Simply three days after being granted immunity from prosecution underneath California’s psychological well being diversion legal guidelines, a Napa man allegedly dedicated a brutal homicide, prompting severe considerations a couple of system supposed to guard public security.
On Tuesday, Napa County prosecutors filed homicide costs towards Ramiro Ochoa Mendoza, 36, for the killing of Noel Batres, 47, whose physique was discovered underneath a bridge on July 3.
Mendoza, who had a historical past of prison offenses and poor compliance on probation, was deemed mentally incompetent to face trial earlier this 12 months on misdemeanor costs together with violating a restraining order and resisting arrest.
Regardless of quite a few makes an attempt by protection counsel to dismiss the circumstances outright, the Courtroom, following legislative pointers, ordered Mendoza right into a psychological well being diversion program with supervised launch for the 2 remaining misdemeanors.
Mendoza, nevertheless, failed to look for his scheduled psychological well being diversion overview and was deemed non-compliant with the phrases of this system.
“Mendoza promptly failed to look in courtroom for his psychological well being diversion overview and was discovered to be out of compliance with the diversion program,” the Napa County District Legal professional’s Workplace mentioned.
Even with repeated violations and non-compliance, the courtroom was legally required to dismiss costs attributable to Mendoza’s psychological well being standing and the misdemeanor-only nature of his offenses.
“As a result of the legislation prohibits prosecution from persevering with in circumstances the place a defendant is deemed incompetent on solely misdemeanor costs, the courtroom had no alternative however to dismiss each remaining circumstances and did so on July 8, 2025,” the DA’s workplace mentioned.
The dismissal adopted latest legislative reforms, particularly Senate Invoice 317, that bar courts from restoring competency in misdemeanor-only circumstances, even when the defendant exhibits indicators of escalating conduct.
Mendoza was re-arrested on July 11 and now faces homicide costs with enhancements associated to his prior offenses and the alleged brutality of Batres’ killing.
The case is already fueling debate over the boundaries of psychological well being protections and their implications for public security.
“This case highlights the real-world affect of the latest authorized reforms, the place courts are required to prioritize psychological well being therapy over conventional prosecution, even when defendants exhibit an unwillingness or incapability to adjust to court-ordered applications,” Napa County Deputy District Legal professional Katie Susemihl mentioned in an announcement.
A GoFundMe marketing campaign was launched to help with returning Batres’ stays to his dwelling nation of Guatemala.
In accordance with the web page, Batres was a resident of Napa for 26 years.
“Noel was not good by any means. Nevertheless, he was an exquisite, caring, light soul,” the web page learn.
“We ask that you simply please assist us ship Noel again dwelling to be seen by his speedy household one final time earlier than they lay him to relaxation.”
Mendoza was being held with out bail on the Napa County Division of Corrections.
