By Paloma Sifuentes
VENTURA, CA – During a pretrial conference before a trial was to begin here in Ventura County Superior Court, the accused pleaded guilty to two felony charges, and then was denied permission to attend his mother’s funeral.
Assistant Public Defender Ashley Correa notified the district attorney of the accused’s mother’s funeral, and asked the court if her client were to plead guilty and the sentencing is put over for a month, whether he be released from custody for one day to attend his mother’s funeral.
Correa also informed the court her client has been in custody for more than three years and “perfected his medication regime and stabilized completely and has been doing wonderfully for the past two years.”
But Judge Brian A. Young denied the funeral request, noting it is a seven-year, four-month sentence, and he was not certain whether the service to escort the accused was still available. He did say there is an option where individuals in custody can watch a family member’s funeral service over Zoom.
The accused signed two felony disposition forms for two separate cases from August 2019, one for burglary and the other for vandalism over $400. Judge Young set the sentencing hearing for March 3.
The prosecutor said the accused could be sentenced to state prison for one of his cases for a maximum of six years and another period of six years for the second case.
