In the wake of an unprecedented Superior Court closure, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and San Diego County Sheriff’s Department took several proactive steps this week to address the threat of the coronavirus to individuals being held in local jails, including putting policies in place that promote the release of individuals arrested for low-level, non-violent crimes who normally would have been released if the court was open or can’t afford to post bail. [TWEET THIS]

“From the moment we realized the court would likely close, we began working to find concrete solutions to lessen the impact coronavirus could have on the jail population and the health of the wider community while at the same time maintaining the public’s safety,” said San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan.  “Our concerns include defendants who are not an imminent threat to public safety, who are unable to post bail and would be forced to wait weeks or potentially months for their first court appearance because of the court shut down.”

The issue first arose Monday when it became known the courts were making the responsible decision in the face of the pandemic to close for an extended period of time in order to safeguard the health of legal professionals, court employees and inmates from COVID-19 exposure. Normally, a person must be brought before a judge for arraignment within 48 hours of being arrested, not counting weekends or holidays.  Given the current court closure, people unable to afford bail could potentially be in custody for at least three weeks.

In response, cases involving people in custody are continuing to be reviewed within statutory timelines.  If no charges are going to be filed, the jail is quickly notified by the District Attorney so they can release the person (if that individual has nothing else keeping them in custody).  If charges are going to be filed, the District Attorney is working with the Sheriff and the Court on an “electronic pre-arraignment review” to identify individuals whose charges are eligible for immediate release or bail reduction. [TWEET THIS]

During this time of national emergency and pandemic, the public safety partners of the County, which include the Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney, and San Diego City Attorney— with input from the  Public Defender and permission from the Superior Court— are working to release certain inmates from custody and modify the criteria for those booked by the Sheriff’s Department into custody.

This continuing review of inmate custody status and modified booking criteria will allow the Sheriff’s Department to make necessary space available in the jails to implement public health recommendations for social distancing and isolation if necessary.

“We’re taking these steps because it’s the right thing to do in the face of extreme circumstances that pose a serious health risk to inmates and everyone who has contact with inmates as part of their official responsibilities,” DA Stephan said. “But we’re taking a balanced and thoughtful approach that prioritizes decision-making based on fair and objective risk criteria. The public’s safety is always our priority as we work to lessen the devastating impact the coronavirus could have on those who are being held in our County jails and those living in the broader community.”

Other actions being taken by the District Attorney include:

• Identifying individuals in jail who are awaiting a trial or sentencing and may be eligible and suitable for release.
• Working with the Sheriff’s Department to prioritize the release of vulnerable inmates where appropriate. The DA is reviewing inmates who are medically fragile andvulnerable to determine if it’s appropriate to ask the court to re-sentence them.
• Supporting the option of the Sheriff’s Department applying accelerated credits to inmates serving local prison sentences for non-violent and non-sex related offenses, allowing some people nearing the end of their sentence to be released early.

The DA’s Office is also temporarily modifying how it is charging cases. In some instances, it is reviewing in-custody, non-violent cases but not immediately filing criminal charges with the court. Instead, some individuals will be given a date to return for arraignment several months in the future. The DA is also evaluating other strategies to mitigate the risks of this epidemic and preserve precious resources.

“People aren’t going to get a free pass if they commit a crime. The DA team along with our law enforcement partners are working hard to protect the public from the additional harm that crime causes. This is about prioritizing and making thoughtful decisions based in fairness and equity during a time of crisis in order to relieve pressure on the system while protecting the public. We’re also mindful that once we’re past this crisis and the courts re-open, the system will undoubtedly be overburdened for some time,” said DA Stephan. [TWEET THIS]

Concurrent with the temporary modifications to how it’s reviewing and charging cases, the District Attorney’s Victim Services Division is working to support crime victims and provide a variety of services, including providing the required notifications under Marsy’s Law. The DA’s Victim Advocates serve more than 10,000 victims of crime each year and continue to provide much needed care during this crisis.

“I am so proud of the dedicated DA team across the county which is committed to safeguarding justice and promoting safe communities,” DA Stephan said. “They have stepped up in this time of crisis despite concerns for their own well-being to serve and get the job done.”

The San Diego County Superior Court Presiding and Supervising Judges have also taken extraordinary measures to obtain input from the District Attorney, Public Defender and others in order to implement best practices during this unprecedented crisis. In many cases prosecutors cannot act unilaterally to release people once their custody status has been determined by a judge. By law, the court needs to participate, agree and sign such orders. [TWEET THIS]

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and four other prosecutorial agencies announced today that Direct Wines, Inc., and Wine Awesomeness, LLC, have settled a consumer protection lawsuit alleging that the companies automatically renewed membership subscriptions in violation of state law.

