Gov. Gavin Newsom grants clemency for 34, including two convicted Sacramento-area men
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced he had granted clemency for 34 people, including two incarcerated men from the Sacramento region who are now eligible for an earlier parole hearing.
Newsom commuted the sentences of 21 people in California prisons and granted pardons to 13 people, according to a statement from the Governor’s Office. Since taking office in November 2018, Newsom has granted a total of 42 pardons and 65 commutations.
Among the pardons Newsom granted Friday were two women whose criminal convictions produced deportation consequences. One of these women remains in prison and faces deportation once she’s released, and another has already been deported but hopes to return to this country to be reunited with her teenage son, a U.S. citizen.
While pardons might help those convicted avoid deportation, commutations allow inmates showing signs of self-improvement to get an early parole hearing to determine whether they’re suitable for release from prison.
Sacramento County armed robbery
Newsom also commuted a prison sentence for Jered Pillsbury, who was 32 years old in 2012 when he broke into a Sacramento County veterinary hospital and stole an autoclave machine. He later robbed a tire store at gunpoint and stole from the business’ safe.
In January 2013, Pillsbury was sentenced to three years in prison for the robbery and an additional 10 years for using a gun in the crime, according to the Governor’s Office. Now 40, Pillsbury has served seven years of that 13-year prison sentence.
Like Aradoz, Pillsbury has had an “exemplary” prison discipline record and participated in self-help programs, according to the Governor’s Office. He also has earned two vocations while behind bars.
Prison staff have commended Pillsbury’s work as the facilitator and lead dog trainer in a veterans service dog program, according to the Governor’s Office.
Pillsbury was one of the first inmates at Valley State Prison in Madera County recruited to participate in a program aimed at training dogs from the local animal shelter to make them more adoptable, The Fresno Bee reported in October 2015.
“Mr. Pillsbury committed two serious crimes,” according to a commutation declaration from Newsom. “Since then, Mr. Pillsbury has dedicated himself to his rehabilitation and becoming a productive citizen.”
The governor says in his commutations that clemency does not minimize or forgive this criminal conduct or the harm it caused, but it does recognize the work these inmates have done to transform themselves.
The pardons Newsom granted Friday may remove “counterproductive barriers” to jobs and public service, restore civic rights and responsibilities and prevent “unjust” collateral consequences of conviction, such as deportation and permanent family separation, according to the news release. A pardon does not expunge or erase a conviction.
Yolo County attempted murder
Newsom on Friday commuted a potential life prison sentence for Andrew Aradoz for a 2009 attempted murder conviction in Yolo County. Aradoz was 14 years old, when he shot a rival gang member June 2007 in Woodland.
Aradoz and two co-defendants were in a stolen Ford Explorer chasing down a group of rival gang members because of an earlier fight, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office has said. Prosecutors said Aradoz fired a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol at the rival group. The victim was shot in the back, survived his injuries and identified his attackers.
Aradoz was sentenced for the shooting and the stolen vehicle to spend 24 years and 8 months to life in state prison as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
The Governor’s Office said Aradoz’s sentence included 11 years for enhancements to his charges, and he has spent nearly 13 years behind bars. Aradoz, now 27, has earned his high school general equivalency diploma, is enrolled in college courses, participated in self-help programs and completed vocational training.
Aradoz has maintained an “exemplary” discipline record while in prison, has shown a commitment to rehabilitation and is praised by his supervisors for his work ethic and positive influence on others, according to the Governor’s Office.
“Mr Aradoz committed a serious crime that injured (the victim),” according to a commutation declaration from Newsom. “Since then, Mr. Aradoz has taken responsibility for his actions.”
Inmate faces deportation
Newsom pardoned Ny Nourn, who participated in a 1998 San Diego County deadly shooting. The Governor’s Office said Nourn was 18 years old, when her 38-year-old abusive boyfriend directed her under threat to help lure the victim to the crime scene where the boyfriend shot him.
Ronald Barker shot David Stevens, 38, twice in the head after her learned that Stevens had sex with his then-girlfriend, Nourn, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Nourn was eventually sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the second-degree murder conviction for her role in Stevens’ death.
The Governor’s Office says a pardon may allow Nourn to avoid deportation to Cambodia, a country she has never visited. She was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after her mother fled genocide under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Nourn lawfully entered the United States in 1985 with her mother when she was 5 years old.
Deported mother wants to reunite with her son
Sophea Om also was was born in a Cambordian refugee camp in Thailand, according to the Governor’s Office. Om lawfully entered the U.S. with her parents when she was 18 months old.
She was 23 years old when she was convicted in March 2006 for unlawfully acquiring an access card in Los Angeles County.
Om was sentenced to two years in prison, and her conviction resulted in her 2011 deportation to Cambodia, where she works as a teacher. The 37-year-old woman requested a pardon from the governor, so she can return to the United States and reunite with her 16-year-old son, according to the Governor’s Office.
