EL CAJON, Calif. — A jail nurse accused of letting an ailing Las Colinas inmate die will be allowed to practice nursing as she awaits trial, an El Cajon judge ruled Wednesday.
In November, Danalee Pascua pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 2019 death of Elisa Serna, 24, at Las Colinas Detention Facility in Santee. She faces up to four years if convicted.
Pascua, 37, is not in custody. When she was arraigned last fall, Judge Michele Ialeggio granted the prosecution’s request to bar Pascua from nursing while the criminal case unfolded. It was a condition of her bail.
On Wednesday, it was removed as a condition of her bail. Superior Court Judge Robert Amador granted Pascua’s request to practice nursing while out of custody awaiting trial.
Pascua’s attorneys Alicia Freeze and Heather Melone had argued that the judge’s order violated Pascua’s due process right to a hearing to establish whether the license restriction was supported by the evidence. Malone said the order had unlawfully violated her client’s rights.
Reached Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney John Dunlap said he argued in court that Pascua had waived her rights on that matter, because her attorney did not raise any objections to that bail condition when it was put in place in November.
Pascua’s preliminary hearing is slated for June 7. At that hearing, a judge will determine if there is enough evidence to order her to stand trial.
Dunlap said an attorney representing the state licensing board was at the hearing in El Cajon on Wednesday. That attorney told Amador that the board will use evidence presented at the preliminary hearing as part of any move to restrict her license.
In announcing the charge against Pascua last year, District Attorney Summer Stephan said the evidence showed that criminal negligence contributed to the death of the inmate.
According to prosecutors, Serna was in custody on Nov. 10, 2019, when she told officials she was dizzy and nauseated. She was moved to the medical unit.
As Pascua was measuring Serna’s vital signs the next day, Serna fell, prosecutors allege. They say Pascua did not place her in a recovery position and left her on the cell floor.
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