A new law limiting the age of juvenile offenders who can be prosecuted as adults means a 15-year-old Oxnard boy accused in two 2018 murders will be tried in juvenile court.
Senate Bill 1391 was signed into law Sept. 30 by Gov. Jerry Brown and states that juvenile offenders 14 and 15 years old can no longer be prosecuted as adults, regardless of the crime they are accused of committing.
The governor issued a statement when he announced he'd signed the controversial bill opposed by families of crime victims and district attorneys across the state.
"There is a fundamental principle at stake here: whether we want a society that at least attempts to reform the youngest offenders before consigning them to adult prisons where their likelihood of becoming a lifelong criminal is so much higher," Brown said in the statement.
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In Ventura County, the Oxnard teen charged in a fatal Hollywood Beach shooting and a fatal Oxnard stabbing reported within a month of each other was facing the possibility of his cases moving to adult court at an Oct. 25 transfer hearing.
The two slayings, which authorities say are unrelated, claimed the lives of Adrian Ornelas, 26, of Oxnard, and Jose Lopez, 22, of Port Hueneme.
The juvenile has denied the allegations.
In light of the new law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Schwartz said his office will dismiss the motions filed in his cases requesting that they be transferred. That's also the Ventura County District Attorney's Office's plan for all pending transfer hearings involving 14- and 15-year-olds.
If convicted, the teen could serve time until he turns 23 — when the juvenile court loses jurisdiction, Schwartz said.
"So in terms of doing justice, I don't think it does in this case," Schwartz said.
Schwartz said the law is not clear if the legislation is retroactive but the District Attorney's Office is treating the law as if it is retroactive. That means the law could affect cases not yet resolved on appeal.
The Ventura County Public Defender's Office, on the other hand, sees the law as a good milestone.
"We've been fighting treating children as adults," said Assistant Public Defender Claudia Bautista.
She said the new law puts juvenile cases exactly where they should be — in an environment that takes a "holistic" approach.
In juvenile court, rehabilitation is the goal. It's also where arguments include brain and emotional development and judges trained with that knowledge can make an informed decision about options that don't include prison, Bautista said.
She also applauded Senate Bill 439, which set 12 as the minimum age for jurisdiction in juvenile court. There's an exception only if the child under 11 is accused of certain violent crimes, including murder or sexual assault. Brown also signed that bill Sept. 30.
Sens. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, introduced both bills and a pair of others as a package on criminal justice reform.
In a joint statement published after the signing, the senators called it a step forward in reducing mass incarceration by embracing research that shows 14- and 15-year-olds are not "pint-sized adults."
Under current law, which was reformed by voters when they approved Proposition 57 in the 2016 election, prosecutors can file a motion to transfer cases to adult court for juvenile offenders ages 14 or 15. That provision would only apply if the minor was that age at the time they allegedly committed certain crimes like murder, attempted murder, rape, voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping, arson or robbery.
In the motions to transfer, a hearing is held after a probation agency makes a recommendation to a juvenile court judge, who gets the final say.
Proposition 57 also made it so the transfer hearings would have to occur for those who were 16 and 17 years of age at the time they allegedly committed a felony.
Bautista said she was glad about the 2016 election results. It did away with a law in place for nearly 20 years that allowed prosecutors to directly file felony complaints against juveniles in adult court.
She said although SB 1391 does not allow the same protections for 16- and 17-year-olds, there are at least the transfer hearings in place.
An Oxnard 16-year-old is also charged along with the 15-year-old in the stabbing reported near Bard Road and Anchorage Street.
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Jorge Ortega, 20, of Oxnard, is also accused in the Hollywood Beach shooting.
Michele Hanisee, president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, issued a statement saying the decision by Brown and the Legislature shows their "utter disdain for crime victims."
The association is the collective bargaining group for nearly 1,000 deputy district attorneys who work in Los Angeles County.
Bautista said the juvenile court environment may be better for crime victims and could minimize the re-traumatization. The proceedings are confidential and move much more quickly, avoiding a yearslong court battle, she said.
As for Ventura County prosecutors, second-in-command Schwartz was wary of making a statement as to all juvenile offenders, saying each case and each offender is looked at separately.
But some offenders are "deeply entrenched" in the gang lifestyle and in cases where serious crimes are alleged, there should be lengthy sentences, Schwartz said.
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Gang allegations are listed in the complaint against the Oxnard teen in the Hollywood Beach homicide.
Bautista, however, said, "a kid in a gang at 15 is very different from an adult joining a gang."
In the message about his decision, Brown wrote that the law provides for youths adjudicated in juvenile court to be held beyond their original sentence if necessary. The director of the Division of Juvenile Justice or Board of Juvenile Hearings can petition for incarceration if the juvenile is deemed "truly dangerous."
"This mechanism exists under current law and has been used in the past when circumstances have warranted. It will continue to be used when needed and there are no time limits prescribed in the statute," Brown wrote.