By Madison Whittemore
WOODLAND, CA – A jury trial for an unhoused man charged with resisting arrest proceeded here Tuesday in Yolo County Superior Court, with testimony from both the arresting officer and the accused.
The Davis Police Department, last Jan. 29, said it received a complaint regarding a man threatening people with property damage in a downtown Davis parking garage, claiming he owned the garage.
“This is my parking garage…this is my property,” the accused allegedly stated to a woman trying to park her car in the garage.
The accused, an unhoused man who has resided in Davis for more than nine years, is now being charged with three counts of resisting arrest, one count of attempted battery on a peace officer, and an enhancement from a prior felony conviction.
Deputy Public Defender Erin Dacayanan said her client suffers from several mental illnesses—including schizoaffective disorder, a mood disorder, and insomnia.
During direct examination by Deputy District Attorney Jesse Richardson, Davis Police Officer David Martin retold what occurred Jan. 29, and clarified this was not his first run-in with the accused—referencing several prior incidents.
According to Martin, when he arrived at the parking garage, the accused had fled the scene on foot. After checking the surroundings and determining there was no property damage, Officer Martin went to check the electrical box for any damage.
“There was nothing that looked any different,” Officer Martin explained, once again clarifying there was no apparent damage.
While at the electrical box, Officer Martin testified the accused reappeared at the scene and began to peruse what the officers were doing from atop a flight of stairs.
Officer Martin explained that once he saw the accused, he began to slowly approach him and proceeded up the stairs. The accused then threw an object at Officer Martin, which the accused disclosed during his testimony to be a “little piece of a twig” less than an inch long.
“Did he just throw a rock?” another officer on scene asked Martin, to which Martin said he responded, “No, it wasn’t a rock.”
The accused then began to flee the scene once more, said Martin, with officers following on a foot pursuit through downtown Davis, which eventually led to the accused being tased two times after yelling, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
After Officer Martin finished his testimony, the accused took the stand to testify in front of the jury.
The accused explained he is schizophrenic and suffers from hearing voices, which oftentimes becomes exacerbated due to his severe insomnia. The accused also added the severity of his condition changes each day, sometimes making him depressed, irritated or even happy.
“I hear voices and it’s hard for me to sleep at times,” the accused said, also adding that he “sees souls and spirits.”
Continuing to question her client, DPD Dacayanan asked the accused to recap what happened on Jan. 29, and asked him to remember if he had been hearing voices that day.
“They was kind of poor. I was hearing voices,” the accused explained, recalling he remembered how many symptoms he was suffering from on Jan. 29. The accused also noted he had not slept the night before the incident occurred and was very “irritated” since the voices in his head were “piling up” that day.
The accused explained that he recalls yelling many statements at officer Martin such as: “Officers belong in the belly of the beast,” but when asked why he said those statements, the accused appeared confused, shaking his head, “I don’t know; must’ve been my mental illness.”
Testimony of the accused concluded with the accused claiming all interactions he has had with Davis Police Officers have been “outrageous.” The accused said he has now been tasered four times by the Davis Police—despite the fact that most officers know he struggles from mental illnesses.
The trial is ongoing this week.
