WOODLAND — The question of whether a man accused of intentionally hitting three bicyclists with a stolen vehicle near Clarksburg is mentally competent to stand trial may not be easily answered.
A psychiatric evaluation conducted at the request of Alamar Cyril Houston’s attorney has deemed Houston incompetent — that is, incapable of understanding the nature of the court proceedings or rationally assisting in his defense, Supervising Deputy Public Defender Sally Fredericksen said in court Wednesday.
An incompetency finding would result in Houston being hospitalized in a mental-health facility with the goal of rendering him competent, at which point his criminal proceedings would resume.
But Yolo County prosecutors aren’t ready to accept the psychiatrist’s conclusion, and on Wednesday asked Judge David Rosenberg for either a competency trial or the appointment of a second mental-health professional to offer a supplemental opinion.
“It appears to me there’s information he did not consider,” Supervising Deputy District Attorney Garrett Hamilton said of the first evaluation, conducted by Davis psychiatrist Captane Thomson.
According to Hamilton, Houston has a “well-documented history” of raising mental competency-related issues in his prior criminal cases, once in Yolo County but primarily in Solano County — information that prosecutors still are in the process of gathering. Hamilton questioned whether Thomson would modify his conclusion with a full set of facts.
Fredericksen objected to both a second evaluation and a trial. Following a discussion with Hamilton over whether prosecutors have the legal authority to make either request, Rosenberg invited attorneys on both sides to file legal briefs on the issue.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 4.
Houston, 38, observed the proceedings from the courtroom jury box Wednesday. On several occasions he appeared to quietly talk to himself, and twice spoke aloud asking to speak to Rosenberg, who advised him to consult with his attorney.
Meanwhile, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office has filed several new charges in the case, which stems from Houston’s alleged actions on the evening of June 30 on South River Road near Clarksburg.
Authorities said Houston hit one bicyclist, 51-year-old Don Dumaine of Sacramento, from the side, causing him to fall to the ground, before proceeding further down the road and striking two 17-year-old cyclists from behind. He then fled the scene, allegedly leading police on a high-speed pursuit from West Sacramento into downtown Sacramento before being taken into custody.
While Dumaine escaped with only road-rash injuries, both teens were hospitalized with more serious injuries and continue to recover.
Because the acts were believed to be intentional, Houston faces three counts of premeditated attempted murder, as well as driving under the influence causing injury, evading police and vehicle theft.
The new counts filed against Houston include one count of hit and run causing serious bodily injury, two counts of hit and run causing bodily injury, one count of assault with a deadly weapon (reportedly on a motorcyclist in Sacramento during the police chase) and enhancements for his four prior prison terms, said Deputy District Attorney Matt De Moura, who also is prosecuting the case.
Houston has previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, but criminal proceedings have been suspended pending a ruling on the competency issue.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene