Petaluma Mom Sentenced For Overdose Death Of Son, 16

PETALUMA, CA – At an emotional sentencing in Sonoma County Superior Court Tuesday morning, a Petaluma woman was sentenced to the maximum term of 19 years and four months in prison for the fentanyl overdose death of her son and two prior felony burglary convictions.

Danielle Faletto, 35, pleaded guilty in July to felony child endangerment of 16-year-old Brayden George, who died on April 16 at a residence on Vallejo Street in Petaluma.

The prison term includes 12 years for child endangerment and consecutive terms totaling seven years and four months for two serious or violent felony strikes for burglaries.

The emotions erupted outside the Sonoma County Courthouse after the sentencing when members of the large, extended family, not all of them related but all fractured by the teen's death, exchanged angry words and threats and nearly came to blows. More than a dozen sheriff's deputies responded quickly to separate them.

Faletto, the teen's birth mother, who refused to leave the county jail and come to court last week, showed no visible emotion during sentencing.

The teen's stepmother, Valerie George, said she has nightmares about Brayden gasping for air as he was dying in the back of a truck or laying lifeless in a bathtub.

"I see his body covered in a white sheet, and I remember the coldness of his body as I kissed him for the last time," George said.

"You damaged his heart, mind and soul," she told Faletto.

"You were never a mother to him. You ran and left your son alone unconscious in a truck. I will eventually find the courage to forgive you. Brayden would not want us to hate you," George said.

Family members read statements to Judge Bradford DeMeo detailing Faletto's addiction to drugs and her violent criminal record. They said Faletto went with her son to a park to get drugs for a party on April 16 then
abandoned him as he was dying.

Petaluma police, who responded to the overdose of Xanax and fentanyl around 4:15 a.m. that day, said Faletto gave them a false name, claiming she was the boy's cousin.

"Your failure to aid the victim and fleeing the scene to avoid arrest was callous," DeMeo said. "This was an exceptionally vulnerable victim."

Deputy District Attorney Marianna Green asked DeMeo to sentence Faletto to the 19-year term. Green said Faletto tried to manipulate the court with delays and smashed phones to avoid arrest before she left the Petaluma residence.

"She needs to be in a locked facility as long as possible," Green said.

Defense attorney Lynnette Brown said Faletto pleaded guilty to the endangerment charge at her second court appearance and has accepted some responsibility. She said there is no greater punishment than the grief of
losing a son.

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Petaluma Teen Dies Of Suspected Drug Overdose; 2 Arrested

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