A 102-year prison sentence did not keep Michael Douglas Brambles locked up. Brambles, 77, a former Los Angeles vice detective convicted of 26 violent crimes three decades ago, was paroled in 2020 under a California law that allows elderly inmates to apply for early release; parole is a prisoner's conditional discharge before the full term is served. The Ventura County District Attorney's Office arrested him Wednesday on charges of kidnapping to commit robbery while personally using a firearm, tied to an alleged robbery and sexual assault that occurred 32 years ago and was never prosecuted.
What was dismissed three decades ago
At the time of the alleged attack, investigators identified Brambles as a suspect in connection with an incident at Arabella's Boutique in Thousand Oaks, California. A woman identified only as SW was closing the store when Brambles allegedly entered, pointed a handgun at her, forced her into the backroom, tied her hands behind her back, sexually assaulted her, and stole from the business before leaving.
He was already facing prosecution in Los Angeles County for a wider string of crimes. He was convicted on 26 counts, including 18 armed robberies and multiple sexual assaults, and sentenced to 102 years. SW's case was dismissed. She agreed to that dismissal, believing Brambles would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
How the case resurfaced
The federal Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, a program that reviews untested rape kits and unresolved cases, brought Ventura County District Attorney's Office investigators to SW's file. That review revealed Brambles had been paroled. At his parole hearing, he denied sexually assaulting any women beyond the cases already adjudicated in Los Angeles County.
SW said at a press conference this week that she was shocked to learn he had been free for six years, and that she and other victims were denied the justice they deserved when he was required to serve only a fraction of his sentence. District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said her willingness to come forward made the current charges possible.
Brambles is held on $2 million bail. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 12 years to life. The sexual assault allegations from the Thousand Oaks incident cannot be charged. The statute of limitations, the legal deadline after which a criminal charge can no longer be filed in court, has expired.