Woman Convicted Under ‘3 Strikes’ Law : Courts: Joyce Demyers, found guilty in felony drug sale, becomes second in county to face sentencing under state statute requiring repeat felons to serve extended jail terms.

SANTA ANA —  The second Orange County defendant to be convicted under the controversial “three strikes” law is a 36-year-old woman with a history that includes robberies, burglaries and fraud and dates back to 1978--when she was charged with murder but later acquitted.

An Orange County Superior Court jury found Joyce Demyers and co-defendant Rhonda Blakely guilty on Oct. 3 of a felony cocaine sale, stemming from a June arrest at an Anaheim motel, according to court records.

Because of two prior robbery convictions, Demyers faces a prison term of 25 years to life in prison when she is sentenced Oct. 28, records show.

Another co-defendant, Martin Renteria, 26, was charged with both sale and possession and pleaded guilty. He faced up to nine years in prison because of prior drug convictions and was sentenced to a four-year term by Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald.

The “three strikes” law went on the books in March. Defendants convicted of two or more serious or violent felonies face 25 years to life in prison when they are caught on a third felony of any kind.

The first person convicted in Orange County under the “three strikes” law was Thomas G. Cargill, 35, of Huntington Beach. Cargill, who has two prior burglary convictions, was convicted of stealing a car from a used car lot. Sentencing is Nov. 3.

Critics say the law unfairly treats violent criminals the same as drug addicts or car thieves. But supporters say the law fights crime.

Demyers was acquitted in the November, 1978, killing of Bruce Vaughn Gedde, 29, of Garden Grove.

Her co-defendant in the murder case, Valerie Preston, was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Preston claimed she was insane when she shot Gedde.