Charge Upgraded To Felony For Peeper
November 12, 2009 • By The Breeze,
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HARRISONBURG, Va. — The charge against an alleged peeper has been upgraded to a felony because of his prior criminal activity.
Police arrested Jamal A. Azeez, 34, of Harrisonburg on Oct. 24 for peeping through a door into an occupied home in the 400 block of South Mason Street. The charge was originally a misdemeanor under Virginia code 18.2-130 but is now a class 6 felony.
But court records indicate he was found guilty of the same class 1 misdemeanor three times in Harrisonburg in 2003. He was also found guilty of trespassing in 2007 and paid a $250 fine. He was sentenced to more than 2 years of jail time.
Harrisonburg and JMU Police are still working together to determine if there are any connections in this case and similar ones from this year.
“We’re in the middle of the investigation as far as looking at all the cases we have,” said Lt. Kurt Boshart of the Harrisonburg Police Department.
This investigation involves looking at similarities between peeping cases and trespassing cases. He could not comment on specifics. Since Sept. 1, there have been at least eight trespassing incidents and eight peeping incidents.
“We do know there’s more than one person involved in all these,” Boshart said.
Azeez was released hours later on Oct. 24 on a $5,000 cash bond. He is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing in Rockingham County General District Court at 2 p.m. on Dec. 9.
Contact Breeze News at breezenews@gmail.com
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Yes, $5000 cash bond and the idiot is free to roam the streets again to prey on innocent victims. Given this guy’s history and his apparent inability to resist being a pervert and creeper, bail should have been set much higher to keep this sicko away from victims. Forget flight risk–where was the concern for the safety of the Harrisonburg community? The guy has preyed on people for years and they released him to do it again. It’s obvious that slaps on the wrist have not deterred him from committing his criminal acts, so I don’t know why they thought it was a good idea to let this animal free again.
It was already a felony. It was a felony the day he was arrested, according to the state court information website. He was let off after only a few hours in jail, as most felons in Rockingham County are.
He will be trying to pick the lock into someone’s bedroom tonight. One day he will get tired of being arrested and he will hurt or kill the person who can eye-witness him. He is a felon, but god forbid Rockingham County does anything about him.