WOODLAND, Calif. — A Yolo County Superior Court judge Thursday denied a prosecutor’s motion to terminate mental health diversion for an accused man, ruling instead that additional supervision and treatment were warranted.
In a hearing at Yolo Superior Court, Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Spatola argued to remove the mental health diversion from the accused because, according to him, the accused is “not suitable” for it.
Spatola told the court that on Sept. 5, 2025, the accused was granted mental health diversion but had an issue of being kicked out of Cache Creek on Oct. 16, 2025. Spatola added that the court relied on information provided by the mental health diversion program to conclude that diversion should continue to be granted to the accused.
Fourteen days after being granted mental health diversion, he committed crimes that would “disqualify” him from mental health services, reiterated Spatola. These crimes included felonies: “aggravation” and stealing from Walmart in West Sacramento.
This violence, Spatola stated, makes the accused project a “lack of commitment in mental health treatment.” Spatola said he hopes the court can consider mental health options once the accused is in custody.
He also said that the accused’s wife was a victim of the accused but noted that she still is supportive of him getting treatment. However, he stated the court “should not rely on her support to [accused’s] mental health treatment,” because “she still loves him,” and only supported the treatment after she found out about jail time, argued Spatola.
Spatola mentioned that the physician also supports the accused’s mental health treatment, but he said he believes that physicians are always trying to find new treatment and new options, doing everything they can to help.
Deputy Public Defender Sarah MacDonald responded by stating that the accused had been participating in the Cache Creek mental health diversion program but left following the death of his mother, which led to his relapse. According to the physicians’ review, he requires additional support and treatment.
Judge McAdam denied Spatola’s request to terminate mental health diversion because he believes that the accused was “not properly managed.”
He further asserted that when dealing with substance abuse, it is important to make an effort on mental health and therefore a case manager needs to be assigned to the case, along with mental health diversion, in addition to a parole officer. He also responded to the prosecutor’s argument regarding the accused’s wife by stating he believed it was thoughtful that she was trying to get help for her husband.
“We have someone who needs programming [as he] has success and theft charges,” Judge McAdam told the court.
Despite the prosecutor’s argument, Judge McAdam ruled to conditionally release the accused on his own recognizance with a mental health treatment program, require a case manager with minimum weekly contact, and set his bail at no bail.
If this does not work, the accused will be prosecuted and will face greater supervision, Judge McAdam stated.
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Categories: Breaking News Court Watch Northern California Court Watch Vanguard Court Watch Yolo County Tags: Court Watch Criminal Justice Reform Mental Health Diversion substance abuse treatment Yolo County Yolo County Superior Court