Voters approved a new crime law in California. Sacramento-area prosecutors quick to use it

Stephen Hobbs, The Sacramento Bee on Jan 13, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento-area prosecutors have wasted no time using a new law that was approved by voters in November.

It was a key component of Proposition 36 and it toughens the punishment for possessing drugs, but also offers people a chance to go through a treatment program and have their charge dropped, instead of receiving a jail or prison sentence.

Before the statewide ballot initiative passed, California law generally required drug possession cases to be treated as misdemeanors. Now, prosecutors can file felonies when a person is accused of having certain substances, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, and has had two or more specific drug-related convictions.

Placer County prosecutors have charged more than 28 people with a felony since the law went into effect, according to spokesperson Stephanie Herrera. Court records show Yolo County has brought at least 18 felonies.

Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Shelly Orio said prosecutors had filed one felony, as of Wednesday, but had also used the law to press more than a dozen misdemeanor charges that offer rehabilitation plans.

Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig said police agencies have sent cases to his office that involve prolific drug users who need help.

“It’s gone exactly as hoped,” he said.

To have the charge dismissed, a person must first plead guilty or no contest, agree to a treatment plan and then successfully complete that program.

Reisig was one of the law’s most outspoken advocates and his office was swift to use it. Yolo County charged its first person on Dec. 20, two days after the law went into effect.

It was Jassen Colianni, 48, who is accused of possessing methamphetamine in Davis. He has at least three past drug convictions, according to a charging document.

In an interview at the Yolo County jail, Colianni said it wouldn’t be his first time going through a treatment program, but added that he was willing to try it again. He said has been homeless for many years.

“What happens after treatment?” he said. “If we’re broke and go back on the streets, we’re going back to drugs.”

Colianni said he was born and raised in Woodland and started using drugs before he was a teenager.

“I know I’m broken inside, I just need help,” he said, as tears welled in his eyes.

Tracie Olson, Yolo County’s Public Defender, questions how helpful the law will actually be.

People charged with it are supposed to have access to free rehabilitation services, Olson noted, but Prop. 36 did not create a new way to pay for treatment. The state is also expected to spend more on criminal justice, because of the ballot measure, which would reduce savings it must divert for mental health and substance abuse programs that were required by another voter-approved initiative.

“Without funding, this law is going to do nothing but put people in prison,” Olson said.

Reisig insists that he wants people to choose treatment and that there is enough money available to help people.

“What we were doing before wasn’t working,” he said.

It will take time to figure out how the new law works. But family members of people charged in Yolo County expressed hope for the outcome.

Gary Pearl, 55, is accused of having methamphetamine when he was arrested Dec. 21 in Davis. His criminal history includes at least seven drug-related convictions, according to a charging document, including two from 1995. Lt. Dan Beckwith, a Davis police spokesperson, said Pearl was also wanted on drug-related warrants.

Joel Pearl said he didn’t know his half-brother had been arrested. In fact, he said, it had probably been 25 years since the two last spoke or saw each other. He and other family members weren’t sure if his brother was even still alive.

“We’d be fully in support of something like this to help him,” he said of the possibility of a treatment program.

Tara Card, 42, is also accused of having methamphetamine when Woodland police arrested her on Dec. 27. Her charging document says she is eligible for the felony because of drug convictions from 2005 and last year.

Card’s father, Michael Contreras, did not know about the new law, but said he would love to see his daughter “get on the right track.”

That, he added, would be a blessing.

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