SAN DIEGO — An Oceanside man convicted in 2018 of abusing three dogs in his neighborhood is now eligible for early release under a COVID-19 prison population-reduction program.
Michelle Plaketta owned one of the dogs David Herbert abused.
“They just informed me that David Herbert is going to be out on early release,” she told News 8.
Plaketta spoke in court when Herbert was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison.
“I’m really scared. I feel like I'm going back to looking over my shoulder when I'm driving to make sure he's not going to be following me,” she said.
Surveillance video showed Herbert taking Plaketta’s dog from the neighborhood. The retriever mix was never found.
“Her name was LaLa and we had her for nine years. There was a bat found in his house that had her blood on it,” Plaketta said.
Two huskies belonging to another neighbor were attacked with acid, and one of the dog's eyes was gouged out.
“I’m super angry at the negligence of CDCR to allow this individual to be released. He's a danger to society. The crimes he committed are heinous,” Plaketta said.
Herbert’s motive was never revealed, but at his sentencing hearing he told the neighbors he was sorry.
“I apologize to them and no one deserves to have their animals abused,” Herbert said at the 2019 sentencing hearing.
“His apology was not sincere at all. His apology was because his attorney basically told him that that was the right thing to do. I don’t believe it, not for one second,” Plaketta said.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation emailed News 8 the following statement:
“CDCR is currently assessing which inmates are eligible for expedited release under the series of release actions announced July 7. It is part of our careful process to protect California communities while making room for physical distancing in order to help mitigate potential COVID-19 infections. However, eligibility itself does not guarantee release. The inmates must undergo a thorough review process before being approved. Herbert came to CDCR from San Diego County on September 10, 2019 convicted of first degree burglary, six counts of cruelty to an animal and an enhancement for personal use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison. Per law he is eligible for one day of additional credit for each day served (50% credits). The sentencing court and the law also gave him more than 2 years of credit for time served while awaiting adjudication and related credits. Inmate Herbert is eligible for consideration for expedited release as part of the 365-day cohort. His current earliest release date is in February 2021, however no final decision has been made.”
When Herbert does end up getting released, he likely will be paroled to San Diego County.
“I never in a million years would think that this would happen to me and it did,” Plaketta said. “Watch over each other in your neighborhood just make sure that he doesn't strike again.”
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan emailed News 8 the following statement:
“We're very concerned about the potential impact on the safety of our community due to the early releases by CDCR of prisoners who have committed serious crimes. CDCR is making these decisions without input or agreement by our office. Our office is working hard to support crime victims affected by these releases by notifying them and helping them to stay safe."