Citing reviews, a Solano County Superior Courtroom choose on Tuesday dominated {that a} 24-year-old Sacramento man charged with stabbings on an Amtrak practice final yr in Fairfield was competent and reinstated authorized proceedings towards him.
Courtroom proceedings, together with arraignment, had been beforehand suspended for Brandon Torres-Mendoza, however attorneys within the case had not too long ago obtained a psychological well being report about him.
Deputy Public Defender Matthew Adler represented Torres-Mendoza in the course of the continuing, and Deputy District Lawyer Gerald J. Corridor represented the DA’s Workplace.
Choose Janice M. Williams mentioned Torres-Mendoza was “not eligible” for North Bay Regional Middle companies and likewise mentioned he was competent to face trial “within the meaning of Penal Code sections 1367 and 1368,” court docket data confirmed.
The sections point out {that a} defendant in a legal case can’t be tried or punished if they’re mentally incompetent. Nevertheless, as soon as restored to competency, legal prices might be reinstated they usually can face additional authorized proceedings, together with a jury trial.
She ordered Torres-Mendoza to return to Division 25 for a readiness convention at 8:30 a.m. April 29 and a preliminary listening to at 10 a.m. Could 2 in Division 25 within the Justice Middle in Fairfield.
Courtroom and jail data point out Torres-Mendoza in September 2024 appeared earlier than Choose Kelley J. Trujillo in Fairfield because the grievance, filed by the Solano County District Lawyer’s Workplace, was learn.
At his scheduled jail arraignment, Torres-Mendoza, a beforehand convicted felon on probation, was charged with two counts of assault with a lethal weapon not a firearm, a felony, with one together with a particular allegation of inflicting nice bodily damage, amongst different enhancements; theft; possessing brass knuckles; and resisting arrest, all felonies with separate a number of enhancements.
The Public Defender represented Torres-Mendoza, whose psychological competency on the time was in query. The legal professional requested what’s known as a “1368 doctor’s report” after a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist interviews a suspect.
Choose Trujillo suspended proceedings towards Torres-Mendoza, then assigned the case to Choose Williams, who later reviewed the report.
Torres-Mendoza stays in Solano County Jail with out bail and likewise on a warrant maintain out of Sacramento County.
In response to a Fairfield Police Division social media put up, dispatchers at about 10:30 p.m. Sept. 8 obtained a name from an Amtrak conductor.
The practice had simply entered Fairfield, and a person, later recognized as Torres-Mendoza, was believed to have stabbed one particular person on board and was probably holding one other particular person hostage.
The conductor requested assist and advised dispatchers the practice would cease on the Fairfield-Vacaville Amtrak station.
Whereas looking for the suspect, officers first discovered one sufferer, a 21-year-old man, with two stab wounds to the chest. That particular person was taken to a neighborhood hospital, the place he reportedly was in important situation.
“Police then encountered a man holding a knife, but quickly realized this was actually a second victim, age 24, who had taken the weapon from Torres-Mendoza and was bravely holding him at bay until officers arrived,” the put up indicated.
He was arrested shortly after 11 p.m. within the 4900 block of Vanden Street, jail data point out.
Fairfield police detectives investigated the crime, with assist from Amtrak police.
Investigators confirmed that neither sufferer was recognized to Torres-Mendoza, and the motive for the stabbing was unclear on the time of his arrest.
