Former President Barack Obama used his executive power liberally, issuing more clemency to convicted criminals during his two-terms than his past six predecessors combined.
In total, Obama ordered the release of 1,927 prisoners before leaving office in January, and the strong majority of them were convicted drug dealers.
Critics said this final betrayal against law and order could unleash a crime wave in American streets. Now, it seems they may be right.
Authorities say at least one of the drug dealers granted clemency by Obama has already gone back to his old ways.
Is anyone surprised?
Robert Gill, a 68-year-old whose life prison sentence was commuted by Obama, was back in jail Sunday after authorities say he crashed at the end of a dangerous high speed chase while fleeing from officers following a drug deal.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad on Friday ordered Gill held without bail pending a Feb. 16 hearing.
Gill was arrested in 1990, convicted and sentenced to life for cocaine and heroin distribution conspiracy. While in prison, he studied law and petitioned for a second chance. Obama commuted Gill’s sentence in 2015, making him one of about 1,700 convicted drug dealers whose sentence was commuted by Obama.
He’d been working as a paralegal at a San Antonio law firm since, according to The San Antonio Express-News.
Federal court records showed that hours after he met with a federal probation officer on Thursday, Gill bought 1 kilogram of cocaine, about 2 pounds. He’d been under surveillance since last month after authorities received information that he’d become involved in illegal drugs.
After an exchange in a parking lot where he received a black backpack, a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy attempted to pull him over.
That’s when Gill fled at high speed, according to court records.
The documents say he collided with another vehicle and tried to flee again but was stopped by other officers. Cocaine was found in the backpack and he told authorities he planned to sell it, according to the court records.
If convicted, Gill now faces between five and 40 years in prison.
Critics say he should’ve never been allowed back out in the first place.
The Associated Press contributed to this article