WOODLAND, Calif. — A Yolo County Superior Court judge on Wednesday temporarily vacated bench warrants and authorized future virtual appearances in a case involving vandalism and attempted auto theft after defense counsel cited ongoing medical emergencies that led to repeated failures to appear.
The hearing, held before Judge David Rosenberg, functioned as both a pre-hearing conference and a preliminary hearing. The accused faces felony charges of vandalism and attempted auto theft, along with a circumstances-in-aggravation enhancement.
The accused has failed to appear at two previously scheduled preliminary hearings, with the most recent missed appearance marking the third instance in which the accused was not present.
Deputy Public Defender Jailene Gutierrez told the court that the accused has been hospitalized on at least two occasions during the pendency of the case due to daily seizure activity.
Despite those hospitalizations, Gutierrez said the accused had been checking in with probation as recently as the prior week.
The probation officer assigned to the case confirmed that the accused contacted probation by phone after being released from the hospital. Gutierrez cited that communication as evidence of continued engagement with court obligations despite significant medical complications.
Gutierrez asked the court to refrain from issuing bench warrants and requested a two-week continuance to reset the preliminary hearing, arguing the absences were the result of medical emergencies rather than intentional nonappearance.
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Meyers opposed the request, noting that the preliminary hearing had already been reset three times and raising concerns about continued delays.
Meyers also argued that hospitalization accounted only for the two most recent absences and that not all prior failures to appear were clearly attributable to medical issues.
After hearing from both sides, Rosenberg opted to vacate the bench warrants. The judge also ruled that the accused may appear virtually at future proceedings to accommodate medical concerns while allowing the case to move forward.
The case remains pending in Yolo County, with the preliminary hearing rescheduled for two weeks from now.
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