Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jan 2001
Source: Alameda Times-Star (CA)
Copyright: 2001 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Contact:  P.O. Box 28884 ,Oakland, CA 94612
Fax: (510) 208-6477
Website: http://www.timesstar.com/
Author: Jeff Chorney, Staff Writer

ADDICTED MOTHER RECEIVES 4 YEARS

Newborn Tested Positive For Drugs

HAYWARD -- Joellen Flauta, the 24-year-old drug-addicted mother whose story 
cast a spotlight on problems at the Probation Department, has run out of 
second chances.

Unswayed after a passionate plea for leniency by her defense attorney, 
Judge Joseph Hurley said Tuesday he would sentence Flauta to four years in 
state prison for violating her probation by giving birth to a child last 
fall who tested positive for drugs.

"At this point, a price must be paid," Hurley said.

Flauta received a break three years ago when she got five years of 
probation instead of a prison sentence after she was convicted of felony 
child endangerment because two of her children died in a fire. Police said 
Flauta was out partying and using drugs while the children burned to death 
in their bed after a candle caught fire.

An ANG Newspapers investigation found that Flauta did not have contact with 
the Alameda County Probation Department for 14 months before the recent 
birth. Her attorney, Deputy Public Defender J. Dominique Pinkney, 
underscored that fact in his courtroom speech.

"For the first two years (of probation), she had someone. She improved. She 
changed," Pinkney said. "When the Probation Department disappeared, she was 
left to her own devices."

The Probation Department, already under fire from its own officers' union 
and scathing criticism from the county grand jury, has repeatedly refused 
to comment on Flauta's case.

Besides the newborn, Flauta also has custody of a 2 1/2-year-old child. She 
will probably lose custody of both kids now, Pinkney said. She has one 
other child over whom she does not have custody.

Flauta has admitted she is addicted to methamphetamine, a dangerous 
stimulant also known as "crank" or "speed."

In an interview with a newspaper reporter last fall, Flauta said her 
probation officer allowed her to report bytelephone and then did not return 
her calls for the 14 months. According to the department's guidelines, 
probationers are supposed to report in person until they are at least 
halfway through their probation term.

Besides casting blame on probation, Pinkney also told Judge Hurley about 
Flauta's family history. She was sexually abused as a child and came from a 
broken home, he said.

Pinkney pointed out that Flauta initially passed drug tests and even got a 
job while under supervision. Although she faced more than seven years in 
prison for violating probation, Pinkney urged the judge to treat her drug 
addiction instead of locking her up.

The District Attorney's Office recommended two years in prison.

"Everything presented (by Pinkney) is really a double-edged sword. If the 
deaths of two children is not a catalyst for change, what would be?" said 
Deputy District Attorney Pamela Nunley.

Hurley agreed.

"She was shown, on probation, a form of mercy," Hurley said. "I can't think 
of anything less she could have done (to try to improve) than to go out and 
get loaded (while pregnant)."

Hurley also pointed out that four years is not a "large price." She is 
required to serve half of that time and will receive credit for her time in 
custody. She was arrested Sept. 27, 2000, after she and her baby boy were 
tested for drugs in the emergency room of St. Rose Hospital in Hayward.

There will be a court hearing Thursday to determine what will happen to 
Flauta's newborn and 2 1/2-year-old. Although she had hoped they could go 
live with her boyfriend's family in San Jose, Pinkney said that wasn't likely.

The boyfriend is in prison, and his family is just as messed up as hers, 
Pinkney said.

Thursday's hearing and its results will not be public. Child Protective 
Services, Flauta's lawyer in the custody matter and a woman who counsels 
Flauta at Santa Rita county jail have refused to comment on the case.
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