By Alex Morgan
SACRAMENTO, CA – Sacramento County Superior Court Dept. 61 Judge Michael W. Sweet heard several cases here Monday, moving quickly to set future court dates for preliminary hearings—but in two others he handed out sentences of five and four years.
Defendant Delvin Gipson was charged with six felonies. He accepted a plea offer for two misdemeanors and one felony after his actions on Aug. 10 of last year.
Gipson pleaded to a felony violation of unlawful child endangerment, putting three children, ages one, two and three, in serious danger by refusing to stop for law-enforcement officers while driving more than 70 mph in a 25-mph zone, almost colliding with other cars and driving on the wrong side of the road.
The car chase lasted for about a half a mile with the three children present in the vehicle. The three children were determined to have suffered mentally from the events of the chase, according to charging documents.
Officially, Gipson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of intent to evade and flee a police motor vehicle, and felony child endangerment with potential great bodily harm or death of the three children in the speeding vehicle. The defendant was sentenced to four years in state prison.
But Gipson had another case catch up with him. A previous charge was amended to a misdemeanor, which was for carrying a concealed firearm within a vehicle. Gipson was charged on Aug. 24, 2018, with assault with a deadly weapon. This conviction occurred in Nevada, but under California law is considered a strike within the three strikes law.
Another case that stood out during court was one that involved defendant Dax Poplawski, who accepted a plea deal that included three felonies, including a violation of health and safety codes with the possession of over 60 grams of methamphetamine with intention to sell, possessing firearms and/or ammunition, and possession of counterfeit bills and counterfeit printing templates and machines used for the purpose of distributing and using counterfeit bills.
The defendant also took a plea deal in a felony charge from July 7, 2020, for possession of 14 additional grams of methamphetamine after a search and seizure was performed at the defendant’s residence.
Defendant Poplawski was sentenced to five years in state prison for the two cases.
Alex Morgan is a 3rd year Political Science Major at Westmont College. She is originally from Santa Barbara, California.
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