"SAN JOSE - Carlos Arevalo Carranza, the man charged with brutally killing San Jose resident Bambi Larson six years ago, touching off a public and political firestorm over Santa Clara County's sanctuary policies, is headed for a conservatorship after two incompetency findings doomed his prospects for a murder trial. At a Superior Court hearing Friday, the county Public Guardian, which operates under the County Counsel's Office, presented a petition to place Arevalo into a county-managed conservatorship."
"Arevalo was initially declared incompetent in 2023, but after about a year and half at the Napa facility, he was declared "restored" and was brought back to county jail to face trial. His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Miguel Rodriguez, quickly challenged the restoration classification, and documented Arevalo's swift regression, which included his refusal to take his medication, visit his attorneys, or go to court."
"The district attorney's office secured a court order to force him to take an injectable medication, but that was not effective. On April 14, Arevalo was declared incompetent a second time, and sent back to Napa State Hospital. State law mandates a two-year deadline to restore someone's competency. On May 23, a Napa State Hospital doctor, who had earlier declared Arevalo competent, determined he could not be rehabilitated before the deadline expired this past fall. He was sent back to county jail."
Carlos Arevalo Carranza, charged with killing Bambi Larson six years ago, faces a county-managed conservatorship after two judicial findings of incompetency closed off a murder trial. The Public Guardian petition resulted in a judge approving Arevalo's release to the guardian’s supervision, meaning transfer from county jail to a locked psychiatric facility while the petition is litigated. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Arevalo spent time at Napa State Hospital, was once declared restored, then regressed by refusing medication, attorney visits and court appearances. A court-ordered injectable medication failed, a second incompetency was found, and a doctor determined restoration could not be achieved before the two-year deadline.
Read at The Mercury News
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