Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS. : COURTS : Youngs Ask to Be Put in Drug Program

On Aug. 12, 13-year-old Deanna Young walked into the Tustin Police Department with a trash bag containing cocaine, drug packaging equipment and small amounts of marijuana and pills. The teen-ager told police the drugs belonged to her parents, who were promptly arrested on suspicion of possessing cocaine.

Bobby Dale and Judith Ann Young were released from jail on their own recognizance. Their daughter, who at first was sent to a county home for abused or neglected children, was reunited with her parents.

On Tuesday, the Youngs pleaded not guilty to the charges and asked a judge to place them in a drug education and rehabilitation program. The judge agreed to let them apply.

The county Probation Department will interview them and conduct background checks to determine whether they qualify. If so, and if they successfully complete the program, the Youngs’ arrest records will be erased.

The couple’s request is not an admission of guilt, said William Gamble, Judith Young’s attorney.

“It doesn’t really matter whether they are innocent or guilty,” Gamble said. “They’re concerned about having this on their record.”

The story continues Nov. 6, when the couple returns to court to hear whether they will be accepted in the program.