the following statement in reaction to a news report that the second person arrested in the deadly K Street shooting should still be in prison.

“The alleged gunman should still be serving a 10-year prison sentence. 

“The state’s negligent early release policies, I believe, may be a factor in the deadly K Street shooting, as it has been in similar circumstances across the country.

“This tragic loss of life once again demonstrates that California is failing miserably on all fronts of the criminal justice system.

“Gun control is not the answer. Getting guns out of the hands of the people prohibited from having them and keeping violent felons in prison should be the focus.”

Elected to the State Senate in January 2013, Senator Nielsen represents the Fourth Senate District, which includes the counties of Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba. To contact Senator Jim Nielsen, please call him at 916-651-4004, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him @CASenatorJim.