FRESNO, Calif. — A popular restaurant manager in Fresno was granted a pardon by Gov. Gavin Newsom for a crime he committed in his youth, according to the clemency letter released Friday.

Psalm Behpoor, who manages Pismo’s Coastal Grill in north Fresno, has been held in the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield for 138 days after being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement related to a 25-year-old crime.

“He had provided evidence that he is living an upright life and had demonstrated his fitness for restoration for civic life and responsibilities,” Newsom’s letter said.

Clemency does not grant Behpoor an immediate release from ICE custody, but would likely improve his chances when he goes before an immigration judge, according to legal experts.

The federal gover

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