MODESTO — It is appearing more likely that convicted child molester Timothy Roger Weathers will be released from the Department of State Hospitals as a transient, rather than into a west Turlock residence.
During a hearing Friday in Stanislaus County Superior Court, Judge Carrie M. Stephens requested that representatives of Liberty Healthcare — the organization that oversees the state’s Sexually Violent Predator conditional release program — provide further details on their efforts to find suitable accommodations for Weathers. She also requested that Stanislaus County counsel Jesus Mendoza be available at a March 11 hearing to discuss the potential for leasing county property where Weathers, 63, could potentially park a recreational vehicle.
“I’m not convinced that every rock has been turned over,” said Stephens. I’m not convinced of that at all.”
Weathers’ case has been tied to that of convicted child molester Kevin Scott Gray. Both men are represented by Modesto attorney Martin Baker.
Nearly two years ago, Gray was set to be released into the main residence at 400 N. Central Ave., about three miles outside of the Turlock city limit. Weathers was slated to live in an add-on dwelling at that same address. However, the suitability of the location was called into question by District Attorney Jeff Laugero because a home-school was located next door.
The case eventually made it all the way to the state Supreme Court before it was decided that Gray could reside there, though Laugero’s office still is fighting that decision.
Weathers’ case hit a road block when it was determined by county officials that the add-on dwelling was not properly permitted.
“The unit that was earmarked for Weathers was found to be in noncompliance in a way that cannot be fixed in a reasonable time,” said Baker, who admitted that release as a transient seems the likely outcome for Weathers. “I think all parties are interested in moving along in that direction; it appears we’re all on the same page.”
In a report filed with the court last week, Liberty noted that transient-release can be executed in a variety of locations, including hotels/motels, recreational vehicles, and even tents.
Liberty officials said they’ve been turned away by all motel/hotel operators and had no luck finding a location where an RV could be parked. Stephens, meanwhile, was wholly uncomfortable with the idea of a tent.
“I want to be clear here,” said Stephens. “I would be very, very reluctant to release Mr. Weathers on the street or to live on the river in a tent. I just can’t see that is in his interest, whatsoever, let alone all the other issues that I have to consider. … It just seems like there is not a good solution.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Wendell Emerson said during the proceeding that other options not near schools — areas near La Grange, Del Puerto Canyon, the former Crows Landing airfield, and the Stanislaus County Public Safety Complex — were in play to potentially park an RV.
Liberty stated in its report that “it cannot fulfill the necessary conditions to assure community safety in all possible transient placement settings, and thus these placements are against Liberty’s recommendation.”
The report also said that transient placement is “highly vulnerable to loss, and if that occurs, the only remaining option for this client would be a return to the state hospital.”
Weathers, a former Ceres resident, was sentenced in 1991 to 18 years in prison for molesting two different boys in Stanislaus County. He was transferred to the state hospital in 2000, and has admitted to doctors that he molested 20 to 45 boys, according to court documents.
