By Zoey Hou
SACRAMENTO, CA – In a probable cause hearing in Sacramento County Superior Court last week, Defendant Markise Allen was charged with three separate offenses in three consecutive days—a knife threat, vehicle theft, and store burglary.
Ultimately, he was found liable enough for a trial. But he was ruled incompetent to continue proceedings.
In the first case, on the night of Sept. 25, 2020, a security guard of the Southgate Plaza was patrolling the mall when she noticed a male standing near the Credit Union ATM exhibiting suspicious behavior. The security guard stated that “she drove up to the subject and asked him to leave the area and he began to approach her vehicle.”
She asked the subject to leave the premises if he was not using the ATM machines at the bank. He allegedly responded by approaching the driver’s side of the vehicle, opening the door, and swearing at the security guard. He held a six-inch pocket knife to the guard, and she immediately stepped on the gas of her vehicle.
She drove off in such a hurry that the vehicle door remained open while she attempted to call 911 backup. Receiving a call, Deputy Barns from the Sacramento Police was soon after dispatched to the knife threat report, and noted, “The caller stated that she had just been threatened with a knife in a vehicle by a male and she was following him in her vehicle.”
Deputy District Attorney Allison Wieder asked witness Barns if the security guard, “took the defendant’s threat as credible in the situation,” which the deputy affirmed.
After the prosecutor ended her questioning of the first witness, Judge Timothy M. Frawley concluded that the offense committed by the defendant appears to have sufficient evidence to consider defendant Allen guilty.
In the second hearing recounting the events of the next day, witness Deputy Ryan Bellany of the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department began his testimony of what occurred on Sept. 26; he received a call from the Regional Transit employee parking lot about someone in the lot that did not look like an employee.
Bellany and his partner were notified that a bus supervisor supposedly had a subject detained in the driver’s seat of a silver sedan. On arrival at the scene, Officer Bellany approached the man in the vehicle and told him to exit.
Fully disregarding the command, the suspect remained seated. Noticing the suspect’s right hand being buried to his side, Bellany testified he considered that if this were a case of theft or burglary, then the man could be in possession of a weapon or tool.
Bellany stated, “So I took control of his left hand and placed him in a twist lock and told him to get out of the vehicle.” The suspect was later confirmed to be Markise Allen.
Soon after, as Officer Hess testified, an employee nearby said they had heard a car alarm going off in the back region of the parking lot, and noticed a male searching the glove compartment and pulling down the vehicle visor, and noted that “the subject did not match the style of the car. He had dirty shoes on and dirty clothes. Described the suspect as looking homeless.”
The judge pronounced once more that there is sufficient evidence in the hearing that defendant Markise Allen is guilty.
The final witness, Officer Kacee Heredia from the Sacramento Police Department, testified about the third event that Allen was allegedly involved in, this one on Sept. 27, at a Sacramento Walgreens.
The victim, who was a worker at the Walgreens, had been, the officer said, crying and picking up candy from the floor. Heredia explained that the victim was upset because “the suspect entered the store and began to shove gift cards into his pockets.”
She continued, “When the victim confronted him and told him to put the items back, he became angry and started yelling.” He then proceeded to hit the victim’s chest (to which the officer observed substantial redness on her chest), went under the store counter for cigarettes, and then left after knocking over a box of candy.
The prosecutor asked Officer Heredia if she conducted a field show up, to which she affirmed and said the victim identified the suspect as Markise Allen. The judge ruled again that there was sufficient evidence that the defendant is guilty thereof.
Assistant Public Defender Anthony Crisostomo appeared for Allen, who reportedly refused to be transported to court today from jail. He allegedly threatened to fight anyone who attempts to take him out of his cell.
The DDA made a request to submit on the recommendation from the Harper Medical Group Report that asks for involuntary anti-psychotic medication to be ordered for Allen, and agreed with the judge and PD that Allen can benefit from taking medication in order for him to regain competency.
Judge Frawley asked that this case be put in court Dept. 63 as soon as possible for the defendant. Hospitalization and placement for Allen will proceed on June 30.
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