Crime & Safety
70-Year-Old Convicted Murderer Denied Parole
The Board of Parole Hearings decided that Vernon Bragg "continues to pose an unreasonable risk of harm to public safety," prosecutors said.
SONOMA COUNTY, CA — California's parole board has rejected the release of a prison inmate convicted in a 1985 Guerneville murder, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said.
The Board of Parole Hearings decided that Vernon Bragg, 70, "continues to pose an unreasonable risk of harm to public safety," prosecutors said in statement Friday.
Bragg, who is serving an indeterminate life sentence for the slaying of Ray Rasmussen, was denied parole after a hearing Thursday at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, according to the district attorney's office.
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Prosecutors said Bragg stepped into a verbal dispute between Rasmussen and another person, pushed Rasmussen to the ground, and shot him to death. Rasmussen's body was buried under an unoccupied house where he wasn't found until more than two years later.
"Parole is not guaranteed to an individual serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole, and this individual has simply not done the work necessary to demonstrate his commitment to remaining crime free," District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said in a statement.
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Bragg cannot reapply for parole for another three years, prosecutors said.
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