Controversial release without bail upheld for fentanyl trafficking suspect in Sonoma County

A Sonoma County judge on Friday released an Oakland man accused of trafficking fentanyl on the condition he returns to court next month. The decision comes amid controversy after a court commissioner rejected it the judge’s original $100,000 bail order for the man two weeks earlier.

Judge Troye K. Shaffer set the man’s bail at $100,000 on Oct. 18 because of the large amount of fentanyl agents found in his car and home. But a court commissioner – a court-appointed official who performs certain judicial duties in a limited number of cases – later granted the man’s release without bail on the condition that he return for his arraignment.

Sonoma County Assistant District Attorney Brian Staebell told The Press Democrat last week that the man’s release without bail was “troubling,” especially because commissioners typically don’t intervene in more serious cases.

No further explanation was given during Friday’s trial. But the man, Jose Valle-Acosta, did show up.

He was provided with a Spanish translator and represented by Deputy District Attorney Angelina Potter.

Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies arrested Valle-Acosta, 24, on Oct. 18 after pulling him over for traffic violations near Napa Road in Sonoma.

Officials said they found a half pound of fentanyl in his car and later served a search warrant at his home in Oakland, discovering another half pound and other drugs.

He was charged with illegal drug possession and transporting narcotics for sale.

At the arraignment Friday, prosecutors argued that the amount of fentanyl was indicative of Valle-Acosta’s possible involvement with a larger organization. They also emphasized that the drug, especially in such a large quantity, poses a danger to the community due to its deadly potential.

They argued that the original bail amount, $100,000, would keep him from returning to the streets and dealing more.

“How does $100,000 in cash make us all safer?” Judge Shaffer asked the prosecutor and suggested that Valle-Acosta could pay the amount and be released without any conditions.

“This is the way the rules work,” one of the assistant district attorneys responded, arguing that the amount of fentanyl could kill many people. “He is a risk to the community.”

However, Potter argued her client posed no threat to the community because he had no criminal record and appeared in court on Friday without incident, proving he was not a flight risk.

However, she argued that he could be monitored more closely using a GPS device and that he would be subject to strict probation rules.

The judge ultimately sided with Potter and granted Valle-Acosta release without bail, on the condition that he wear a GPS monitor and contact a probation officer regularly.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for December 4 at 8:30 am.

You can reach staff writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8531 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter,) @alana_minkler.