WOODLAND — The man accused of intentionally hitting three bicyclists with a stolen rental vehicle near Clarksburg earlier this week pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges including three counts of premeditated attempted murder — his latest case in a criminal history spanning 20 years and at least four counties.
Alamar Cyril Houston also faces a slew of other charges in connection with Tuesday’s incident on South River Road that left two of the three cyclists, both 17 years old, hospitalized with major injuries.
Appearing in Yolo Superior Court in a wheelchair, Houston, a 38-year-old transient, entered the not-guilty plea through his court-appointed public defender. He refused to confer with her prior to the court proceedings, saying, “I represent myself.”
Houston also tried to engage visiting Judge Doris Shockley in a discussion about his medical needs, but Shockley advised him to take the issue up with his lawyer. She set a July 15 preliminary hearing date.
In addition to the three attempted murder counts, Houston is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence of drugs causing injury, second-degree robbery, vehicle theft, evading police and harming a police dog in connection with Tuesday’s events.
They began shortly after 6 p.m., as Don Dumaine and the two teenagers — all from Sacramento — were taking part in a club ride along the Sacramento River, cycling northbound toward West Sacramento.
“Just out of nowhere, this car comes up to the side of me,” Dumaine, 51, said in an interview Tuesday at his home, his left leg and arm still scarred with road rash. “I instantly knew, this guy was going to hit me.”
As the blue Hyundai pushed against Dumaine’s left side, Dumaine leaned into the car to avoid veering off the road, then fell onto the roadway as the car sped away.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Houston drove another quarter-mile before coming upon the two teenagers and striking them from behind, throwing them off their bikes. One was airlifted from the scene due to the extent of his injuries.
“It’s just shocking, the purposeful nature of the whole thing,” Dumaine said. “What is just so horrific is when he came upon the kids, he just ran over them.”
From there, Houston continued driving into West Sacramento, where police who had received a be-on-the-lookout alert from the CHP spotted the damaged vehicle near West Capitol Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard, West Sacramento police Sgt. Roger Kinney said.
An attempt to stop the vehicle instead turned into a high-speed pursuit across the Tower Bridge into downtown Sacramento, where Houston assaulted a police K-9, Diesel, who apprehended him as he tried to flee from his car on foot, according to Kinney.
Prior to the chase, Houston allegedly assaulted a Walgreens clerk who confronted him during a shoplifting incident, which escalated the act to a robbery, Kinney said.
Prosecutors and online court records indicate Houston’s criminal history is extensive, dating back to at least 1995 in counties including Sacramento, Yolo, Solano and Glenn. The offenses have ranged from theft to domestic violence to robbery.
He was arrested for petty theft with a prior, a charge that carried five enhancements for prior prison terms, last summer in Yolo County, but the case was suspended for about a month due to Houston’s commitment to a mental-health institution, according to court records.
His release in November was followed by the case’s reduction from a felony to a misdemeanor under the newly passed Proposition 47, the state ballot measure that reduces penalties for certain offenses. Houston was released from jail on his own recognizance but subsequently failed to appear in court, prompting a warrant to be issued for his arrest.
Davis police responding to reports of an intoxicated man throwing rocks at passing cars on April 5 arrested Houston on suspicion of being drunk in public, but the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges in the case, court records show.
Just over two weeks later, on April 22, Houston pleaded no contest in Sacramento Superior Court to a misdemeanor count of misappropriating lost property, which drew him a sentence of three years of probation and 120 days in jail, though his alleged acts on Tuesday indicate he was released well before then.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurenKeene
