Ricardo Tovar, KSBW 8
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Legislation introduced by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin aims to change how California handles juvenile offenders who are still considered a danger to the community, following concerns raised by the case of Adrian Gonzalez, the teen convicted in the 2015 kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Maddy Middleton in Santa Cruz.
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin introduced Assembly Bill 1902 to help fill in the "gaps she learned over the last year studying the case of Adrian Gonzalez."
Gonzalez was 15 years old when he kidnapped, raped, and murdered his neighbor, Maddy Middleton, and then dumped her body in a dumpster. Due to several delays, he was sentenced six years later, when he was 21 years old, and sent to the Secured Youth Treatment Facility in Sonoma County
Gonzales was convicted and sentenced for his crimes, but since he was a juvenile when he was sentenced, he is eligible for release from a juvenile holding facility when he turns 25.
However, since he was a youthful offender, he is eligible for the process every two years and remains in juvenile custody until then.
In 2025, Gonzalez was eligible but ultimately denied parole.
"That is, Adrian, is a danger if released into the public. We have maintained this position all along, and it's nice to see that a jury of our citizens saw the case the way that we saw it," said Santa Cruz District Attorney Jeff Rossell.
AB 1902 would change California’s extension detention hearing process for juvenile offenders still considered a danger to the community, including allowing judges to extend detention for up to four years instead of two and expanding placement options to include facilities such as state mental hospitals.
“Today marks the first day in this grueling 11-year-long nightmare of a battle that I feel seen and heard as a victim. My pain and suffering was acknowledged today and it was confirmed today that Madyson’s life mattered," shared Laura Jordan, Maddy's mother.
AB 1902 passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee with bipartisan support and now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Community members started a letter-writing campaign in support of AB 1902: SupportAB1902.com
