Oakland, CA – Alameda County Judge Thomas Stevens granted two prosecutorial-based motions for resentencing on Thursday. Both clients, appearing from CDCR facilities over Zoom, were represented by Deputy Public Defender Loren Williams with the motions filed by Special Prosecutor Andrea Crider of the Alameda DA’s office.
In the first case, Crider was assisted by a certified intern. The man had served 27 years of a 25-to-life sentence.
Judge Stevens noted that when the prosecutor’s offices makes a motion for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.1, the presumption is for granting the motion unless the judge finds a risk of committing a super strike.
In this case, the DA’s office noted that the victim was not opposed to resentencing and they believed that the man had served his time.
The sentence stemmed from a burglary/robbery case from 1991 where the man pleaded to a single strike. However, the law changed and he was retroactively sentenced to a third strike, carrying an automatic 25-years-to-life sentence.
An appellate court subsequently found that there was no legal basis to withdraw the plea and Judge Stevens did not revisit this issue.
Judge Stevens noted that there were no serious rules violations, and that he had accepted responsibility and accountability for the crime.
Judge Stevens noted that “based on his record, this is not the person who committed these crimes,” which he attributed to a substance abuse problem.
Judge Stevens subsequently resentenced him to a five-year term for robbery, which was doubled for a second strike offense and an extra five years for a “nickel prior,” to reach a new term of 15 years, for which time was served.
Judge Stevens believed that the man would benefit from a standard parole term—to which both the DA’s office and Public Defender Williams agreed. After consultation with his attorney, he agreed to waive his right to have the parole term waived.
In the second case, the man, 71 years old, had served nearly 30 years on a 56-years-to-life term. Once again, the client, who suffers from a number of health issues including immobility, accepted responsibility and expressed remorse for his residential burglary crime.
Crider noted that the DA attempted to reach out to the victim, and spoke with the son, who noted that he had no opposition and he didn’t believe that his mother would object, although the mother never got back in touch with the DA’s office.
The judge expressed limited concern for his record while in custody, noting a number of write ups for fighting in the last 16 years, although most seemed to be minor, with a brief shoving match in 2023 (at age 69).
Judge Stevens noted that his behavior has improved since 2015 and his rehabilitation has been good.
One factor noted is that he never expected to be released from prison. Williams noted that he consequently disconnected from his life as a result. He lost contact with his family and fully expected to die in prison.
However, as a result of this process he reunited with a number of his siblings.
His sister spoke during the hearing, and in a heartfelt statement she talked about the fact that he was one of 12 siblings in his family. He missed out on burying several of his brothers and his mother.
At 71 and with limited mobility, it was noted that it is unlikely that he would be able to work, but he has ample family support.
Judge Stevens noted that substance abuse drove the theft conduct and that his record was substantial with convictions dating back to the 1960s and 1970s.
However, he noted that his age and medical status make it highly unlikely that he would commit a super strike offense and, while his discipline record could be better—but is improving, the motion for resentencing must be granted.
The court struck down the prior strikes, recalled the resentence and sentenced him to the residential burglary with 25 years for the “nickel priors” leaving a determinative sentenced that led to time served.
Once again, he waived his right to have parole waived and was placed on standard term for parole, making him eligible for critical services.
