People v. Gniech CA3

BACKGROUND

On January 5, 2021, while at his grandmother’s home, defendant became agitated and threw a wooden plank at a woman who was helping his grandmother clean her home. The plank missed and defendant shoved the victim repeatedly; the victim was not injured. Defendant was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. (§ 245, subd. (a)(1).) It was further alleged that defendant had a prior conviction for a serious or violent felony. After denying defendant’s Marsden2 motion, the trial court suspended criminal proceedings and appointed an expert to evaluate defendant’s ability to stand trial. Defendant was found incompetent. As a result, in April 2021, the trial court committed defendant to the State Department of State Hospitals and ordered antipsychotic medication be administered. (§ 1370, subd. (a)(2)(B)(i).) On July 19, 2021, the trial court determined that defendant’s competence was restored and reinstated the criminal proceedings against him. That same day, defendant pleaded guilty to the sole charge of assault with a deadly weapon. In exchange for his plea, the prosecutor moved the court to dismiss both the remaining allegation and an unrelated pending matter…