She was a California comeback story, serving juvenile probation in a UC Davis dorm for killing a teen, when arrested again
She Was a California Comeback Until UC Davis Arrest
Bizeconanalysis.com – She was a California comeback story that the state itself had celebrated — a 15-year-old placed on juvenile probation after the killing of 15-year-old Omari Lowery in Sacramento County, then, nearly five years later, arrested again from the UC Davis dorm room where she was completing her sentence. Arrest records indicate officers found live ammunition tucked inside a sock in her dresser, a digital scale, more than 100 plastic baggies, text messages consistent with drug sales, and $4,121 in cash. CBS California omits her name because she was a minor at the time of the original offense.
Arrested in Her UC Davis Dorm Room
At the time of her arrest she had not finished her sentence and remained under juvenile commitment. Records reviewed by CBS California Investigates show she had spent roughly three years in secure juvenile custody before a Sacramento County judge determined she had progressed enough to step down into California’s Less Restrictive Programming, or LRP, system. That framework allows courts to move young offenders from secure facilities into community-based settings — halfway houses, in her case a university dorm — before their sentence expires.
She entered the Underground Scholars program at UC Davis, a state-funded initiative for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students, and moved into campus housing in December 2025. Seven months later she was arrested in that same dorm room. Her probation officer searched the space on July 29 and reported finding marijuana, boxes of vape cartridges, a digital scale, text messages and a price list suggesting drug sales, cash, and ammunition — items her release conditions explicitly barred. She was charged as an adult in Yolo County with felony possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, misdemeanor possession of ammunition on school grounds, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana for sale.
She was arraigned on July 31, pleaded not guilty, and posted a $25,000 bail bond. That Yolo County case runs parallel to a separate probation-violation proceeding in Sacramento County Juvenile Court tied to her original 2021 matter; her custody status under the juvenile case is not addressed in the Yolo record. Her court order also requires weekly meetings with Underground Scholars Director Gunner Johnson as a condition of her placement. CBS California Investigates has reached out to Johnson with program-related questions.
She was a California comeback the state had publicly featured months before this arrest — proof, officials argued, that the program works.
A State Program Without a Headcount
Records show she was serving as a youth advocate for the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR), the state agency overseeing the broader LRP system. A March 2026 OYCR presentation names her in that role. She is not alone in this pattern: in 2021 a 17-year-old girl was convicted of murdering Fresno State student Sergio Bonboster, whose body was dismembered, burned, and dumped in a canal. That teen, now in her 20s, was reportedly enrolled at Sacramento State last year under Project Rebound, the Cal State counterpart to Underground Scholars. The victim’s family publicly protested her early release after just two years of a four-year murder sentence. Sacramento State declined to confirm her enrollment, citing privacy.
In Los Angeles, a private company has been operating a similar arrangement in student housing on UCLA’s sorority row, according to a California Post investigation. LA County paid the company $1.2 million in 2025 to house nine young adults. Underground Scholars is one of three state-supported pathways moving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people into California higher education, alongside Project Rebound and the Rising Scholars network in community colleges. Project Rebound enrolled 1,522 students statewide across 20 Cal State schools last year, per publicly available data. CBS California was unable to locate a comparable enrollment figure for Underground Scholars and has requested that information from multiple sources. Multiple public-records requests for underlying contracts, funding records, and enrollment data are pending; this story is the first in what CBS California Investigates expects to be an ongoing series.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Less Restrictive Programming (LRP)? LRP is a California court-authorized framework that allows judges to transition young offenders from secure juvenile custody into community-based settings — such as halfway houses or university dorms — before their sentence is fully served. It is overseen by the Office of Youth and Community Restoration.
What is the Underground Scholars program? Underground Scholars is a state-funded UC system initiative that enrolls incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students in UC campuses, providing academic support and, in some cases, campus housing. It is one of three parallel pathways (with Project Rebound and Rising Scholars) designed to move young people into higher education.
Why is the student’s name withheld? CBS California does not publish her name because she was a minor at the time of the original 2021 offense, consistent with standard practice for juvenile-justice reporting.
What charges did she face after the dorm-room arrest? She was charged as an adult in Yolo County with felony possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, misdemeanor possession of ammunition on school grounds, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana for sale. A separate probation-violation proceeding in Sacramento County Juvenile Court addresses her original case.