By Brandon Stephen Blanco
WOODLAND, CA – Considering their felony charges, two men walked away here last week in Yolo County Superior Court largely unscathed—both were released from jail under supervised own recognizance (without bail), with one being placed on a mental health diversion program.
In the first hearing, the accused appeared in court with Deputy Public Defender Katie Rogers in a violation of probation hearing for failing to show up for his previous court date in April.
The accused previously pleaded no contest to fighting in a public place in March, serving one day in the Yolo County Jail, and is currently on probation.
PD Katie Rogers explained why the accused did not show up for his last court date, noting, the accused “did not refuse transport. He was medically unavailable. He got his COVID shot the night before and his blood pressure and his diabetic insulin levels were so high that medical were unwilling to transport him so it’s not a refusal.”
Deputy District Attorney Gustavo Figueroa responded, “I was disappointed (regarding the no show). That’s not reflected in the minute order and simply says he refused transport. I’m not sure what the circumstances (were) behind the last court date.”
However, PD Katie Rogers added, even though court records do not show that he was medically unavailable, PD Rogers previously met and spoke to the accused about why he did not show up at his last court date, suggesting there seemed to be a miscommunication between the accused and transport deputies.
PD Rogers also requested the court release the accused under SOR after the prosecution requested a 10-day waiver because a witness officer won’t be available next month.
Yolo County Deputy Probation Officer Guillaume Denoix told Judge Tom Dyer, “The defendant was previously assessed back in November. I believe at that time he was not suitable for SOR. He also failed to engage with probation back in January and his SOR was revoked at that time.”
However, as PD Rogers noted, “that was for a different case and this is a new case that happened after.”
Judge Dyer set the next court date for May 16, and released the accused SOR.
In the second hearing, the accused appeared in a pre-trial conference, represented by Deputy Public Defender Monica Brushia.
The accused faces felony arson, use of a device to accelerate or delay ignition charges, and unlawfully causing fire on property charges.
According to PD Brushia, the accused was accepted into a mental health diversion program and that he planned on entering a no contest plea to the three charges, for which “he will be placed on mental health diversion for a period of three years and placed on probation for one year.”
He must also enroll in a deferred entry of judgment program for three years.
Because the accused will not receive jail time, Deputy Probation Officer Denoix asked Judge Dyer to place the accused “on supervised OR for the probation department to adequately supervise him for the felony count.”
Regarding the arson crime that the accused faced, DDA Figueroa alleged, “On around June 10, 2021, at about 4:55 a.m. in the city of Woodland, Ca, the defendant willfully and maliciously lit a fire into a vehicle that was parked in the area of 10 North Cottonwood St. in Woodland and the damage was over $400.”
Judge Dyer sentenced the accused to conditions noted by the PD. The accused’s $30,000 bail was exonerated and he was released under SOR.
