A 26-year-old man accused of felony kidnapping and other related charges after a March 28 domestic violence incident in a Fairfield park has been admitted to a state mental competency treatment program.
During a “placement hearing” in Solano County Superior Court, Dajon Daniel on Tuesday heard Judge Wendy Getty say that she had received a “notice of admission” to a jail-base competency treatment program.
Her statement came after she ordered Daniel committed last month to the Department of State Hospitals.
The jail-based program provides mental health treatment to inmates found incompetent to stand trial because of mental illness. Such programs can reduce waitlists for State Hospital beds and shorten custody time.
Under Penal Code section 1368, a criminal defendant declared incompetent to aid in his or her defense cannot be tried and court proceedings are suspended. However, once competency is restored, criminal proceedings can be reinstated, including a jury trial.
During the June proceeding, according to official court documents, which specified several matters in the case, the judge — citing Penal Code Section 1370, which specifies commitment upon finding mental incompetence — ordered Daniel sent to one of five state hospitals “when a bed becomes available.”
Additionally, anti-psychotic drugs may be administered voluntarily; the maximum confinement period is two years; and, within 90 days, the hospital’s medical director “shall issue a progress report to the court,” the court documents indicated.
In the meantime, Daniel remains in the Stanton Correctional Facility in Fairfield on a no-bail hold.
On Tuesday, Daniel was represented by Deputy Public Defender Dan Messner. Deputy District Attorney Christine De Leo appeared for Mark E. Ornellas, who leads the prosecution for the DA’s Office.
At his jail arraignment earlier this year, Daniel pleaded not guilty, according to court records.
Besides kidnapping, he is charged with willful cruelty to a child resulting in possible injury or death, a felony; evading a law enforcement officer with wanton disregard for safety, a felony; and battery on a spouse or former spouse or date, a misdemeanor.
An initial preliminary hearing for him was scheduled for April 16, but it was vacated.
During Daniel’s arraignment, Judge E. Bradley Nelson issued a criminal protective order against him and also denied his Faretta waiver. The latter is a petition to the court to represent himself and to act as his own attorney, rights stemming from the Sixth and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Court records show Rio Vista dispatchers were notified just after noon on March 28 that a suspect in a domestic violence incident was last seen heading toward the city on Highway 12.
“The suspect was reported to have assaulted a woman in a Fairfield park before dragging her into a car and speeding off,” according to wording in a social media post issued by Rio Vista police.
Fairfield officers chased the suspect, later identified as Daniel, “who dangerously fled from the pursuing officers.”
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Around that time, Rio Vista police said other calls came in reporting a car on Highway 12 that matched Daniel’s vehicle description driving recklessly near highways 12 and 113.
According to officials, officers set up at possible points of entry from the west and caught the vehicle as it came into town.
“The units converged on the suspect vehicle, stopping it in front of the St. Joseph Cemetery,” the social media post indicated. “The suspect surrendered without incident, and a woman and a 2-year-old child were freed from the suspect.”
Daniel was arrested by Fairfield officers on suspicion of felony kidnapping and the other charges, then booked into jail. His bail at the time was set at $75,000.
Rio Vista fire fighters also responded to the incident, according to officials, and attended to the woman and a 2-year-old child. They also treated Daniel for an unspecified injury he is believed to have suffered before being stopped by officers.