Orange Co. GPS monitoring program back up

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County's GPS monitoring system is back up and running, Channel 9 has learned.

But Rafael Zaldivar, the father of a murder victim, said it's not enough to keep people safe.

The county is defending the program and said it is better than nothing.

That's not sitting well with Zaldivar, whose son was shot and allegedly killed by a felon who was wearing a home confinement monitor and violating his curfew possibly for the 109^th time.

“They should be monitoring by humans!  These ankle bracelets…they do nothing to protect us,” Zaldivar said.

Zaldivar said he believes bringing back GPS monitoring for some defendants accused of violent crimes is a joke.

He said the monitors give people a false sense of security, and people wearing the monitors can foil the program and disarm the monitors.

Zaldivar's son, Alex, was shot and killed in an alleged cover-up murder.

The murder was allegedly masterminded by home invasion suspect Bessman Okafor, who wanted to stop Alex Zaldivar and his roommates from testifying.

Okafor was on a home confinement ankle monitor at the time. It was the  109th time the monitor alerted a possible violation, but all alerts were allegedly ignored by community corrections.

The program was suspended, and so was the GPS program after other problems.

That leaves as many as 50 defendants accused of violent crimes out on bond with no monitoring.  They are being considered for a GPS monitor, which Orange County said is more effective.

Accused robber Lacravious Radford is the first suspect to be ordered on one.  He's charged with robbing a convenience store on Vineland Road after going in wearing a mask and beating the clerk.

The county said there is a review going on of those 50 defendants by county corrections workers at the jail complex and by court administrators.

The county will pay $5 a day per monitor.

Okafor is scheduled to go on trial for the home invasion on June 3.  His first-degree murder trial has been set for October 2014.

WFTV