State hospital officials were told Friday to continue searching for a potential San Diego County residence to house a man classified as a sexually violent predator.
Gary Snavely, 61, who was approved for conditional release nearly three years ago, was convicted in 1987 of molesting two young girls.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser declined to immediately release Snavely on transient status and opted to give officials more time to find a suitable home.
Another hearing has been set for mid-May for an update on the housing search
Officials originally proposed that Snavely be released to a home in Julian, where he would have continued to undergo sex offender treatment while being closely monitored.
But the owner of the property on Wynola Road rescinded the offer within days of the public announcement of the proposed release last month.
Those classified as sexually violent predators have been convicted of violent offenses, diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes a person likely to re-offend and completed a prison sentence.
While Snavely was treated at a state hospital, he petitioned for outpatient conditional release, which was granted in 2022 by now-retired Superior Court Judge Peter Gallagher.
As with many SVP cases, securing a fixed residence has proven difficult, as numerous regulations govern where offenders can be housed. Their placement proposals also typically generate significant backlash from residents.
According to a recent housing status report, Liberty Healthcare, the state contractor that operates the SVP conditional release program, evaluated nearly 5,000 properties to house Snavely, more than 200 of them in January and February of this year.
If a suitable fixed residence cannot be located, Snavely could be released as a transient, meaning that while he would be stringently monitored, he would not have a permanent address and could be housed somewhere other than a typical residence, such as an RV or motel.
At Friday’s hearing, Deputy District Attorney Carder Chan, who opposed a transient release, said that Liberty officials have “identified a lead” on a suitable residence, without going into detail.
Fraser said he had concerns about a potential transient release for Snavely, citing the public safety risks and Snavely’s past performance in the program.
Snavely was conditionally released twice before and each time he was sent back to the state hospital for violations of his conditions.
However, the judge did acknowledge concerns by Deputy Public Defender Shea Connelly regarding Snavely’s continued commitment at the state hospital years after he was ordered released.
Fraser said he didn’t believe a transient release would be in Snavely’s best interests or the community’s, but said continuing to keep Snavely committed could present a constitutional violation.
“At some point, we are going to have to make some hard decisions,” the judge said Friday.
Connelly wanted Snavely’s transient release to be approved, stating that his client should not be punished for the “administrative failures” of those tasked with finding him a residence.
“Mr. Snavely has done everything that the Department of State Hospitals has said to do. He has completed all of the treatment that is available there,” Connelly said.
The attorney also argued that Snavely can be safely monitored and treated in the community. No SVP returned to a community through the conditional release program, he added, has committed a new sexual crime.
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