The low-security federal prison for women in Dublin received a celebrity inmate on Tuesday, with actress Felicity Huffman reporting to serve her sentence for a conviction in the college admissions scandal, according to the Associated Press.
In May, Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison, a $30,000 fine, 250 hours of community service and a year’s probation after pleading guilty to paying an admissions consultant $15,000 to have a proctor correct her daughter’s SAT exam answers in 2017, according to the AP.
She will be serving out her time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, a minimum-security facility for female inmates located not far from the Santa Rita Jail.
“Ms. Huffman is prepared to serve the term of imprisonment Judge Talwani ordered as one part of the punishment she imposed for Ms. Huffman’s actions,” Huffman’s representative said in a statement.
Huffman, a former star of the television series “Desperate Housewives,” is an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated actress.
In other news
* An Oakland man has been charged with special circumstances murder for allegedly fatally shooting a Dublin man and his girlfriend during a robbery in East Oakland last month.
Keith Riley, 36, is accused of killing Dublin High School alum Ryan Wasilausky, 20, and Giovanna “Gigi” Giannini, 20, of Daly City.
Wasilausky and Giannini were found fatally shot inside a silver 2016 Ford Focus that crashed into a home in the 500 block of Douglas Avenue, a residential neighborhood in the Brookfield Village area, at 11:07 a.m. on Sept. 28, according to police.
They were suffering from apparent gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Riley was identified as the suspect based on video surveillance footage, witness statements, text messages, social media and records from Wasilausky and Riley that placed him with them before and after the fatal shooting, Oakland police Officer Wenceslao Garcia wrote in a probable cause statement.
Riley was arrested at his home in the 2300 block of 100th Avenue in East Oakland at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 3, according to police.
Garcia wrote that when investigators interviewed Riley, he denied killing Wasilausky and Giannini but made contradictory statements about where he was at the time of the shooting.
Riley is charged with two counts of murder, the special circumstances of committing multiple murders and committing a murder during the course of a robbery and second-degree robbery.
A GoFundMe website for Wasilausky’s family had raised more than $21,000 of its $30,000 goal as of Tuesday afternoon.
According to Wasilausky’s obituary, he was born in Walnut Creek, grew up in Dublin, graduated from Dublin High in 2017 and was in his third year studying business at California State University East Bay.
The obituary says Giannini was Wasilausky’s girlfriend and he loved traveling with her as well as cooking and spending time with his friends.
According to Giannini’s obituary, she was killed only two days before her 21st birthday.
Giannini’s obituary describes her as “a loving, funny, beautiful young woman with a passion for beauty.”
It says, “She lit up a room with just a smile. Her affection toward her mother and grandparents was exemplary. People were drawn to her loving, sweet, gentle-hearted nature.”
* Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have stopped the release of California jail inmates during early-morning hours.
The Getting Home Safe Act was authored by State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and was prompted by the death of Jessica St. Louis, 26, in July 2018.
St. Louis died of an opioid overdose about four hours after being released at about 1:30 a.m. from Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
Newsom vetoed the bill because it would have allowed inmates to stay in a waiting room at a jail until morning, something that would cost the state more money.
Newsom said in a veto message, “The bill’s intent can be accomplished through a more tailored approach that does not put the state treasury on the hook for local jail operations costs which are a local responsibility.”
Skinner said in a tweet Sunday, “Jessica St. Louis was found dead after Alameda County Jail released her at 1:30 a.m. with only a BART ticket. #SB42 was to prevent deaths like Jessica’s.
“Not happy that the Sheriff’s Association opposed SB 42. Frustrated that #GavinNewsom vetoed it.”
Legislators overwhelmingly supported it. A spokesperson for Skinner said the senator hasn’t decided whether to reintroduce the bill with changes. Spokesman Robert Gammon said, “She’s going to think it over.”
Newsom also said in his veto message, “Jails should not be releasing people onto the streets during overnight hours. This is unsafe practice, resulting in many tragic and preventable outcomes over the years.”
—Pleasanton Weekly staff and Bay City News Service
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