A dozen mentally ill suspects facing criminal charges could be released if Orange County cannot find a facility to house them, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said the mentally ill inmates with criminal charges pending go to state hospitals for up to two years to restore competency to move forward with a trial. If they can’t, they are remanded to a mental health facility. However, the county lacks an adequate number of beds, leading to the possibility of the inmates being released into Orange County, according to Spitzer.
He added that the inmates include violent criminals accused of murder and sexual assault. The releases could occur within the next two months, with the earliest scheduled for Friday.
“The reason I’ve sounded this alarm is because I’m scared to death for the public,” Spitzer said. “If we don’t have a treatment bed where they can go to be worked on by professionals to be restored with respect to their capacity, they have to be released from custody.”
The Orange County Health Care Agency, which oversees the organization responsible for securing the treatment beds, said the DA’s press release contained “incomplete” information.
“This is a dynamic situation with many moving parts,” the county health agency wrote. “The HCA will have more complete information to share on Friday.”
Spitzer urged the county’s Board of Supervisors to hold a special hearing about the issue.
“We are doing everything that we can to prevent anyone who is a violent criminal from being released, period,” Supervisor Katrina Foley said. “We are deeply concerned about the victims and the stress they might be feeling right now.”
After learning about the possible releases, victims’ families pleaded with authorities to prevent the suspects’ releases.
For Kelli Casey, whose brother Kyle Avila was brutally killed with a hatchet in 2016, the thought that his alleged killer could be released in a few weeks is.
“He cannot be released, absolutely not,” Casey said. “You cannot turn out mentally ill patients who have committed murder, horrendous, horrendous murder.”
Another man who could be released is Manvir Sandher, who was charged with allegedly beating his neighbor in Fountain Valley in June 2023. His mother, Baljeet Sandher, called on officials to keep her son in custody.
“This is really an injustice,” Baljeet Sandher said. “He can hurt anybody, or he can hurt himself. He is not safe on the street.”
Orange County was given a two-week extension to find beds for Sandher and another inmate on Thursday.
