DHS recommends housing sex offenders in Poway

POWAY, Calif. – Poway could soon be the new home of a convicted sex offender who is now free, and residents are quickly organizing their resistance.

This is the third time state officials have attempted to place the case of Merle Wakefield, whose victims include a girl under the age of fourteen.

The state is proposing to house sex offender Wakefield on a property on Sycamore Canyon Road in Poway. That property is currently home to a family of five with three young children and another on the way.

Wakefield, 67, has an extensive criminal record that stretches back decades. He has been arrested more than 20 times and convicted 10 times, including for rape and lewd acts with minors under 14.

This possible location in Poway would be near other homes and a riding stable, including one for handicapped children.

A popular community park and elementary school are located just a few miles from the proposed site.

“It’s really unfortunate,” said mother Jaime Stolis, who lives about 1.5 miles from the property.

“It’s scary that he can drive past Garden Road Elementary. My son rides his bike there all the time,” Stolis said. “We walk our dog, my kids are there.”

“We want to help Poway now,” said Jeff Grace, a Rancho Bernardo resident who was instrumental in keeping another sex offender out of his community several years ago.

He is now helping to organize opposition to the plan, including a town hall meeting at Garden Road Park this Friday at 10 a.m.

He also encourages all county residents to email public comments to the Sheriff’s Department prior to the trial.

“We want masses, we want volume so that the stack is so high that the judge can see, wow, this community is really concerned,” he told CBS 8.

Residents are also increasingly concerned about the young family of five currently living on the property who would likely move away if Wakefield moved in.

“They are shocked, they are devastated, they don’t know where to look,” Grace said.

“It is extremely unfortunate that the owner puts his profit above the safety of our children and the children in this home,” Stolis added.

Residents say they vow to keep their community safe.

“I pray that when he is allowed to be released back into the public, he can be released to a remote area so he doesn’t come and harm the people around us,” Stolis told CBS 8.

While the court hearing on this proposed placement is scheduled for August 9, all public comments on this placement must be submitted by July 22.

These comments may be submitted by email to [email protected], by phone at (858) 583-7238, or by mail to SVP Release/SAFE Task Force, 9425 Chesapeake Drive, San Diego, CA, 92123.

The trial is currently scheduled for August 9 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 1704 with San Diego Superior Court Judge Yvonne Campos.

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