LOS ANGELES, CA - Yet another killer who was released from prison under California’s liberal incarceration and parole policies was sentenced last week for the murder of a Los Angeles mother of six.
Darryl Lamar Collins, 55, was sentenced to life in prison in connection with the killing of his girlfriend, Fatima Johnson, 53, who was found dead in her apartment on July 4, 2021, Fox News Digital reports.
Collins killed Johnson just under a year after he was paroled for a double murder committed as a so-called “youthful offender,” authorities said.
Johnson was found with her wrists and ankles bound with shoelaces and duct tape. She was also gagged with underwear and had duct tape placed over her mouth and nose, investigators found. Collins stole her cell phone, jewelry, and Lexus, according to prosecutors. Only hours after he killed her, he pawned two of her necklaces and sold the Lexus for drugs.
“Darryl Collins took three innocent lives. Today’s sentence isn’t just about punishment. It’s also about protection from this sociopath to ensure he will never walk free again,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
This whole ordeal represents a refreshing change of pace from the former LA District Attorney George Gascon, who never met a criminal he didn’t let off with more than a slap on the wrist.
“This case shows exactly what can happen when someone with a history of extreme violence is released from prison early. We can only hope that three families who have experienced unimaginable loss find some measure of peace knowing he will never again be back in our communities.”
In 1995, Collins was convicted of two separate murders committed as a “youthful offender” and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 25 years to life. However, he was released after serving only half of his sentence under a youthful offender parole scheme enacted by California legislators in 2017. That law raised the cutoff for youthful offender parole from 23 to 25 years old. Collins was 24 when he committed the two earlier murders.
“Had the state legislature not changed the law in 2017, almost 20 years after Collins’ sentencing, raising the age cutoff from 23 to 25 for youthful offender parole, Collins would have been behind bars rather than on the street and able to senselessly and brutally take another innocent life,” Hochman said.
The two 1995 killings were especially heinous. On Sept. 17, 1995, Collins carjacked 28-year-old Derrick Reese, who was using a payphone. After stealing the vehicle, Collins backed up and shot Reese twice, killing him.
Only eleven days later, Collins tried to rob a diner where 44-year-old Thomas Weiss was working as a cashier. Collins held Weiss at gunpoint and, without provocation, shot him in the face, killing him.
On Jan. 15, 1998, Collins was sentenced to 50 years in prison, which should have kept him locked up until 2048. Instead, he was freed by California legislators to kill again.
The California parole board recently found two convicted serial child rapists, David Funston and Gregory Vogelsang, suitable for early release, despite one of them admitting that he still fantasizes about children.
That has drawn the attention of one federal lawmaker, Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA), who cited Collins’ criminal history while demanding a review of the parole board’s decisions and California’s early-release laws.
“California’s reckless laws and runaway Parole Board are getting our citizens killed,” Kiley wrote on X.
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