Veterans Day: Newsom pardons 5 California service members

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Gavin Newsom on Veterans Day announced he is granting five pardons to five service members for past crimes in Southern California. 

According to gubernatorial clemency documents, the five veterans are identified as:

Don Archibald

Archibald, a resident of Georgia and former resident of California, was sentenced in 1966 to five years to life in prison for first-degree robbery. Archibald, who served in the Army, was 20 years old at the time of the crime. He was granted a Certificate of Rehabilitation in 2010.

Marcus Page

Page, a resident of California, was sentenced in 1994 to three years of probation and 240 days in jail out of San Diego County for the transport or sale of a controlled substance. The former U.S. Marine was granted a Certificate of Rehabilitation in 2018.

Robert Teagle

Teagle, a Utah resident and former resident of California, was sentenced in San Bernardino County to three years of probation and 69 days in jail for transport or sale of a controlled substance in 1981. He previously served in the U.S. Army. According to the governor's office, Teagle "provided evidence that he is living an upright life and has demonstrated his fitness for restoration of civic rights."

Brian Tinney

Tinney, a resident of California, was sentenced in 1994 in San Diego County to five years probation and 90 days in jail for grand theft of property. Tinney, who served in the U.S. Navy, had his probation revoked two years later and was sentenced to a concurrent two-year prison term for the crime of a felon or addict in possession of a firearm. 

He was granted a Certificate of Rehabilitation in 2018. However, due to his multiple felony convictions, he could not previously get pardoned unless approved by the Board of Parole Hearings.

Alex Zonn

Zonn was sentenced in Ventura County to three years probation and 60 days in jail for possessing marijuana for sale in 1970. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he was granted a Certificate of Rehabilitation in 2018 by the Kern County Superior Court.

Under the California Constitution, the governor can grant a convicted criminal executive clemency in the form of a pardon, commutation, or reprieve. A pardon does not expunge or erase a conviction.

Commutation and reprieves reduce or suspend the person's sentence in California prison, but reprieves are temporary. 

While in office, Newsom has granted a total of 186 pardons, his office estimated.

The announcement comes as Newsom also announced the California Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded $33.4 million in grants to community organizations in seven counties through the California Veterans Health Initiative, Mental Health Support Grant Program (CVHI-MHSGP). This funding will enable community-based organizations to expand access to outpatient mental health treatment options for California’s veterans and their families. The grants are designed to increase veterans’ access to mental health services, reduce patient wait times for appointments, and develop veteran-specific mental health care options. 

Additionally, Newsom signed a slew of bills to streamline and simplify procedures supporting veterans and their families.