Joseph Sabino Mistick: Yan Carlos Pichardo Cepeda, justice and common sense

If you want to know why some communities are pushing back against progressive criminal justice reformers, consider the case of Yan Carlos Pichardo Cepeda, who was recently arrested and then released by Pittsburgh District Judge Xander Orenstein. At the time this column was filed, Cepeda was “in the wind,” having failed to appear for court.

Cepeda was caught outside the Greyhound station in Pittsburgh on Aug. 31 with 9 kilograms of deadly fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $1.6 million. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, 1 kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people, depending on the size, tolerance and past usage of those taking the drug.

Even though those who deal in fentanyl are merchants of death, and even though Cepeda has a criminal record and no ties to our area, Orenstein released Cepeda on nonmonetary bail, disregarding Pre-Trial Services’ recommendation that he not be released. Allowed to essentially go scot-free, Cepeda kept on going.

Common Pleas Court Judge Edward J. Borkowski reversed Orenstein’s decision and issued a nationwide arrest warrant on Monday, saying, “The nonmonetary bond was inappropriate given the nature of the charges and lack of a local connection.”

As reported in the Tribune-­Review by Paula Reed Ward, Orenstein successfully campaigned for the magistrate’s seat in 2021 by promoting a progressive social justice agenda, including the elimination of cash bail. Nothing was said about the elimination of common sense.

Calling Orenstein’s release of Cepeda “very dangerous,” Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said that while Cepeda is presumed to be innocent, he is “accused of trafficking an extremely large quantity of drugs which are responsible for the deaths of almost two people per day in Allegheny County.”

Zappala is not a newcomer to the dangers of fentanyl. In 2018, after an alarming jump in fentanyl-­related deaths in Allegheny County, he asked the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing to increase the recommended penalties for trafficking in fentanyl. The commission adopted that change.

Orenstein is right about cash bail; it is a lousy and unjust way to treat those who are accused of crimes. The rich easily make bail and are released pending trial. The poor, despite the presumption of innocence, await trial in jail, resulting in mass incarceration.

And our reputation as a just society takes a body blow when poor defendants are found not guilty after being held in jail pending trial. Then, they were punished for simply being poor. That must change.

But Orenstein’s decision to release Cepeda has nothing to do with the injustice of cash bail and everything to do with the blind embrace of an otherwise good reform without regard for what it takes to keep us safe. If anything, progressivism run amok hurts the cause of reform.

This is the kind of thinking that is allowing lawlessness to destroy Downtown Pittsburgh. It is possible to be for the proper treatment of our homeless fellow Pittsburghers and still be against the criminals who occupy the same streets.

And it is possible to be for cash bail reform and still be against the release of those who pose a significant public danger. In fact, the law provides for that. Progressive reformers who ignore that harsh reality will doom their cause.