SALINAS, Calif. (CelebrityAccess) David Drew, founder of Salinas, Calif.-based David Drew Productions, has received a pardon for 20-year-old offenses by outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown.
The 55-year-old Drew, who has brought acts like Blake Shelton and Kid Rock to the coastal city, was convicted for eight felonies for marijuana and cocaine in the 1980s and 1990s and was released from prison in 1997, according to the Monterey Herald.
“It was just personal satisfaction. I think it’s more than what most people seek a pardon for,” Drew told the paper. “The pardon is not going to erase my criminal record, it’ll always be there for the rest of my life, … but it does restore some of my rights that you don’t previously have.”
Drew said he was sitting in his office when the governor’s office called him to notify that Brown had executed his pardon.
“I can tell you, I was pretty overjoyed at that moment,” Drew said. “It was a little bit overwhelming. So it took a few seconds to sink in, but it was pretty gratifying.”
Brown has issued 1,332 pardons and 283 commutations during his eight years in office, the most of any governor in modern state history.
David Ragent, an employee of Drew’s, is credited with keeping the pardon request active after it appeared to grow dormant.
“If anyone deserves it, he does,” Ragent said. “He’s done exemplary work and he’s supported all these charities and he’s given a lot of people second chances. He didn’t have to have the pardon for a government job or anything like that but he just wanted it for his own peace of mind.”
