Petaluma mom convicted in son’s OD death refuses to attend sentencing

The woman, who pleaded guilty to felony child abuse in her 16-year-old son’s April death, refused to leave her jail cell for a hearing when she was expected to hear emotional remarks from relatives, then have a judge send her to prison.|

A Sonoma County woman convicted of felony child endangerment for her role in her 16-year-old son’s overdose death refused to leave her county jail cell Thursday for a court hearing when she was expected to hear emotional remarks from grieving relatives, then have a judge send her to state prison.

But in a rare move, Danielle Foernsler refused to come to court, prompting frustrated outbursts from family members and delaying her sentencing.

Foernsler, 35, and an acquaintance carried her son’s limp body to a car before dawn on April 16, while the boy was overdosing on a mixture of heroin, fentanyl and other drugs, police said. She put her son, Brayden George, in a back seat, and left him there unconscious, fleeing the scene while someone else was calling 911, investigators said.

An ambulance crew rushed George to Petaluma Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead. A toxicology analysis showed he died from acute intoxication after ingesting a combination of fentanyl, heroin, Xanax and methamphetamine, Sonoma County sheriff’s officials said.

On Thursday, about two dozen relatives and family friends had gathered for the sentencing hearing in Sonoma County Superior Court, including the boy’s father and grandfather who had expected to have the opportunity to express their grief in open court.

After a series of delays while court bailiffs radioed with correctional staff to determine whether Foernsler could be brought to court, Judge Bradford DeMeo announced the hearing would be postponed until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“Ms. Foernsler has refused to come to court for sentencing,” DeMeo said.

The boy’s father, Jason George, burst into tears, hunched over and put his hands over his face.

DeMeo ordered correctional staff to “make sure she is here whether she’s here voluntarily or not” for Tuesday’s hearing. DeMeo said a defendant must be present at sentencing to “avoid irregularities” that might provide basis for an appeal and also to honor the legal rights of victims. He addressed the audience of visibly angry family members, some of whom had traveled from places like Sacramento, Grass Valley and Redding.

“I understand your frustration, I do,” DeMeo said.

Foernsler’s attorney, Lynette Brown, told DeMeo she had just learned her client had been moved to a mental health unit of the jail. Brown objected to her client being moved anywhere by force.

The boy’s grandfather, David George, left the courtroom and slammed a courthouse hallway wall with the notepad where he’d written an outline of the speech - starting with the words “He was a good kid” - that he’d come prepared to give in court Tuesday.

“Bulls**t,” David George said.

Brayden George’s relatives stayed in two separate groups, estranged factions of a family that kept a distance between each other both in the courtroom and in the hallway.

Foernsler, who pleaded guilty in July to felony child abuse, faces a maximum of 19 years in state prison. That includes added time because she was on felony probation for two prior robbery convictions when her son died.

Assistant Sheriff Al Vernon, who oversees the county jail, said they will develop a plan to ensure Foernsler follows the judge’s order, which could involve holding a hearing in the jail as an alternative measure. Vernon said correctional deputies can physically force inmates to attend court hearings, but that is reserved as a last resort.

“We have had occasions where people have refused to go to court,” Vernon said. “We usually can gain voluntary compliance and we can work with the courts and members of the judicial system to come up with alternatives.”

Brown, a deputy public defender, said it’s common for inmates to refuse to attend court hearings for various reasons - most involving valid mental health issues or health concerns - but it is rare for an inmate to refuse to attend court at a crucial point in the case such as sentencing.

Brown said she did not speak to Foernsler on Thursday and did not know she would refuse to attend her sentencing hearing. Foernsler, who never had custody of her son, was racked with guilt over her son’s death, Brown said. It was unclear where Brayden George had been living at the time of his death. Police said his mother was transient and some relatives claimed he had been kicked out of another family member’s home, which put him in harm’s way.

The charnge against Foernsler is based on her failure to attempt to help her son or stay with him when he had overdosed, Brown said. The defense attorney said Foernsler could have put forward a strong defense that there was nothing she could have done to save the boy, but she wanted to take responsibility and avoid putting their family through a trial.

“She’s struggling, dealing with the loss of her child and with guilt knowing she may have been able to do something,” Brown said.

The man who helped Foernsler carry her son’s body to the car, Robert Harrison, 39, of Petaluma, also was arrested at the time. His attorney, Roy Miler, said Harrison was the one who discovered George was unresponsive and tried to revive him. Harrison stayed on the scene and was there when police arrived, his lawyer said.

Harrison has been charged with felony drug possession and drug intoxication while being in the vicinity of a loaded firearm - officers found a gun in a bag - and is scheduled for an Oct. 17 preliminary hearing.

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