A well-known thief with the nickname “snake” has finally been caught by the Riverside police. Christopher Jackson was spotted crawling on business floors to avoid alarm systems, investigators say.
On Wednesday, officers arrested Christopher Jackson, 32, at a mall. He has multiple warrants for his arrest for robbery and has been repeatedly convicted of multiple crimes. Investigators believe Jackson is responsible for more than 70 commercial thefts from local businesses, primarily in Riverside.
“He was bringing power tools to open a safe or whatever he was going to do,” said Brian Perrone, co-owner of D’Elias Grinders, a sandwich shop that was robbed by Jackson on April 1. Perrone’s family owns the store and said the thief took cash and a Samsung tablet.
At a press conference Wednesday, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said his jails are overcrowded, so he needs to release many nonviolent offenders early to make room for violent ones. At issue is Assembly AB 109, which diverts nonviolent offenders from state prison to county jails.
Officer Ryan Railsback said the last time Jackson was sentenced he pleaded guilty to 23 crimes and received six sentences of 16 months each, but due to the laws he did not serve time from prison. Railsback said Jackson only spent about 10 days behind bars before being released.
“We really believe that since he was last released from prison in November 2022, he’s probably committed about 30 robberies since then,” Railsback said.
A group of parents are asking for the intervention of the school authorities, according to their versions their children have been victims of bullying, beating and threats by other students on the same campus.
Perrone said the alleged thief apparently spent more time robbing businesses than inside a jail cell. He urged the public to ask the governor and state lawmakers to amend AB109 so that repeat offenders are required to serve jail time.
“It’s just ridiculous. There has to be a time when enough is enough and someone stays in jail,” Perrone said.
If Jackson comes out early again, Railsback said he would send a community alert to business owners warning them they could be targeted by the serial thief.