Associated Press
SEATTLE — A registered sex offender awaiting trial on federal gun charges has been cleared for temporary release to attend a memorial for his mother, who was found dead in a Seattle park.
The Seattle Times reported U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler ruled Wednesday that Leandre Antoine Gaines can be released for the Friday memorial service. She acknowledged a potential threat to the community, but said she hoped the gesture would help in the 36-year-old inmate’s rehabilitation.
Gaines had sought temporary release from the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac after his mother’s body was found Dec. 7. The cause of Danitha Gaines’ death hasn’t yet been determined.
Gaines was ordered to register as a sex offender in 1984, when he was 13. His attorney says he has never reoffended.
Gaines is currently being jailed on two counts of felon in possession of a firearm.
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