A former Los Angeles vice detective, Michael Douglas Brambles, 77, who was sentenced to 102 years for multiple rapes and robberies three decades ago but paroled in 2020 under a California law allowing early release for elderly inmates, has been arrested again on charges of kidnapping to commit robbery while personally using a firearm, authorities announced. Brambles allegedly committed the new crime at Arabella’s Boutique in Thousand Oaks, where he is accused of entering the store as a woman, identified as SW, was closing, pointing a handgun at her, forcing her into a backroom, tying her hands, and sexually assaulting her before stealing from the business. While the sexual assault allegations from this new incident cannot be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations, investigators with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office discovered Brambles’ parole while reviewing SW’s cold case as part of the federal Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. SW, who had agreed to the dismissal of her case decades ago believing Brambles would serve his full sentence, expressed shock and gratitude that he is now facing new charges, stating, “The justice that I and his other victims deserved was denied when he was only required to serve a fraction of the sentence he earned.” Brambles, who denied further sexual assaults at his parole hearing, now faces a maximum sentence of 12 years to life if convicted of the new charges, with prosecutors emphasizing the aggravating circumstances including great violence, victim vulnerability, and a pattern of dangerous behavior that indicates a serious danger to society.
Adapted from: U.S. News Today on Fox News
