WOODLAND — A Davis man convicted of fatally beating his girlfriend’s toddler son won’t be sentenced until January, allowing his attorneys time to gather information they say might aid him at future parole hearings.
Darnell D’Angelo Dorsey, 24, faces a state prison term of 50 years to life — 25 to life for the January 2014 death of 20-month-old Cameron Morrison, with a prior “strike” conviction for robbery potentially doubling that sentence.
Darnell Dorsey was convicted of fatally abusing his girlfriend’s son, Cameron Morrison. Sue Cockrell/Enterprise photo
Those who had gathered in Yolo Superior Court Paul Richardson’s courtroom to witness the sentencing Friday learned they’d have to wait until Jan. 31, however, after Dorsey’s attorneys requested a continuance.
Deputy Public Defenders Joseph Gocke and Martha Sequeira said because Dorsey met the state’s definition of a “youthful offender” at the time of his crime — he was 21 — California law entitles him to gather and preserve mitigating information to present to a parole board.
Gocke said his office has retained a social worker to assemble a packet that explores Dorsey’s social history and family background, among other factors.
The defense attorneys said they also intend to use the information to file a so-called Romero motion, asking the court to reject Dorsey’s prior strike and reduce his sentence to 25 years to life.
“This information takes time to gather and put into a report,” Gocke said when Richardson asked why the packet hadn’t been assembled in the month since Dorsey’s Nov. 2 conviction.
Prosecutor Michelle Serafin urged Richardson to proceed with sentencing, saying the mitigating information could be forwarded to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation once it’s complete.
“It has absolutely nothing to do with sentencing,” Serafin said, noting that the 50-to-life term is mandated by law.
But when Gocke and Sequeira said failure to present the information to the trial court could expose the case to appeal on grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel, Richardson said he would “err on the side of caution.”
“There has been a lot put into this case by both sides,” Richardson said. “I’m not willing to risk possibly being in error on that.”
The Jan. 31 sentencing will occur just after the three-year anniversary Dorsey’s arrest for fatally injuring Cameron, who was hospitalized on Jan. 22, 2014, with a traumatic brain injury, multiple broken ribs and internal injuries that doctors concluded was the result of ongoing abuse.
He died three days later after being removed from life support.
Dorsey’s defense attorneys presented evidence that Cameron suffered from a severe case of pneumonia that caused those injuries as a result of respiratory and cardiac failure, but jurors said they did not find it to be credible.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene