WOODLAND, Calif. — An accused person reached an agreement in Yolo County Superior Court to resolve all remaining litigation by accepting an eight-year prison sentence in exchange for withdrawing a petition filed under California’s Racial Justice Act.
The charges in the case included possession of a firearm and assault with a firearm with a gang enhancement. The accused also faced a vandalism charge.
Under the agreement, Deputy Public Defender Jonathan Opet asked Judge Sonia Cortez to sentence the accused to eight years in prison. In exchange, the accused agreed to withdraw the petition filed under the Racial Justice Act.
The accused, who had already been convicted through an earlier plea, reached an agreement to settle all pending litigation, with the provision that they would receive the upper prison term of four years for the assault with a firearm conviction and another four years for the firearm possession conviction.
Deputy District Attorney Garrett Hamilton explained the agreement, saying the accused had “already been convicted by plea,” meaning the agreement “is not a new plea but a stipulation.”
As part of the agreement, the gang enhancement attached to the accused’s charge would be stricken from the record, as would a vandalism charge the accused had previously acquired.
Opet noted that if the parties continued litigating the gang enhancements, it would take about two more years to resolve the case. Hamilton argued it would be a waste of everyone’s time to continue litigating the enhancements.
Additionally, if those terms were accepted, the accused agreed to withdraw the Racial Justice Act petition. The Racial Justice Act, passed in 2020, allows people convicted of crimes to challenge racial bias they may have faced in the criminal justice system.
At the conclusion of the hearing, both Judge Cortez and Hamilton agreed to the sentence proposed by Opet. The accused was therefore sentenced to eight years in prison and will withdraw the petition.
A final hearing was scheduled for July 10 to address any issues the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may have in calculating the accused’s conduct credits.
