Early last month police in Fullerton, California, received a report that someone was breaking into cars at the city's transportation center. For years, the station has been a popular hub for the homeless. Unlike private business owners who have to worry about their bottom line, the public employees who run the transit center are more tolerant of street persons. The station is also a convenient place for burglars to ply their trade, since car owners often leave their vehicles unattended for hours at a time. Security guards are supposed to keep an eye on things, but this is unfeasible when on any given workday an average of 3,000 commuters travel through the hub.
Fullerton police discovered several homeless persons hanging round the bus station. Among them was 37-year-old Kelly Thomas. Thomas, who suffered from severe schizophrenia, had a string of arrests going back 17 years, during which time he'd been charged with everything from vandalism to assault with a deadly weapon. In 1995, he had pleaded guilty to hitting his grandfather in the head with a fireplace poker.
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