A man shot by Berkeley police during a standoff last year has been released to a pretrial diversion program, putting his criminal case on hold.
Last week, Judge Elisa Della-Piana granted a defense motion to suspend the criminal case against Ricardo Ruiz in lieu of mental health diversion.
The Berkeley Scanner was the only news outlet to attend the hearing.
Ruiz had been charged with 11 felonies stemming from an armed standoff with Berkeley police in April 2025.
Before the shooting, Ruiz, a Trump supporter, had made headlines “trolling” Berkeley protests, posting videos of his exploits on his YouTube channel. Earlier this year, a jury found him not guilty of misdemeanor assault following one of those incidents.
During the April 2025 standoff, which followed a domestic violence report from a good Samaritan, an officer shot Ruiz in the face. He’s been in custody ever since.
Under state law, defendants with a qualifying mental health diagnosis can seek pretrial diversion as long as the court finds a nexus — which is now presumed — with any criminal allegations.
To deny the request, there must be evidence that the defendant is likely to commit murder or some other “super strike” if released from custody.
“I simply cannot do that based on the record that I have,” Della-Piana said during the June 16 hearing. “The legislature has set a very high standard. I don’t think that’s met here.”
Prosecutor Priscilla Vuong said that was because no one had actually done a “structured violence risk assessment,” adding that the psychiatrist who reviewed Ruiz’s file for the district attorney’s office had found “multiple red flags.”
(The psychiatrist’s assessment and most other legal documents from the mental health case are not public records, severely limiting the available information.)
Vuong said the psychiatrist had not done an in-person interview with Ruiz because Della-Piana had not allowed it, in this and at least one other mental health case.
Vuong argued that the psychiatrist had not made a mental health diagnosis, at least in part, due to her limited access.
And she said the judge was not required to accept the defense expert’s diagnosis of delusional disorder.
“There’s a difference between delusional disorder versus extreme political ideology,” Vuong said.
The day of the standoff, she said, police officers had been “frankly terrified” they would be “seriously hurt or killed” by Ruiz, who chose to escalate the situation rather than respond to police efforts to resolve it peacefully.
Matthew Dalton, the public defender who represents Ruiz, said Berkeley police had described perfectly amiable interactions with Ruiz prior to the standoff.
He said Ruiz’s mental health disorder had led him to think the police response to his home had been a setup rather than a legitimate call for service.
He also pointed out that Ruiz had no felony convictions, and that his prior misdemeanor cases were for disturbing the peace and reckless driving a decade earlier.
Dalton acknowledged that it had taken Ruiz some time after his arrest to pursue the diversion option. He initially rejected mental health treatment. That changed in December.
“This case has happened over a long arc,” Dalton said. “We had him assessed and here’s where we are.”
Dalton also emphasized that Ruiz had been held accountable and was ready to move forward.
“Mr. Ruiz was shot. And he’s now been in jail for 14 months,” Dalton said. “He … has been held accountable from that day until today.”
In her ruling, Della-Piana ordered Ruiz to participate in mental health diversion for two full years, the maximum allowed by the state in felony cases.
Up to three months of the program will take place in a New Bridge residential treatment facility focused on mental health and substance use, followed by an “intensive outpatient substance use” program in a “sober living environment,” perhaps at the East Oakland Recovery Center.
During his time in residential treatment, the judge ordered Ruiz to abide by the terms of “ankle monitor-house arrest.” Exactly how long he will have to wear an ankle monitor has not been determined.
He’ll have weekly “trauma-informed therapy” sessions and was ordered to produce written “reflections” about his progress every six months.
Ruiz is now required to take medication and have psychiatry appointments, as well as weekly case management sessions with BOSS.
He was also ordered not to possess “deadly or dangerous weapons, ammunition or body armor” after his release.
Ruiz had already been prohibited from firearm possession, due to his criminal record, but had a shotgun and high-powered air rifle in his home before the April 2025 standoff, authorities have said.
For now, Della-Piana has denied a prosecution request for a “four-way search clause,” which would allow police to search his person, home, vehicle and any possessions under his control without probable cause or a warrant.
Vuong argued that it would be important for police to be able to search Ruiz — given that he’d previously had weapons he wasn’t supposed to have, and brandished them during the standoff while making violent threats against officers.
The issue of how Ruiz might interact with police in the future was a recurring theme during the hearing and at a prior court date about mental health diversion in May.
Vuong said police should be able to check on Ruiz, particularly if he moves back to Berkeley, to confirm he has no dangerous weapons.
Della-Piana said a search clause would potentially “create more law enforcement interactions” — which could increase the risk of conflict.
“I thought quite a bit about that,” the judge said. “It seems to cut both ways.”
The judge said she’d “take it under consideration” and perhaps add the search clause later.
The judge also took several moments to explain the legislature’s intention in its approach to mental health diversion overall.
She said the goal had not been to determine “the appropriate punishment” for someone charged with a crime, but to “get at what would prevent this behavior from happening in the future” — increasing public safety for the individual and the community.
Della-Piana praised Ruiz for his approach to treatment so far, noting that he had participated in “every possible group at Santa Rita Jail” and shown “nearly 100% medication adherence.”
“I rarely see someone so committed to what is available,” she said. She took it as a sign that he was likely to comply with treatment going forward.
At the end of the hearing, she reminded Ruiz to continue to follow the rules.
“If you decide to leave treatment, the court will terminate mental health diversion,” she said, and he would again face criminal charges.
Della-Piana said she’d keep a close eye on the case, with monthly check-ins and written reports from providers, along with Ruiz’s own “reflections.”
“I’ll look forward to hearing how that’s going,” Della-Piana said.
Ruiz was released last week on his own recognizance. He is set to appear in court July 14 for his next check-in.
Read more about the Ricardo Ruiz case in past Scanner coverage.
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