Opinion
1:10-cr-00173-JLT
02-09-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Plaintiff, v. EDWAN DABLAN, Defendant.
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR EARLY TERMINATION OF SUPERVISED RELEASE; ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR HEARING (Docs. 204, 207)
Edwan Dablan moves the Court for an order terminating his supervised release early. He has been under supervision for approximately four years. Though his probation officer supports the request, the government opposes it. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is DENIED.
I. Background
Mr. Dablan plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering. (Doc. 159 at 1) The Court sentenced him to 126 months on each count to be served concurrently followed by 60-months of supervised release. Id. at 2-3. He began supervision on December 14, 2018. (Doc. 204) During his term of supervised release, he has maintained a residence and started a business. Id. at 2. He has donated money, items and his time to the community. Id.
Before this, in 2003 Mr. Dablan had been convicted of felony possession of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine and in 1996 of felony receiving stolen property. (Doc. 28 at 18; Doc. 205 at 2)
Nevertheless, a year ago, Mr. Dablan was arrested after his child reported to a school official that Mr. Dablan had struck her repeatedly the night before. (Doc. 204-1 at 5-6) The child explained that Mr. Dablan became angry when she came home from school after he had received a “deficiency letter” in the mail related to her grades. Id. The child reported that Mr. Dablan slapped her with an open hand. Id. at 5. She said she got on top of her bed near the headboard to try to shield herself from her father. Id. Nevertheless, he slapped her five to six more times across her face, called her names, punched her in the abdomen and kicked her on the buttocks several times. Id. at 5.
She said that he often engaged in verbal and physical fights with her mother due to his “cheating” on her mother. (Doc. 204-1 at 5) The child said that Mr. Dablan yelled at her mother, who was present during the event, not to interfere, so she did not. Id. at 7. However, the child's sister entered the room while he was striking the child and yelled at Dablan to stop. Id. He grabbed the sister by the ear and forced her out of the room. Id. The police took photos of the child's face and body, where she said her father hit her. Id.
The police went to the home and spoke to the mother. (Doc. 204-1 at 7) The mother reported that the child returned home from school the day before, Mr. Dablan confronted her about her “bad grades.” Id. The father and daughter continued to the child's bedroom, where the confrontation continued. Id. The mother denied she was present and, though she heard Mr. Dablan yelling, she did not see or hear him strike the child. Id.
The police spoke to the sister, who reported that the day before, she heard her father yelling at the child “for a long time,” and she heard what sounded like a slap or a hit. (Doc. 204-1 at 7) She went to her sister's room and saw the girl on her bed against the headboard. Id. She saw Mr. Dablan strike the girl three times on the face with an open hand and one time with a closed fist on the stomach area. Id. When the sister yelled at him to stop, he grabbed the sister's ear and forced her from the room. Id. The sister reported that her father struck the children or slapped them as a form of punishment. Id. She indicated that he also fought with their mother. Id.
About a week later, the police officer again spoke to the complaining child. (Doc. 204 at 9) Initially, the mother refused to allow the child to speak to the police alone. Id. With her mother present, the child reported she lied about her father hitting her because he was going to give her dog away. Id. However, while the mother was talking with a social worker, the child told the police officer that she had told the truth and that her father had done what she reported originally but that her mother was making her recant. Id. The police officer forwarded the case to the District Attorney for review and prosecution of Mr. Dablan. (Id.)
The DA filed a complaint charging Mr. Dablan with one felony and one misdemeanor violation of California Penal Code section 273a(a) and 273a(b), respectively. (Doc. 204-3) The case was dismissed the case in December 2022 (Doc. 204-3) after Mr. Dablan completed a parenting class (Doc. 204-2).
The government opposes the motion for early termination of supervision based upon the seriousness of the underlying offense and Mr. Dablan's leadership role in it, his criminal history, his February 2021 arrest for child abuse the two disciplinary infractions he suffered while he resided in the halfway house. (Doc. 205)
II. Analysis
The Court acknowledges its discretion to terminate supervision early in this case. In considering the motion, the Court notes first that the underlying offense was quite serious and dangerous to society. The government reports that Mr. Dablan was the leader of the organization, which sold drugs for years, and that he possessed a firearm related to the drug conspiracy. (Docs. 205, 125) On the other hand, Mr. Dablan notes that the DA dismissed the 2021 child abuse case and that his probation officer reports that he is a low risk to reoffend and has no additional services to offer him. (Doc. 204 at 1)
Though the Court appreciates the efforts Mr. Dablan has made, the Court is significantly concerned about the incident of child abuse that occurred in the home. The Court is persuaded by the corroborating evidence provided by the child-victim's sister, whose account closely matched that of the primary victim. The fact that the girl later changed her story appears to be related to pressure she received from the mother.
The Court appreciates also that Mr. Dablan completed a parenting class, but the Court is aware also that this type of class falls well short of those which focus on physical abuse and anger management.
Based upon Mr. Dablan's recent involvement in the criminal justice system, the Court finds that the evidence is insufficient to show that the public would be adequately protected or that the interests of justice warrant the relief sought here. In addition, due to what appears to have been pressure brought on the primary child-victim to recant her account of Mr. Dablan's conduct, the Court does not find that hearing testimony in this matter would be helpful, so this request (Doc. 207) is DENIED. Finally, after considering all of the § 3553(1) and § 3583(e)(1) factors, the motion for early termination of supervised release is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.