SAN JOSE, Calif. — In Santa Clara County Superior Court on June 25, Judge Johnny Cepeda Gogo ordered an ankle monitor for a man released from custody, despite being notified that he struggled with mobility issues impacting his ankle.
The man was in custody for a probation violation stemming from an underlying DUI case in which he had already been sentenced. Judge Gogo released him from custody under the Supervised Own Recognizance Program, or SORP, despite an objection from Deputy District Attorney Hannah Villalpando.
Deputy Public Defender Zachary Reitman anticipated the ankle monitor order and informed the court that the man was suffering from an injury causing mobility problems and might require surgery, for which the ankle monitor would need to be removed.
Despite the defense’s notice of the man’s mobility issues, Judge Gogo ordered the ankle monitor as a condition of SORP. The man would need to provide a doctor’s note to have the monitor removed for surgery, Gogo said. Reitman did not object to the ankle monitor.
Villalpando objected to the man being released from custody. She said he had committed a “violent offense” in another ongoing case, for which he had already been released on SORP while awaiting the preliminary hearing. She also said he had failed to appear at two hearings in 2024.
The victim in the other case was concerned because the man lived nearby, Villalpando said. “The people have a concern for public safety,” she added.
The man was looking to move to a different residence, Reitman explained. He said the probation violation on the DUI case was the only matter keeping the man in custody.
Reitman urged the court to conduct a Humphrey’s analysis. The analysis prevents people from being held in pretrial custody solely because they cannot afford bail and requires clear and convincing evidence that release would pose a threat to public safety. Reitman listed less restrictive alternatives the court could impose, such as an ankle monitor and stay-away orders.
The judge agreed to conduct the analysis and sided with the defense, releasing the man on SORP with several conditions, including the ankle monitor, regular check-ins with pretrial services, drug testing, and stay-away orders.
The man is scheduled to return to court on July 11 for both of his cases.
