AB1902 inspired by Adrian Gonzales (rapist and murderer of 8 yr old Maddy Middleton) would change the process to extend confinement for certain convicted minors guilty of serious offenses and deemed a danger to the community. I'm including links for contacting state representatives to support this!
If you want to urge your representatives to help this bill "AB 1902" get passed:
- Contact Dawn Addis (assemblymember representing Monterey area): https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD30&inframe=N
- Contact Gail Pellerin (assembly member representing Santa Cruz area): https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD28&inframe=N
- Contact John Laird (state senator representing Monterey and Santa Cruz areas; the Senate will take this up if/after the Assembly passes it): https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=SD17&inframe=N
Article:
>Bill inspired by Adrian Gonzalez trial passes through California Assembly
Story by Gabrielle Gillette
The California State Assembly began reviewing a bill this month that would change the process to extend confinement for certain convicted minors guilty of serious offenses and deemed a danger to the community.
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin introduced Assembly Bill 1902 in response to the 2015 rape and murder of 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton by her Tannery Arts Center Lofts neighbor Adrian Gonzalez in Santa Cruz. Gonzalez, now 26, was 15 when he committed the crime.
Gonzalez was tried as a juvenile after his arrest in 2015, as a state law prohibits people under the age of 16 from being prosecuted as adults.
He was slated to be released in October 2024, after his 25th birthday, but the Santa Cruz District Attorney’s Office petitioned to have his detention time extended, saying Gonzalez could be a danger to society if released.
A first-of-its-kind trial followed in November 2024, lasting three months and resulting in a ruling that Gonzalez should not be released.
Pellerin’s bill aims to change the detention extension process by increasing the maximum amount of time between extension hearings from two years to up to four years. The bill would also expand the types of facilities offenders can be sent to, including a state psychiatric facility.
“Myself, as a mother and a member of a community, I was rocked to my core when we learned of Maddy Middleton’s heinous rape and murder by her neighbor, Adrian Gonzalez,” Pellerin said. “Two years just seems like too short of a time for him to get the services that he needs and for the family to be able to get some breathing room.”
An extension detention hearing, the process which launched Gonzalez’s 2024 trial, is proposed by county probation officials when a ward is nearing the end of their initial detention but is still believed to be a danger to the community.
“AB 1902 represents a significant step forward in the protection of victims by making sure offenders receive treatment, are held accountable, and are released only when appropriate,” said Santa Cruz District Attorney Jeff Rosell.
Pellerin said the bill is a tool to help incarcerated people be placed in the best facility to get the treatment they need, while also giving victims’ families time without constant preparation for a hearing.
Laura Jordan, Maddy’s mother, attended the Assembly Public Safety Committee hearing for AB 1902 on April 14, saying the bill helped her feel seen and heard.
“Today marks the first day in this grueling 11 yearlong nightmare of a battle that I feel seen and heard as a victim,” she said. “My pain and suffering was acknowledged today and it was confirmed today that Madyson’s life mattered.”
Pellerin said the bill is centered around highlighting victims’ voices, experiences and trauma. She also said she met with juvenile justice activists during the process of writing AB 1902 to hear feedback about the bill’s potential implications.
The bill is not intended to be used for every youth case, Pellerin said, but for unique cases in which a person has committed a “crime that is so heinous and so disturbing” and shows no signs of remorse or rehabilitation.
Ultimately, Pellerin said the bill is not only an answer to Gonzalez’s case but is something that could impact other Californians in similar situations.
“I think two years is not enough time for someone who has committed these kinds of heinous crimes to get the rehabilitation services they need,” she said. “I think time is a good thing here.”
AB 1902 passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee April 14 and will move to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.