(Josue Mercado sentenced in El Centro)...The former County Auditor/Controller was in Superior Court Thursday.

He had been convicted of two felony counts of misappropriation of public funds and one misdemeanor count of willful disobedience of a court order. County Probation had recommended a four year jail sentence. Judge Poli Flores did not follow the recommendation. The Judge said all the mitigating circumstances could not be met to warrant a sentence of probation, and the charges Mercado was convicted typically require a prison term. He then handed down the sentence of two years in state prison. One year for each felony. Mercado was then taken into custody to begin serving his sentence.