SAN DIEGO — Loved ones of beloved Rolando veterinarian Dr. Clark Kelly, who died after a break-in at his office in 2022, say they feel cheated by the criminal justice system.
The man convicted for the break-in served about two years of a four-year sentence, then quickly violated his parole.
“We’ve been basically victimized over and over and over because of the justice system," said the victim's daughter, Karen Kelly. “Criminal and defendants have more rights than victims."
The longtime veterinarian died from a heart attack in June 2022 during a burglary at his office in Rolando.
The medical examiner’s office classified Kelly's death as a homicide, saying he wouldn’t have died that day if defendant Patrick O’Brien hadn’t broken in.
“My whole family has been devastated and will never be the same. Will never ever be the same. It was assumed that my father was old and that he had a heart problem and he just died and that he was going to die, that’s what the defense said," said Kelly.
O’Brien was originally charged with murder but under a deal, he plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to four years.
He served two years in jail and was released last month to serve the rest of his sentence under mandatory supervision. But just five days after his release, he violated his parole by failing to check-in with the parole office.
Today, judge Rachel Cano sent him back to jail for 120 days, giving O’Brien one last chance on mandatory supervision.
But Kelly says her dad never got a second chance and doesn’t think O’Brien deserves one.
“Anybody can see – the District Attorney’s office, the probation – that this man should be locked back up, that he is a threat to society," she said.
Kelly says she and her family are furious at the system that allowed a man with an extensive criminal record to be let out of jail in the first place.
“He just keeps getting off every single time," she added.
O’Brien is set to be released from custody in August. A mandatory supervision review hearing is scheduled for November.
WATCH RELATED: Sentencing scheduled for man connected to the death of Rolando veterinarian