Exclusive | LAs DA Nathan Hochman takes on soft-on-crime judge accused of slashing charges for puppy abusers and vandals
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has escalated an extraordinary legal battle with a Superior Court judge his office has accused of repeatedly undermining prosecutors by slashing charges and handing down lighter sentences.Hochman’s office has filed motions seeking to disqualify Judge Yvette Verastegui, who serves in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, from hearing certain criminal matters.The challenge stems from a series of cases in which prosecutors allege Verastegui reduced charges or imposed sentences far below those sought by the District Attorney’s Office despite prosecutors arguing the facts did not justify the reductions.“When a judge goes ahead and either reduces charges or orders a much more lenient sentence that is not based on the facts and the law, we will vigorously oppose that,” Hochman told The Post.Among the cases cited by prosecutors is a high-profile animal cruelty prosecution that attracted widespread attention in 2025.Joeboury Coleman and Shayla Alcala were charged after videos circulated online allegedly showing a seven-month-old puppy being kicked and thrown down a multi-story stairwell.According to court records, Verastegui accepted open pleas over prosecutors’ objections after the District Attorney’s Office indicated it was prepared to proceed to trial.Coleman was sentenced to two years in state prison and received 397 days of credit for time served.Alcala had two felony counts reduced to misdemeanors and was sentenced to one year of summary probation, along with counseling and educational programs.Prosecutors argue the puppy case was not an isolated incident.Another example cited by the District Attorney’s Office involved the notorious Oceanwide Plaza towers, the graffiti-covered downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers that became a national symbol of urban blight after taggers scaled the unfinished high-rises and covered dozens of stories with graffiti.In February 2024, autho...