By Brinda Kalita
VENTURA, CA – A judge here in Ventura County Superior Court this week may not be a Grinch, but did put a damper on Thanksgiving plans of at least one recently sentenced person and his family.
The accused was sentenced to two years in state prison after pleading to two felony charges: the selling and transporting of illegal substances and evading a peace officer.
Before the sentencing ended, Assistant Public Defender Efan Wu asked on the accused’s behalf if he could be sent to jail on Dec. 5, rather than being remanded after court so that he would be able to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with his loved ones.
Judge Patricia M. Murphy rejected PD Wu’s request because she said the court had no way to ensure that this could happen without issuing a warrant, and she did not want to issue a warrant for this specific excuse.
“Today is the day, and he’s going to be remanded today,” Judge Murphy added in her explanation for rejecting PD Wu’s request.
However, Judge Murphy did remind the accused he had two days credit prior to starting the sentence, and that he would have the ability to earn some more credits for time off at the halfway point of his sentence.
The hearing then continued with discussions of what the accused owes the court: he will be required to pay a fine of $300 to the state restitution fund. He also had fees for laboratory funds and drug rehabilitations funds.
However, due to the accused’s current inability to pay these funds, these were removed from the final total.
Judge Murphy then suggested to the accused that he should attend substance abuse counseling and use any other resources for recovery during his time at the Department of Corrections, due to his history of drug usage.
Finally, Judge Murphy shared with the accused that after his time in the Department of Corrections, he will be released under parole and will be supervised for about one to three years, depending on how he spends his time in the Department of Corrections.
