DA secures Kern's first Prop. 36 conviction
Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer announced Friday her office has secured its first jury-trial felony convictions under Proposition 36, the new state law that increases penalties for people found guilty of crimes that otherwise would have been misdemeanors.
Dennis Ghianuly, 36, was convicted Thursday of possession of a hard drug with two or more priors and petty theft with two or more priors. Both crimes became felonies after state voters passed Proposition 36 in November.
The DA's Office said in a news release Ghianuly walked out of the Oswell Street PetSmart store without paying for the 44-pound bag of dog food he was carrying. Bakersfield Police Department officers who arrested him found multiple knives and more than 3 grams of fentanyl in his pocket.
The release said Ghianuly asked repeatedly about receiving a "cite-and-release." Instead, he was taken to Kern County Jail, but not before allegedly faking a drug overdose on the way there, requiring a diversion to a hospital.
Ghianuly had previously been convicted of a felony "strike" offense for attempted robbery in 2020 and other drug and theft crimes. If not for Proposition 36, his conviction of the more recent charges would have resulted in a sentence of no more than a year.
But because of his criminal history, he faces up to seven years and four months in prison at his sentencing June 27 by Kern County Superior Court Judge Kenneth C. Twisselman II.
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