YOLO COUNTY, Calif. — A Yolo County judge on Friday denied a request to release an unhoused man with extensive mental health needs to an available treatment bed, ruling during an arraignment hearing that he posed a public safety risk after violating a criminal protective order, and serving him with another such order.
The man faced two misdemeanor counts of contempt of court for contacting a person protected by a court order and vandalism. He also faced five felony counts of petty theft with two prior convictions and sentence enhancements.
Deputy Public Defender Sarah MacDonald said the man had previously been granted mental health diversion and was participating in treatment until December, when a warrant was issued.
MacDonald told the court the man was not a Yolo County resident and was currently unhoused, explaining there was “an issue with his referral to a new living environment, where paperwork wasn’t done properly,” through no fault of his own.
As a result, the man was unable to receive “the treatment that he needed in the community after he was granted mental health diversion. He was essentially waiting for treatment that never came.” The defense asked that he be released to a treatment bed if one became available.
Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Palumbo said the man was granted mental health diversion on Oct. 16, 2025, adding that “he hasn’t been in mental health diversion very long.”
“It’s not like he has this long history of complying with mental health diversion and then he fell off,” Palumbo said. “He was just given mental health diversion.”
Palumbo said that less than two weeks later, on Nov. 3, 2025, the man violated the criminal protective order involving the same person from a previous threats case that included a weapon. She added that he then went on a “spree of theft” and was charged with five felony theft counts.
Prosecutors said they were “filing a motion to terminate his mental health diversion,” requesting the matter be returned to the department that originally granted it to determine whether he should remain eligible. The prosecution also opposed releasing him to a program “until he goes back in front of the department and it is determined that he will remain on mental health diversion.”
“He is a continued threat to continue to commit crimes,” Palumbo said.
MacDonald noted that the criminal protective order was a “no-harass” order, not a “no-contact” order. “This is his wife,” she said, adding that the woman was encouraging him to seek treatment.
“Him not being treated in the community is part of the problem,” MacDonald said. “He needs treatment at the bottom … that’s why I’m asking he be released to a treatment program when one becomes available.”
MacDonald said the man had been granted mental health diversion in October and had previously shown success while in treatment. “It’s about stability for him,” she said, explaining that he struggles with relapse issues common among people with addiction. “So we’re talking about someone who deeply needs help.”
Judge Danette Brown acknowledged the man’s mental health needs but ruled he would remain in custody. “There is a concern about public safety,” Brown said. “I mean, I understand he’s got to address his mental health, and that’s important. But he’s violated the CPO, same victim.”
The next court date is scheduled for Feb. 6, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. in Department 14 for a pretrial conference.
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media – X, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
