WOODLAND, Calif. — At a Friday plea and sentencing hearing in Yolo County Superior Court, Deputy Public Defender Stephen Betz argued the accused could already be in residential drug treatment if an earlier court request had been granted, telling the court the accused sought treatment in part to demonstrate rehabilitation before an upcoming parental rights hearing.
The accused appeared before Judge Daniel P. Maguire on two matters involving possession of a controlled substance and a probation violation. Under a negotiated resolution, the accused pleaded no contest to possession of a controlled substance and admitted the probation violation in a separate case.
Deputy Public Defender Stephen Betz told the court the accused was not seeking treatment “just to leave jail,” but to demonstrate rehabilitation before a parental rights hearing scheduled for late April. “His motivation to get into drug treatment is for his child,” Betz said, explaining that entering residential treatment could help the accused show the family court he is serious about addressing his substance use.
Betz argued that the accused’s ability to enter treatment had been delayed after a previous judge denied his request for release to residential rehabilitation. Betz told the court that a treatment bed was expected to become available that same week and that the accused “would have had a bed by now” if the request had been granted.
Deputy District Attorney Farouq Ghazzawi opposed allowing the accused to serve his sentence through residential treatment. Ghazzawi told the court the accused had “failed out of CTC [Sacramento Comprehensive Treatment Center],” rejected placement at Walter’s House multiple times, and previously walked away from treatment opportunities in the past.
Judge Daniel P. Maguire accepted the plea agreement and imposed 60 days in jail for the possession case and 120 days for the probation violation, to run concurrently. However, the court allowed the accused to complete the remaining custodial time through residential drug treatment once a treatment bed becomes available.
Judge Maguire warned the accused he would have only “one chance,” stating that if he leaves the program or is discharged early, he will return to jail to serve the remainder of the sentence.
The accused will remain in custody until a residential treatment placement becomes available.
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