WOODLAND, Calif. — A Yolo County Superior Court judge Thursday granted an SOR release motion for an unhoused accused but required him to report to Woodland Probation despite defense concerns that housing and transportation insecurity could make compliance difficult.
The accused is charged with threatening a crime with intent to terrorize, threatening injury to an officer in the performance of duties, resisting or obstructing a public officer and battery on a peace officer or emergency personnel.
Deputy Public Defender Martha Sequeira requested that the accused remain on SOR release, while Deputy District Attorney Diane Ortiz emphasized that the accused had previously been placed on SOR release and was subsequently rearrested.
In response, Judge Dannette Castillo Brown granted the motion to release the accused on SOR with conditions that he obey all laws, be searchable for stolen property and stay away from Safeway and the loss prevention officer.
Ortiz further requested that the accused report to Woodland Probation the next day to sign a contract.
In response, Sequeira highlighted that instructing an unhoused man to return to Yolo County from Davis, where he will be seeking housing, does not make sense.
She pointed out that the accused could agree orally on the record rather than being forced to travel from Davis to Yolo County.
Brown also pointed out that Ortiz could try to bring the contract before the end of the day.
Ultimately, Brown ordered the accused to report to Woodland Probation on Aug. 17 instead of the next day, giving him time to access housing and transportation services.
The arguments during court reflect concerns about disparities in conditions imposed on unhoused accused individuals and their ability to comply with those conditions while facing housing and transportation insecurity.
To comment please go to one of these social media platforms:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavisVanguard
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peoples-vanguard-of-davis-inc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davisvanguard/
X: https://x.com/davisvanguard
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vanguardnewsgroup.bsky.social
Subscribe to 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.
