((This is a good option that should be left open to all convicted child

molesters....Bye-bye, garbageman...Ron)) 

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA

COURTHOUSE JUMPER: Carlos Eduardo Tello was facing more than 20 years behind bars when he jumped from a courthouse balcony.

 A 52-year-old man plunged to his death from the ninth floor of a county courthouse Tuesday, just hours after he was convicted of several child molestation charges in a courtroom miles away. Carlos Eduardo Tello was facing more than 20 years behind bars when he jumped from a courthouse balcony.

Tello of Santa Ana was ordered to be back in a Fullerton courtroom by 4:30 p.m., but when he didn't show up, Superior Court Judge Greggory Prickett issued a bench warrant for his arrest. But Tello was already dead, having jumped off a balcony in a restricted area on the east side of the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana about 4:10 p.m.

A suicide note was found tucked in Tello's clothing.

Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown lobbied Prickett to revoke Tello's bail and take him into custody immediately when the jury returned guilty verdicts on three out of four child molestation charges Tuesday.

Brown argued Tello had a suicide note on him when he was arrested in 2006 on suspicion of repeatedly molesting a girl and may be in danger, said Susan Schroeder of the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Prickett declined to revoke Tello's $250,000 bail, ordering him instead to return to the Fullerton courtroom by 4:30 p.m.

Tello's legal troubles stemmed from the longtime molestation of a girl that began in 1989 and continued until 1994, according to prosecutors. The case wound its way through the system for almost two years before a jury convicted Tello on Tuesday of continuous sexual abuse of a child, lewd and lascivious acts on a minor and oral copulation of a minor.

Why Tello ended up at the courthouse at 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana is unclear.

Just after 4 p.m., an alarm alerted courtroom bailiffs that someone had entered a restricted area of the courthouse's ninth floor, said Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

A bailiff searching for the intruder found Tello standing on a ninth-floor balcony and tried to wrestle him back to safety, but the man broke free, said Santa Ana police Cpl. Jose Gonzales.

"He said ‘Nobody's stopping me,' " said Amormino, "and he jumped."

Tello fell from the balcony to the concrete in front of the courthouse's east entrance doors, where he was pronounced dead by Santa Ana paramedics.

Tello's attorney, Gary Pohlson, was not immediately available for comment.

Comments (8)

1doc: ... The only cure for his type of sickness. Should happen more often. 1 March 05, 2008 thesarge: ... Sub-human crap, I hope it hurt all the way down and the landing was really, really, really bad. 2 March 05, 2008 Baker1779: ... Ha, ha, ha!!!!If only they all did this, what a wonderful world this would be. 3 March 05, 2008 SGT217: ... Hope there's not a lasting stain on the concrete 4 March 06, 2008 det ret rpd narc: nice try Deputy but..... this is one time I am glad you didn't get to save a life....whenever you see a child molester trying to take his life, don't interfere....that's just wrong....by the way, I give Tello a 10 for his hige dive to the pavement....good form, good landing... 5 March 06, 2008 Bull: ... We should just toss criminals off buildings like this all day, then the jails wouldn't be overflowing with them. 6 March 06, 2008 88pdx: ... Hasta la Vista! Glad he didn't hurt anyone else on his way down and out. 7 March 07, 2008 Madrussian: ... He cashed in his frequent flyer points before he dove. 8 March 10, 2008

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