Good intentions, if not acted upon, can have very serious consequences.
The Gridley man sentenced to probation and time served on May 17 for breaking into Princeton Post Office boxes, reportedly to feed a serious drug addiction, didnt waste time getting back into the habit – despite promises to the court to stay clean.
Colusa County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Thompson ordered Joshua Pelfrey back to the Colusa County Jail for 60 days on Monday after he admitted to violating the terms of his probation by using methamphetamine immediately after he was sentenced on reduced criminal charges.
Thompson said three consecutive drug tests the Colusa County Probation Department administered to Pelfrey on May 20, May 24, and May 27 showed the 41-year-old had the highest amount of methamphetamine Thompson has seen in his 12 years on the bench.
Pelfrey had been looking at three years and eight months in state prison for burglary and identity theft when he made the deal with the Colusa County District Attorneys Office to plead guilty to a lesser charge of vandalizing public property. The court agreed to the plea deal based on Pelfreys promise to change his life around.
Pelfrey had been facing a single bad check charge when Colusa County Sheriffs Office arrested him at his Gridley home in September 2020 after observing him vandalizing the Princeton Post Office on surveillance camera footage. The sheriffs office said the Princeton Post Office was burglarized at least three separate times in September alone.
During a search of Pelfreys home, detectives found stolen mail addressed to people from Oroville, Gridley, Like Oak, Colusa, and Yuba City, officials said. They also found methamphetamine and firearms.
While Pelfrey was rearrested last month for violating the terms of probation by using methamphetamine, Thompson agreed with Pelfreys public defender, Albert Smith, that Pelfreys rearrest and incarceration possibly saved his life.
Pelfreys laboratory-confirmed drug test indicated he had a near fatal level of methamphetamine in his blood, Thompson said.
Pelfrey will be reinstated on supervised probation after he serves the 60 days, and will be tested regularly for methamphetamine use.–