Sting operation nets alleged sexual abuser

By Lauren Keene

Enterprise staff writers

Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and West Sacramento police investigators arrested a Vacaville man Thursday who allegedly came to Yolo County to engage in sex with a minor.

Samuel Root Jr., 34, faces multiple charges of oral copulation with a minor, sexual penetration with a foreign object, statutory rape, providing marijuana to a minor, sending harmful material to seduce a minor and arranging to meet a minor for lewd purposes, according to a Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.

“His arrest is the result of a lengthy investigation that culminated in a sting operation, where the suspect traveled to a location in Yolo County under the belief that he was meeting a minor for sex,” the post said.

“The suspect arrived at the predetermined public location on time and in broad daylight, where he was taken into custody by detectives without incident.” governments, unlike past efforts.

Root remained in Yolo County Jail custody as of Friday on a $200,000 bail hold. He appears in Yolo Superior Court at 1:30 p.m. Monday for arraignment.

“It’s part of why I prefer this approach, which is ultimately about trying to give (local jurisdictions) more discretion,” Allen told CalMatters. “I think there’s real merit to providing parameters for how this ought to be done and then allowing local communities to do what’s best for them.”

Incorporating local flexibility may help ward off challenges that have come to past efforts. California’s Constitution allows charter cities including Los Angeles to control their own affairs.

Bryan’s Assembly Bill 1248 follows a report commissioned by California Common Cause, the Southern and Northern California chapters of the ACLU, the League of Women Voters of California and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus. The report studied redistricting in about 100 cities and counties and found “widespread gerrymandering” — but not as much in places with independent commissions.

“We found across the board, no matter how a jurisdiction had set up their independent redistricting commission, it resulted in a more participatory process — respecting communities and neighborhoods,” said Laurel Brodzinsky, legislative director with California Common Cause.

The report identified some of the biggest issues across the state: Advisory commissions in which members acted as proxies for elected officials who appointed them; boards that held only the bare minimum of public meetings; and others that did not incorporate any community feedback into the maps.

Bryan’s bill would require counties, cities, school districts and community college districts to set up their own independent commissions by March 1, 2030 — in time to draw maps after the next Census. The structure would be modeled after some parts of the statewide commission: members selected from qualified applicants who then select the rest, and minimum requirements for public input and outreach. But unlike the

FATAL: CHP will investigate

From Page A1 minor injuries to the unidentified officer who was treated at the UCD Medical Center and released. Davis police and firefighters as well as ambulance personnel also assisted at the scene following the collisions. Police later determined that the suspect vehicle had been reported stolen out of Novato earlier that night, UCD officials said. The suspect, whose identity had not been released as of Friday morning, is not believed to be affiliated with the campus. state commission, there wouldn’t be requirements on party representation or citizenship for commission membership.

The California Highway Patrol will conduct an investigation into the incident, in accordance with UCD Police Department policy.

If a city, county, school or community college district is unable to set up an independent commission in time, the bill lists back-up options, including a panel of retired judges or an ethics commission, to select the commission.

“The redistricting process is such an important part of our democracy. It really does play such an important role in determining who gets elected,” Allen said. “We feel good that we’ll get it to a place where the governor feels comfortable.”

If the statewide bill fails, Bryan has another that would at least address some gaps in the current system.

Bryan, chairman of the Assembly’s elections committee, has introduced AB 764, which would reform the 2019 FAIR Maps Act that outlines some redistricting requirements for cities and counties, regardless of who draws the maps.