'Doctor's report' still pending for woman accused of killing Bay Area police officer

A Solano County Superior Court judge on Tuesday again postponed a date for a mental competency evaluation for the woman accused of killing Vacaville police officer Matthew Bowen while under the influence of alcohol in July.

Serena CJ Rodriguez, who was at the defense table, was originally scheduled to be questioned by Andrea Shelley, a clinical and forensic psychologist from San Francisco. Shelley was to prepare a “1368 medical report” on whether the 24-year-old Auburn resident was competent to stand trial.

But as the morning hearing began, Judge Wendy Getty noted that Shelley had made “no special effort” to question Rodriguez and therefore had not filed a report.

At one point, while sitting next to Assistant Public Defender Oscar Bobrow and being briefly questioned by the judge, Rodriguez began to talk excitedly, interrupting Getty several times as he became more and more agitated.

Getty refused to stop talking and ordered that Rodriguez, who was shackled at the waist, be led out of the courtroom and taken to a waiting area just off the courtroom. This room was equipped with a window and a microphone so that Rodriguez could see and hear the proceedings but not disrupt them.

But Rodriguez continued to rant at times, often loudly, and did not stop during the 15-minute morning hearing, which was attended by about two dozen Vacaville police officers, including Police Chief Ian Schumtzler and relatives of Matthew Bowen, the officer Rodriguez is accused of killing during a roadside traffic stop.

Afterward, Getty spoke with Assistant District Attorney Paul Sequeira, who is leading the prosecution, and Bobrow and said she would re-refer Shelley to question Rodriguez.

Sequeira said Shelley could not “hold us hostage” and delay the process unnecessarily. Getty agreed and proposed “a dual process” so that at least a competency report could be obtained.

Getty also hired Sacramento-based psychologist Janice Nakagawa to examine the defendant and prepare a report, which takes its name from Penal Code Section 1368. The judge then scheduled the release of the report and findings for October 21 at 8:30 a.m. The judge also ordered additional funding for Shelley's second scheduled interview.

Based on the findings of the report, a judge may reopen the case or order the defendant to be detained in a prison or placed in one of five state hospitals until he or she regains his or her composure.

By law, a defendant who is found mentally incompetent and unable to defend himself may not be tried. However, once saneness is established, the defendant may face further legal proceedings, including a jury trial.

Meanwhile, the case against Rodriguez, who is currently being held without bail in the Solano County Jail in Fairfield, remains on hold.

As previously reported, Getty received a letter from Shelley on August 15 informing the court that Rodriguez had failed to attend a previously scheduled online interview to determine her competency to stand trial.

Official court records did not indicate why Rodriguez missed her appointment with Shelley.

During an arraignment scheduled for July 22 in Department 1, Rodriguez, shackled and clad in a prison jumpsuit, with his head freshly shaved, sat at the defense table with his back to the gallery, which was filled to standing room with dozens of Vacaville police officers, other department employees, sheriff's deputies, Bowen's relatives and District Attorney Krishna Abrams.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Dan Messner then appeared to tell Judge Jeffrey C. Kauffman that his client denied all charges and sentence enhancements. However, Rodriguez began to interrupt him and asked for a private attorney-client meeting. The judge allowed this, and Rodriguez and Messner left the courtroom and went into a smaller side room. Kauffman returned to his office.

Nearly half an hour later, Kauffman called Messner and Sequeira into his office to discuss a “Marsden hearing” – a defendant's request to fire a court-appointed attorney on the grounds that the attorney was providing inadequate assistance or that there was a conflict between the attorney and the defendant.

The judge cleared the courtroom to hear Rodriguez's plea.

At around 2:30 p.m., everyone returned to the courtroom and Kauffman denied Rodriguez's request for a new attorney. Messner requested that the criminal proceedings be stayed until the “medical report” was ready.

Rodriguez's hearing on July 22 took place one day before Bowen's memorial service at the Father's House in Vacaville.

According to the criminal complaint filed on July 15, Rodriguez, who is 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 99 pounds, is accused of premeditated murder.