NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — At the Harbor Justice Center on Thursday, Judge Derek G. Johnson reduced bail for a woman charged with felony sale or transport of a controlled substance, but kept the amount above what her attorney argued she could afford.
The woman, who has no income, faces one count of felony sale or transport of a controlled substance. Prosecutors opposed a significant reduction, citing her prior failures to appear in court.
On Jan. 13, the accused entered a plea of not guilty. On Aug. 7, she appeared in court with her defense attorney, Deputy Public Defender Issac Palacios. She has remained in custody for months, listed as “remanded” on the Orange County Court Search page.
Palacios said his client’s bail was about $50,000 and argued she could not pay the amount. He requested a reduction to $10,000 to make payment possible.
Deputy District Attorney Thomas Collins opposed any reduction, arguing that the accused had two prior bench warrant holds and a previous failure to appear.
Palacios then asked Judge Johnson to set bail at $15,000. When the request was denied, he countered with $20,000. Johnson rejected the proposal, noting she had a failure to appear at that amount in the past.
Johnson offered to set bail at $25,000, saying it balanced both sides’ arguments. Palacios thanked the judge for the reduction.
While the bail was initially presented in court as $50,000, online case access shows otherwise. The record lists a history of a $10,000 bond with no bail amount mentioned. The bond was made active in January, forfeited in July, then exonerated and reopened the same day in August.
The next pretrial hearing is set for Aug. 15.
