Sacramento
AI Assisted Icon
Published on November 08, 2024
Modesto Man Serving Life Sentence Denied Parole for First-Degree MurderSource: Facebook/Stanislaus County District Attorney

In a recent social media announcement, Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero confirmed that 50-year-old Modesto resident Albert Edward Sandner Jr. has been denied parole by the State Board of Parole Hearings at Pelican Bay State Prison. Deputy District Attorney Holly MacKinnon represented the People at the hearing. Sandner, convicted by jury of first-degree premeditated murder in connection with a robbery, is serving a 25-to-life sentence for his role in a fatal incident on June 15, 2003. On that date, a 39-year-old individual was lured to Turlock under false pretenses, then robbed, stabbed over 14 times, and murdered by Sandner and accomplices, followed by an attempted burglary of the victim's home.

Details surrounding Sandner's parole denial, as mentioned in a post by the Stanislaus District Attorney's Office, reveal that his ongoing imprisonment is due not only to the gravity of his crime but also to behavioral issues during incarceration, including fights, rioting, possession of contraband, and resistance to prison staff. MacKinnon pointed out that Sandner has not yet developed the necessary coping skills to manage his violent tendencies and continues to pose a significant danger to public safety if released.

The denied parole for Sandner is a culmination of legal proceedings that started with his conviction on February 7, 2006, the result of comprehensive juridical evaluation of evidence that placed him at the center of a premeditated murder rooted in theft and deceit. The prosecution has clearly expressed concerns about Sandner's rehabilitation progress, or the lack thereof, particularly emphasizing the consistency with which he engaged in prison infractions, constituting a pattern that raises alarms when the prospect of his reintegration into society comes to the fore.

Deputy District Attorney MacKinnon's stance at the parole hearing was firm, insisting that Sandner's current state did not warrant the granting of parole. Her arguments appeared to have resonated with the parole board, which concluded that the potential risk Sandner could reintroduce to the community was unacceptably high, according to the recount of events shared on the district attorney's social media page.