SANTA ANA, Calif. — A judge on July 29 refused a prosecutor’s request to immediately issue a warrant for a woman accused of robbery after the defense argued that doing so could derail her access to mental health treatment, underscoring the tension between routine criminal court procedures and efforts to connect accused individuals with behavioral health care.
Deputy Public Defender Vu Tran asked the court to continue holding any warrant for the woman so she could move forward with obtaining mental health treatment in Los Angeles County without interruption. Deputy District Attorney Bree Piper nevertheless requested that the warrant be issued, arguing against the defense request.
The woman seeking mental health treatment had been accused of robbery after her grandmother reported that items were missing from her home. The woman was detained and found with the items that had been reported missing.
DPD Tran appeared on behalf of the woman charged with robbery and requested that she be released to a treatment program because she was currently in custody.
DPD Tran told the court that any warrants in Orange County could delay or even prevent the woman from being processed into mental health facilities in Los Angeles County, potentially interrupting the treatment process before it could begin.
According to the defense, continuing to hold the bench warrant would allow the process of securing appropriate mental health treatment to move forward without additional procedural barriers. DDA Piper objected and instead asked the court to issue the warrant.
Judge Michael Perez ultimately rejected the prosecution’s request, concluding that the hold on the warrant should remain in place to allow the woman to continue pursuing suitable treatment.
By denying the prosecution’s request and continuing the hold on the warrant, Judge Perez allowed the treatment process to proceed without the immediate obstacle the defense warned could jeopardize the woman’s admission into a mental health program.
The ruling illustrates how decisions made during routine criminal proceedings can directly affect an accused person’s ability to access mental health care. In this case, the court determined that preserving the woman’s opportunity to obtain treatment outweighed the need to immediately issue the warrant.
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