A 70-year old man was granted parole Tuesday after serving a 22-year sentence at San Quentin State Prison for various violent crimes, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Dennis Barnes, a former South San Francisco resident, was sentenced in 1998 pursuant to the Three Strikes Law, which mandates a state prison term of at least 25 years to life for those convicted of a felony with two or more prior strikes.
He was sentenced that year for second-degree burglary for stealing three bags of coffee in South San Francisco shortly after being released from prison on separate charges.
Those charges included attempted arson and attempted voluntary manslaughter. While camping in the Sierra foothills in the early 1990s, Barnes got into an argument with a man camping nearby, waited until the man fell asleep and then set fire to his tent, causing severe burns to the victim, Wagstaffe said.
Prior to that, Barnes was convicted of five attempted murder charges after he used a high-powered rifle to randomly shoot at cars driving on Highway 299, located in the Redding area, from a freeway overpass. Five cars with passengers inside were hit with bullets, but no one was injured.
Wagstaffe said his office did not oppose Barnes’ release on parole.
“He kept himself pretty clean, he only had a few rules violations, he’s 70, a veteran and the prison psychologist believes him to be low risk,” Wagstaffe said. “He took responsibility for the first time.”
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