By Matthew Torres
WOODLAND, CA – A man in custody was muted over Zoom by a judge when expressing his doubts about the ability of parole to get him into a residential program in a hearing here this week in Yolo County Superior Court.
Other court personnel later admitted he was right about parole’s inability to help.
Due to the pandemic, remote arraignments, where the accused appears over Zoom, has been a way to advise someone of the charges brought against them while reducing the amount of people in the courtroom and the possibility of spreading COVID.
It also allows judges to keep order in their courtroom by simply muting the accused when the judge feels it necessary.
The man was being arraigned over Zoom while in custody, charged with two counts of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of possession of methamphetamine, all misdemeanors. 
Initially, Judge David Reed considered releasing the accused on his own recognizance (OR) with conditions that he follow post release community supervision (PRCS), until Deputy District Attorney Deanna Hays shared her concerns.
“Your Honor, since the last time he was released, one of which I believe was a deferred entry of judgment (DEJ), he was ordered to do treatment and he hasn’t done the treatment, he hasn’t complied with parole, he failed the SOR, has failed to come to court, and picked up two new 11377’s (possession of methamphetamine),” explained Hays.
“I don’t believe he will come back to court nor will he follow parole’s orders,” she added.
Deferred entry of judgment is when the defendant has their proceedings suspended in exchange for the successful completion of a drug treatment program.
Deputy Probation Officer Nichole Whitten added, “He’s had 14 prior violations of parole. He apparently reported when he first got out and he was told we were facilitating a treatment bed for him, and that was the last we saw of him before we put a warrant out. We’ve tried to help him on numerous occasions and he either doesn’t show up or we issue warrants for him.”
When Judge Reed asked if the accused participated in treatment following his initial DEJ release, Whitten concluded, “My file shows he was never able to show proof for that. He makes no effort to follow through, your Honor.”
Deputy Public Defender Aram Davtyan contextualized his client’s struggles, noting, “The factual information is true. I would just note that the failure to ‘follow through’ is a symptom of having a drug addiction and I think it’s very important that (his) drug addiction is addressed.”
Judge Reed asked if he is willing to go into a residential program if a bed becomes available, and the accused responded, “Last time I was here, I agreed to enter a residential program and parole never provided those services for me. I sat in a cell for over two weeks waiting for them to provide that and they never did, your Honor.”
He continued, “That’s what I’ve been waiting for, your Honor. Every time I have been waiting for them to put me in a residential program, parole has not even met with me. The parole office has moved out of county, your Honor.”
Judge Reed muted the prisoner, and said, “We’re not going to talk about this anymore, you obviously don’t want to do what I’m asking you to do.”
The man’s doubts in the abilities of parole are not alone or irrelevant. In December 2021, the Woodland Parole Unit was relocating to Fairfield, in Solano County.
In a statement to the mayor and city council that included her concerns about the move, Fairfield Police Chief Denna Cantrell, noted, “The Woodland Parole office has a 400-person caseload that serves Yolo, Sutter, and Colusa counties and parolees. All three counties are at least 40 or more miles away from Fairfield.”
In a final comment Judge Reed added, “I know he sat in jail for a while after there was a DEJ for over a month and he hadn’t been placed. I don’t know what happened during that time and I don’t need to know that.”
Bail was set at $1,000 for each case, and trial set for March 28.
