By Marjorie Hernandez
Ventura County Star
VENTURA, Calif. — For three months, Lupe Escobedo sat in a Ventura County jail cell, hoping for the day he would walk out a free man.
Escobedo, 61, of Santa Paula, has been in and out of prison most of his life and now is serving a sentence of 50 years to life. His record lists a litany of charges, including 15 counts of armed robbery that date back decades.
His last case, however, involved a 1996 arrest for receiving stolen property — two stolen cars.
Like thousands of inmates throughout the state, Escobedo appeared before a judge recently hoping his petition under Proposition 47 would reduce his sentence and allow him to be freed.
Passed by 58 percent by voters in November, Prop. 47 reclassifies certain drug and low-level theft felonies as misdemeanors, allowing some petitioners out of prison or jail.
Escobedo’s freedom depended on the court’s decision on whether the two stolen cars were each worth less than $950 — the property-crime amount deemed a misdemeanor under Prop. 47.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Ryan Wright ultimately denied Escobedo’s petition. A few days later, Escobedo wiped tears from his eyes as he gave an interview behind a bulletproof-glass wall separating visitors from inmates at the county’s main jail in Ventura. He had been brought to county jail to await his hearing and would soon be heading back to state prison, where he has already served 17 years for his latest case.
“There are people here who are murderers,” Escobedo said. “What I did ... was not even serious or real violent. If they ever gave me the opportunity, I would never be in trouble again.
“I can see if I had murder cases ... something really bad, but I don’t deserve 50 years. I can’t hurt anybody anymore ... I am just tired.”
‘All sorts of issues’
Ventura County Superior Court has received 3,219 Prop. 47 petitions from Nov. 5 through April, said Executive Officer-Clerk Michael Planet.
Some of the petitioners, like Escobedo, were already convicted and sentenced to state prison but could qualify for release if their felonies were shifted to misdemeanors. Others were inmates in county jail awaiting trial.
According to Planet, those two groups represent 1,872 of the petitions. The rest — 1,347 — were from people who had already served their time but wanted their records changed to reflect lesser charges. Under Prop. 47, they have three years to file petitions.
The California Legislative Analyst estimated about 40,000 people statewide could be affected by Prop. 47 but noted the number “could be higher or lower by thousands.”
Courts have already resentenced thousands of prisoners under Proposition 36, which amended California’s “Three Strikes” law. Passed in 2012, Prop. 36 allowed people with three strikes and convicted of nonserious, nonviolent felonies to be resentenced.
To reduce a sentence, a judge must determine the defendant no longer poses an “unreasonable risk” or danger to public safety. While Prop. 36 did not specifically define unreasonable risk and gave judges discretion, Prop. 47 provides a specific list of factors to help determine the risk of the defendant likely committing a violent felony.
“Prop. 47 raises all sorts of issues beyond just the determination of whether the charge should be lessened to a misdemeanor,” said Ventura County Superior Court Judge Brian Back. “There is a lot of work for the court beyond just resentencing. It can get down to really detailed arguments like that and involve things like old junk cars.”
risk to the public?
Escobedo’s freedom partly depended on the value of a 1989 Honda Accord and 1987 Nissan Maxima in 1996. Michael McMahon, county chief deputy public defender who represented Escobedo on his Prop. 47 petition, argued the two cars were each worth less than the $950 threshold.
“He’s matured and is an older and much different person now,” McMahon said of Escobedo. “I feel some sympathies for him ... because we have such an odd system where the swings are so gigantic — from 50 to life to the possibility of being released on a misdemeanor. It’s sad that someone finds themselves in that position.”
In her response to Escobedo’s petition, prosecutor Lauren Malan said at least one of the cars was valued at about $6,500 when he was found with it. And even if the judge disagreed with Malan, Escobedo still had to prove his release would not pose an unreasonable risk to the public.
Malan asked Wright to consider Escobedo’s criminal record, which began at age 20 when he committed armed robbery while high on heroin, the prosecutor said.
At age 32, he was convicted of robbery again and sentenced to prison, Malan said. After being paroled, Escobedo committed and was eventually convicted of 15 armed robberies at grocery stores in Los Angeles County. After serving that sentence, he was found with the two stolen vehicles in 1996.
When Prop. 36 passed, Escobedo’s attorneys tried to overturn his sentence but were unsuccessful. And in March, Judge Wright found the stolen vehicles were worth more than $950.
release was ‘long shot’
Escobedo admits his long string of armed robberies were driven by his heroin addiction — a struggle he had since he was a teenager growing up in Santa Paula. He said he never harmed anyone and only stole money. He said he did not steal the two cars he was found with.
Escobedo said in the jailhouse interview that he has been religious for years and gave up drugs altogether after his only son died of an overdose in 2008.
“He was also using heroine ... and when I heard he died, I let all of that go,” Escobedo said. “Heroine is a drug that takes a hold of you physically and mentally. You are sick and you need it, so you feel you do what you have to do to get money for it.”
Escobedo said he knew it was “a long shot” that he would be released, but he wanted to see his four granddaughters, whom he has never met.
“I had so many things planned ... and I just wanted to kiss and hug my granddaughters. I know if I was able to have an opportunity, I would never come back here again.”