In California, businesses must clearly and conspicuously disclose all automatic renewal charges and terms as well as obtain affirmative consent for those recurring charges from consumers. Prosecutors said the violations involved wines sold by Delaware-based Direct Wines, a wine club marketing company, and Wine Awesomeness, a South Carolina wine retailer, which allowed people to subscribe to wine bottle home deliveries.

“Our office is committed to making sure consumers are protected from auto-renewals that are buried in fine print and take their hard-earned money,” said District Attorney Summer Stephan. “Companies should know that automatically renewing customer payments, without the consumer’s express prior consent, violates the law.”

The San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Offices and the Santa Monica City Attorney filed lawsuits against Direct Wines and Wine Awesomeness in Los Angeles County Superior Court. On February 14, Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis approved the settlement with Wine Awesomeness in case number 19STCV43732. On February 18, Judge Steven J. Kleifield approved the settlement with Direct Wines in case number 19STCV43987.

Under the terms of the settlements, Direct Wines and Wine Awesomeness have agreed to pay $350,000 and $15,000, respectively, in civil penalties and costs, and change their sales practices. Additionally, the companies must:

• Clearly and conspicuously disclose its automatic-renewal terms;
• Charge a consumer’s credit or debit card or account only when a consumer’s consent has been obtained through a checkbox, signature, express consent button or other substantially similar mechanism that must be selected to give consent, in compliance with the automatic renewal offer terms;
• Provide confirmation of the transaction after the contract is made;
• Provide a toll-free telephone number, email address, a postal address or another cost-effective, time, and easy-to-use mechanism for cancellation;
• Allow consumers who accept an automatic renew or continuous service to terminate the contract online; and
• All cancellations must be effective upon request.

The violations involving Direct Wines occurred between September 1, 2013, and September 27, 2017. Violations involving Wine Awesomeness occurred between August 7, 2017, and June 20, 2018. The defendants did not admit wrongdoing in the stipulated judgments but worked cooperatively with prosecutors to amend their business practices to ensure compliance with the state’s automatic renewal laws.

In 2015, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office joined the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in forming the California Automatic Renewal Task Force (CART) with Santa Clara and Santa Cruz district attorney’s offices, and the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office.  The goal of CART is to address the automatic renewal issues that have troubled many consumers when they purchase goods and services online. CART finds that some businesses do not properly disclose to their customers that their subscriptions would be automatically renewed until canceled by the customers. Such deficient disclosure is not limited to a particular industry.

In addressing the disclosure issues in California’s wine industry, CART has joined forces with the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control to set forth automatic renewal disclosure guidelines for wine clubs.

San Diego County Deputy District Attorneys Thomas A. Papageorge and Stephen M. Spinella with the Consumer Protection Division handled this case for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.

Prescription opioids are to blame for more than 2,200 accidental overdose deaths in San Diego County over the last 10-years.  In 2018 alone, 210 people died from accidental overdose caused by one or more prescription opioids, alone or combined with other drugs or alcohol.

“It’s clear that if we want to be more successful in responding to the opioid crisis and preventing overdose deaths, we need to do something different,” said San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. “That’s why today, we’re announcing an innovative public outreach and awareness campaign. The San Diego Opioid Project will reach and educate people a different way, with the goal of reducing overdoses and saving lives.”

The District Attorney’s office and San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) have partnered to roll out the campaign in response to the ongoing opioid abuse epidemic in the U.S. and here in San Diego County. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to support the innovative outreach campaign.

“Opioid abuse can impact anyone regardless of age, ethnicity or income level and accidental overdoses are preventable,” said County Health and Human Services Director, Nick Macchione. “This campaign is a significant part of the County’s ongoing efforts to address this public health crisis.”

The San Diego Opioid Project is an extended, six-month campaign based on extensive research and data. The campaign’s goal is not just to raise awareness, but to change behavior. The DA worked with the San Diego-based Rescue Agency, which has a national track record of success when it comes to changing behavior in various areas of public health.

The first phase of the San Diego Opioid Project addresses the misconception that people think they can abuse prescription opioids ‘safely.’ It educates people that opioids affect your brain exactly like heroin does. It also addresses the misconception that opioids help people heal from injuries.

The second phase of the campaign will focus on how quickly people can overdose while others around them may not even notice. The third phase focuses on the increase in pills laced with other substances like fentanyl, and how you never really know what you’re taking if you get pills from a friend or drug dealer.

The San Diego Opioid Project is rolling out primarily online, with social media and digital ads that are specifically targeted to people at risk of becoming addicted.

The ads and posts all drive people to a website: SanDiegoOpioidProject.org. Some ads are in Spanish and there’s a Spanish-language version of the website.

