People v. Casciaro CA3

I. BACKGROUND

In October 2022, defendant was charged with carjacking (§ 215, subd. (a)—count 1), unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)—count 2) with a prior vehicle theft conviction (§ 666.5, subd. (a)), driving under the influence of drugs (Veh. Code, § 23152, subd. (f)—count 3) with a conviction for the same offense within the prior 10 years (Veh. Code, § 23540). Defendant pled not guilty and denied the enhancement allegations. In November 2022, defendant’s appointed counsel declared a doubt as to his competency pursuant to section 1368. The trial court suspended criminal proceedings and appointed an expert forensic psychologist, Dr. Marine Jakubowski, to examine defendant under sections 1368 and 1369. On December 16, 2022, Dr. Jakubowski attempted to meet with defendant, but he refused. According to her report, Correctional Health Facility documentation showed that defendant generally refused contact with mental health staff and denied having a history of mental health symptoms or treatment. At that time, defendant did not have a mental health diagnosis nor was there documentation of a psychotropic medication prescription. Citing time…