By Manuel Espinoza
SACRAMENTO – On April 29, 2020, a burglary case and a narcotics case received $0 bail.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Judicial Council released Court Emergency Orders on how to proceed on court cases. Among the orders, bail for most charges has been set to $0 and courts are allowed to host hearings online via conference call or set continuances on cases. The Sacramento Superior Court is one courthouse that is live-streaming Zoom conference calls on YouTube.
The first arraignment that was heard in Department 61 by Judge Ernest W. Sawtelle was to bring charges against the defendant, DeLaCruz. DeLaCruz was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotic paraphernalia, and resisting or obstructing arrest. Judge Sawtelle set bail at $0. DeLaCruz’s next court date is set for July 1, 2020.
Another arraignment was heard in order to bring charges against the defendant, Antione Lamar Davis. The defendant was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and two counts of violation of probation. The defendant pleaded an admission of guilt and accepted Judge Sawtelle’s sentence of two years in prison for the first count and two concurrent years for violation of probation 
charges.
An arraignment was heard in order to bring charges against a defendant, Reena Flores. The defendant violated a sock warrant (for jail time still owing on a probation case), resulting in a misdemeanor charge. The defendant pleaded for a resolution to be released on misdemeanor charges for work projects, but Deputy District Attorney Adrienne McMillan noted that the defendant had been given two previous chances for a sock warrant and failed to apply for the work project.
The defendant stated that they had a medical emergency and had a previous public defender ask for an extension. The judge stated that the court would not give the defendant a third chance to apply for the work project unless they presented a medical record for the extension. The case is set to continue May 6 in Department 61.
An arraignment was heard in order to bring charges against a defendant, Joshua Perry. The defendant was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery, and a hit and run. The defendant was asked if they could afford a private attorney, to which they confirmed that they could but did not have the chance to contact them. The judge determined that the defendant would receive a court appointed phone call and set the case to continue on May 1, 2020, at 1:30 pm.
An arraignment was heard in order to bring charges against the defendant, Marice Herron. The defendant was charged with burglary—but with a previous strike and being suspected of burglary in four different counties, the People objected to the $0 bail plea and the court set bail at $150,000. The case is set to continue on May 20, 2020, at 2:30 pm.
An arraignment was heard in order to bring charges against another defendant, Steven Finney. The defendant was brought up on two assault with force likely to induce great bodily injury and failure to keep his probation officer notified of his whereabouts. The judge was not confident that the defendant would return for the court date and set bail at $50,000. The case is set to continue May 6, at 2:30 pm.
An arraignment was heard in order to bring charges against the defendant, Bemil Tangonan. The defendant was not read their charges because of their need for a Tagalog language interpreter. Tagalog is a dialect from the Philippines. The case is set to continue tomorrow, April 30, 2020, at 2:30 pm.
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