Parolee Pleads Not Guilty to Robbing Bank

A 52-year-old man, who was granted parole late last year after serving time on a second-degree murder conviction, pleaded not guilty today to robbing a Lake Forest credit union.

Chandler Emile Graham faces four counts of first-degree robbery, with sentence-enhancing gun-use allegations, as well as fleeing from police and stealing a vehicle.

Graham had been found suitable for parole on Dec. 19 despite the objections of Senior Deputy District Attorney Mike Murray, who argued that Graham continued “to pose a significant risk of danger to society.”

In a letter to parole officials in December, Murray said Graham “killed a completely innocent victim, Tore Johanson, a recently retired 66-year-old man,” on Aug. 26, 1994, in La Habra.

Graham was convicted on April 25, 1995, of second-degree murder and was sentenced that June to 15 years to life in prison. Appellate court records indicate that justices affirmed his conviction and the state Supreme Court in 1997 declined a request to review the case.

According to Murray, Graham “had been drinking and abusing drugs” before causing the head-on collision that killed Johanson.

“When a police officer attempted to pull him over, Graham sped away and led officers on an extremely dangerous high-speed chase,” Murray wrote. “Graham ultimately drove his car head-on into Mr. Johanson’s car, killing him and seriously injuring his wife.”

The pursuit ended with a four-car pileup at La Habra Boulevard and Monte Vista Avenue. The car Graham was driving ended up crashing at the steps of a city fire station. Murray noted in his letter to the parole board that Graham was on parole at the time of the deadly collision.

“All prior attempts to rehabilitate inmate Graham have failed miserably,” Murray wrote.

Though Graham had “made positive progress” since 2011 while in prison, he continues to pose a “moderate risk of violence” if freed, according to the prosecutor.

“This risk, when combined with his extensive criminal history and substance abuse, simply poses too great a likelihood that this inmate will victimize someone in the community if he his released at this time,” Murray wrote.

Graham, whose bail was set at $250,000, allegedly robbed the Eagle Community Credit Union at 23021 Lake Center Drive in Lake Forest on Monday.

Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock said witnesses gave deputies a description of the suspect and his getaway car, and when authorities tried to pull Graham over, he led them on a pursuit that ended near Red Hill Avenue and El Camino Real in Tustin.

City News Service; Orange County Sheriff’s Department