Prosecutors oppose deferred guilty pleas for 'Johns'

By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer

A city deputy prosecutor said he would continue to ask district court judges not to go lightly on people attempting to solicit prostitutes in the Chinatown area, although one judge recently granted requests for deferred acceptance of guilty pleas in several such cases.

On April 3, deputy prosecuting attorney Jason Hoon Kim asked District Judge Russell Blair to reject requests by 13 men for deferred acceptance of guilty pleas.

The so-called DAG plea allows a first-time offender to prevent a criminal record by fulfilling conditions similar to probation imposed by the judge.

Blair granted deferral requests to two of the men, fined each of them $600 and ordered them to perform 100 hours of community service in order for charges against them to be dismissed.

When the 11 remaining men appeared for sentencing before District Judge Leslie Ann Hayashi on May 15, "a handful" of the deferral requests were granted, Kim said. The men who did not get deferrals were sentenced to six months' probation and fined $500.

"In a handful of other cases where defendants did not have attorneys before, they showed up at sentencing with attorneys who asked the judge to look at the issue (of deferred acceptance plea) again," Kim said. "And the judge granted those requests."

Kim, coordinator for the Chinatown Weed and Seed program, said he hopes word spreads that the prosecutor's office plans to oppose deferral pleas more vigorously for crimes committed in the specially designated area, even petty misdemeanors such as soliciting prostitution.

Federal money for Weed and Seed programs is channeled through the state Attorney General's office to target crime in certain areas.