By Keira Baptista
WOODLAND, CA – On Monday afternoon in Yolo County Superior Court, Judge Clara M. Levers considered a request to release an accused individual from custody and place him on Supervised Own Recognizance (SOR) due to serious mental health concerns and the court’s prior failure to provide a qualified Mien language interpreter at his earlier arraignment hearing—raising serious due process concerns and alleged violations of Penal Code section 825 and the accused’s constitutional rights.
The accused is facing multiple enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury through force or battery, along with aggravating circumstances. He was originally scheduled for arraignment on May 13, 2025, but the hearing was delayed to May 19 due to the unavailability of a suitable interpreter.
Deputy Public Defender Katie Ann De Anda questioned the reason for the delay. Judge Levers acknowledged that the accused had not been provided with a qualified interpreter at the time, adding, “We should do our very best to complete arraignment today.” DPD De Anda agreed, noting that Mien interpreter Lee Casey was now present in court to assist the accused with both the arraignment and the SOR motion.
DPD De Anda told the court that the accused had been receiving outpatient mental health treatment and was working with an assigned social worker. She added that he had recently been transported to a psychiatric facility in Sacramento and reiterated that “he has engaged in outpatient mental health and has a social worker assigned to him.”
The accused had been living in a room-and-board facility but could no longer return due to being in custody. However, DPD De Anda explained that his social worker is “willing to help him find housing once he is out of custody.”
She went on to recount how the accused “found himself in custody… after he went to the Yolo County Jail to collect property from his prior incarceration back in January when he was transported to the hospital.” It was during that encounter that he learned of a warrant for his arrest and was taken into custody the same day.
DPD De Anda said the accused “is willing to do whatever he needs” to secure his release, including cooperating with probation, securing housing, and continuing his mental health treatment. “He appears to be seeking… or in the process of receiving treatment prior to being in custody. He’s taking medications, and he is engaging with the appropriate authorities he has been told to report to,” she said.
Deputy District Attorney Alvina Gigi Tzang opposed the SOR request, arguing, “The People do not believe that he should be released on SOR” due to his “lengthy criminal record.”
DDA Tzang further contended that the accused “presents a public safety risk, especially considering the fact… that he punched an employee at the hospital unprovoked, which caused her to have a broken nose, and his prior criminal history showed that he does have violent tendencies.”
In response, DPD De Anda reminded the court that the accused has a documented history of mental illness and that he had been at the hospital for a mental health evaluation when he was arrested. She emphasized that he was transported there by the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office.
De Anda also noted that the accused had been held in custody without a meaningful arraignment—or at least not one he could understand until that day—constituting a violation of Penal Code section 825, which mandates that individuals be brought before a judge and arraigned within 48 hours of arrest. She added that the delay “goes against his constitutional right to have an interpreter present at hearings.”
After considering arguments from both sides, Judge Levers ruled in favor of the defense and granted SOR release over the prosecution’s objection. She acknowledged the court’s failure to provide a Mien language interpreter in a timely manner, stating it violated both the accused’s constitutional and statutory rights, including Penal Code section 825 and his right to due process.
Judge Levers also stated that the accused’s “public safety concern is completely tied with [his] mental health treatment,” and found that SOR release was appropriate under the circumstances.
As a condition of release, Judge Levers ordered the accused to continue participating in mental health treatment and requested the name and contact information of his social worker. Citing the accused’s extensive criminal record, the judge acknowledged, “It caused the Court concern that he will comply with SOR, but the Court will give him a chance” to demonstrate his ability to follow through with treatment. Failure to comply could result in a change to his custody status.
