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STATEMENT OF FACTS
James and Essie Effron owned a clothing store in downtown San Diego. In 1977, after years of
running a successful business, the Effrons planned to retire. Mr. Effron, who was 62, suffered
from severe ulcers, and Mrs. Effron, who was 59, had recently undergone surgery and
chemotherapy for cancer. The couple hired Jose Gonzalez to help during the stores final weeks.
Throughout his employment, Mrs. Effron told her daughter that she found [Mr. Gonzalez]
downright frightening. Mrs. Effron eventually fired Mr. Gonzalez for being disrespectful to a
customer. She told her daughter that the stare he gave her [said] that he was going to kill her.
On November 21, 1977, three customers entered the store after closing time. They found the
store empty and the safe open, and called the police. Police responded and found the Effrons in
separate rooms in the basement of the store, each severely beaten in the head with a lead pipe.
Their hands were bound with neckties and their heads were covered with a jacket or smock.
Mrs. Effron had been beaten to death, and her jewelry had been taken from her body; her blood
covered the wall and the floor, and her brain and skull protruded from the back of her head. In
the next room, Mr. Effron was discovered tied to a clothing rack by the legs, face down in a pool
of his own blood, but alive and asking for help. He was taken to the hospital, where he named
Juan, Jesus, and Jose as his attackers. He died from severe head injuries several days later.
During their investigation, police noted that the stores safe was empty except for some papers
and a torn envelope containing $600. The cash register and cash box, containing $350, were
intact. A technician identified a fingerprint on the torn envelope as Mr. Gonzalezs. Police
contacted the store manager, who reported that there had been a disagreement between the
Effrons and several former employees, including Mr. Gonzalez. Police subsequently obtained a
search warrant and arrested Mr. Gonzalez. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Gonzalez had $360 and
a business card for a diamond store in his wallet. An employee at the diamond store identified
Mr. Gonzalez as the individual who sold him a diamond ring that had been taken from Mrs.
Effrons body.
GOVERNING LAW
The question I must answer is whether Mr. Gonzalez will pose a current danger to the public if
released from prison. The circumstances of the crime can provide evidence of current
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EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Governor, State of California