Jose Barajas was sent to serve a 19-48 month prison sentence after recently admitting to several probation violations in Sixth Judicial District Court. Barajas was convicted of transporting a controlled substance, a category D felony, in October 2019.
Barajas was arrested in Humboldt County for transporting 10 pounds of marijuana from Sacramento to Salt Lake City and spent several months in the Humboldt County Detention Center.
Barajas was 20 years old at the time of his sentencing and asked for the opportunity to complete probation rather than prison and said that he had a young child who he wants to be there for.
Sixth Judicial District Court Judge Michael Montero ordered a higher prison sentence than the recommendation of the district attorney, but then suspended the sentence and gave Barajas a chance to avoid serving the sentence by completing 36 months on probation, which included terms to complete a drug court program in Utah where he resides.
At a recent probation violation hearing, Barajas admitted to five violations of his probation and denied several others that were presented, including the use of controlled substances.
The violations were split between two violation reports by the department of parole and probation, one from December 2019 and one from March 17, 2020, that included an out-of-state travel violation.
Barajas said that he was confused by the paperwork that was sent to him by attorneys and that someone told him the case was closed, but also noted that he didn’t call back in and check in with anyone about the matter or his confusion.
Montero ordered that his probation be revoked and he carry out the underlying sentence with 284 days credit for time served.
Prior to the sentencing hearing, Barajas also failed to appear for a court hearing after admission to bail, incurring a second felony charge.
That charge was dismissed in court by the Humboldt County District Attorney in accordance with plea negotiations.
At the sentencing hearing, Barajas was also ordered to pay a $153 DNA collection and analysis fee, $25 administrative assessment fee, $60 forensic fee and $250 public defender fee.
