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.