WOODLAND — An attempted murder suspect accused of striking three bicyclists with a car intends to argue that he suffered from mental illness at the time of his alleged actions, entering a plea Friday of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Alamar Cyril Houston, 39, last month was ordered to stand trial on 19 charges stemming from the June 30, 2015, crime spree, which spanned three counties and included two vehicle thefts, skirmishes with other motorists, an assault on a store clerk and a police pursuit in downtown Sacramento.
By pleading insanity, Houston claims his mental illness prevented him from understanding the quality of his actions or that they were legally or morally wrong — an issue that will be decided at his trial, scheduled to begin Sept. 12.
If found guilty during the trial’s criminal phase, Houston then would undergo a sanity phase to determine whether he should be imprisoned or committed to a state mental hospital.
The issue of Houston’s mental health also arose earlier in the case, when his defense attorney questioned whether he was competent to stand trial — that is, able to understand the nature of the court proceedings and assist his lawyer in his defense. The incompetency bid was withdrawn shortly before Houston’s preliminary hearing.
Featuring 20 witnesses in all, the hearing outlined a string of alleged crimes that began in Colusa County with the theft of a pickup truck, which later was abandoned in favor of a rental car stolen from Sacramento International Airport.
Witnesses said that vehicle, a blue Hyundai Tucson, was used during run-ins with two motorcyclists in downtown Sacramento, followed by the apparently intentional striking of the three bicyclists on South River Road near Clarksburg that left two teen boys hospitalized with major injuries.
Prosecutors say Houston then punched a Walgreens clerk in West Sacramento before fleeing in the Hyundai, which officers recognized from a be-on-the-lookout bulletin from the bicyclists’ hit-and-run. A chase ensued into Sacramento, where Houston reportedly abandoned the car and wrangled with a police K-9 deployed to apprehend him.
Houston admitted to using methamphetamine frequently and on the day of his alleged crimes, although a blood draw taken hours after his arrest revealed no signs of drugs or alcohol in his system, according to preliminary hearing testimony.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene