Pennsylvania probation officials, aware that Rafael Jones had failed to meet the conditions of his house arrest as ordered by a judge, permitted him to walk out of their offices three days before he allegedly killed police officer Moses Walker Jr., reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. On Aug. 10, two days after Jones was released from prison – with strict instructions from a judge that he be arrested if he failed a drug test – Jones checked in with his parole officer and tested positive for marijuana.
Jones told his parole officer that he had smoked pot before his release. He was allowed to go and was told to report back the following week. One source text message to his parole officer from a supervisor advised him that Jones’ failed drug test should be addressed the following week. Police said Jones stalked and killed Walker, 40, before dawn Aug. 18 as the officer walked to a bus stop after finishing his overnight shift in Philadelphia. Walker was in street clothes when he was confronted by two men who announced a robbery, police said, then shot him. The case has sparked criticism of the Board of Probation and Parole, which allowed Jones to leave prison and go without a required electronic ankle bracelet for more than two weeks.