In addition to the San Diego Opioid Project, the District Attorney’s Office continues to work with its law enforcement and community partners to address this ongoing crisis by:

• Working with health care professionals to better-educate doctors about prescribing opioids
• Bringing the tragic stories of overdose to students in schools
• Diverting addicts who are arrested into specialized court programs like Drug Court, Behavioral Health Court and Veterans Court
• Prosecuting those who knowingly deal deadly drugs

HHSA and the DA’s Office will hold a series of Town Hall Meetings across the county to amplify the campaign and provide information and resources. The first Town Hall will take place tonight at Southwestern College at 5:30 p.m. Details can be found on the DA’s Facebook page.

Watch the San Diego Opioid Project’s flagship video on YouTube.

Whether responding to a house fire, a car accident on the road, or providing emergency medical assistance to someone in a hotel room or a business, firefighters and medical first responders are in a unique position to join the fight against human trafficking by identifying victims and reporting their observations to law enforcement. That’s why a new training program is being rolled out across the county as part of Human Trafficking Awareness Month to teach thousands of first responders how to recognize red flags. [TWEET THIS]

[WATCH THE NEWS CONFERENCE HERE]

The training includes a video designed to provide awareness of warning signs of human trafficking and ensure that fire and medical first responders are safe when they are in potentially volatile situations. The training provides information on recognizing both labor and sex trafficking, how to identify a victim or a trafficker, the misconceptions of human trafficking and how to properly report any suspicious activity. About 3,000 firefighters from 40 fire departments, as well as emergency medical service (EMS) employees from American Medical Response and Mercy Medical Transportation will receive the training.

[You can watch a clip from the Training Video, here.]

In San Diego County, sex trafficking is an $810 million industry. One aspect of preventing and prosecuting trafficking is identifying and supporting potential victims. The goal of this training is to help first responders recognize a potential human trafficking situation and know what to do to help. In 2019, the Human Trafficking Task Force investigated 194 leads and helped 121 victims of commercial sex trafficking – an increase from 77 victims the year before. As a result, 74 cases were submitted for prosecution.

“This training greatly expands the number of people in the community who are in a position to spot the signs of human trafficking, creating a multiplier effect that can save lives,” said District Attorney Summer Stephan. “Firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs are already saving lives through the work that they do every day by giving lifesaving medical care and rescuing people from dangerous situations. In the course of their duties, they also interact with victims of human trafficking but until now may not have even realized it.”

The training video includes interviews with a survivor of human trafficking as well as DA Summer Stephan, Lakeside Fire Protection District Chief Donald Butz, Rincon Fire Department Chief Ed Hadfield and San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force Officer Mike Wiener.

“We know this training will make a difference in protecting victims of human trafficking,” said Lakeside Fire Chief Don Butz, who is also President of the County Fire Chief’s Association. “Looking back on my career of over 40 years, I am certain there were more than a few calls where there may have been human trafficking going on, but we did not recognize it or know exactly what to do to help. As first responders, we have a duty and responsibility to protect those who may be in harm’s way. This training is yet another way we can provide safety and protection to victims of human trafficking.”

As part of the training, there is also a quick reference tip sheet that will be shared for quick access to red flags while in the field. The goal is to have the tip sheets loaded onto fire department-issued phones and iPads. The training video will be distributed to the fire departments through TargetSolutions, the online training management system they use for accessing training videos. EMS companies will be given a copy of the training to share with their employees.

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office partnered with the San Diego County Fire Chiefs Association, the San Miguel Fire Department, Rincon Fire Department, San Diego Fire Department and American Medical Response to provide the specialized training to all the fire departments across the county as well as medical first responders.  [TWEET THIS]

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today BevMo!, Inc.has been ordered to pay costs and penalties in a civil law enforcement case alleging BevMo! posted prices in stores and advertisements and charged higher prices at the time of checkout. The company paid $347,034 in penalties and costs to resolve the case, which was filed and approved by Judge John S. Meyer of the San Diego Superior Court on December 4. The company did not admit liability.

“The DA’s Consumer Protection Unit works to make sure San Diego County residents can have confidence in the advertised price when they shop,” said DA Stephan.  “Actions like this are important to ensure that businesses deal fairly with their customers and compete fairly in the marketplace, especially during this busy shopping season.”

The San Diego District Attorney’s Office along with the District Attorneys of Riverside, Santa Barbara and Santa Clara prosecuted the case on behalf of the People of the State of California. The case stemmed from weights and measures investigations in eleven counties in California who documented scanner overcharges during inspections at different BevMo! stores.  The investigation revealed repeated instances of mispriced items on shelves as well as failure to charge the advertised price at the time of checkout.

Under the terms of the stipulated judgment, BevMo! has agreed not to commit future violations and to initiate a pricing accuracy program in California. Additionally, the company will provide refunds directly to impacted customers through their customer loyalty program. Members holding BevMo! customer loyalty accounts who live in California and purchased mispriced items during the time period covered in the complaint will automatically be credited a pro rata amount to their account. They do not have to apply for the credit.

BevMo! cooperated in the investigation and resolution of the case.