A sex offender arrested in July on suspicion of felony attempted burglary and vandalism charges has been ruled as incompetent to stand trial.
Derrick W. Meyer, 58, was sent to the Atascadero State Hospital for treatment, including involuntary anti-psychotic medication to assist him in regaining trial competency, according to San Benito County Courthouse records.
Hollister police arrested Meyer in the early morning hours of July 26 in the 700 block of Calais Drive.
The district attorney following the July 26 arrest charged him on suspicion of two two counts of attempted burglary and two counts of vandalism under $1,000, according to records.
He was found incompetent to stand trial on Sept. 12 and had the case continued to Sept. 26, where the initial ruling was validated. He’s set for his next hearing at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 18 before Judge Steven Sanders. Meyer is represented by public defender Greg LaForge.
According to the Hollister Police Department report released following the arrest:
On July 26, 2019 the Hollister Police Department responded to a report of a man trying to break into a residence.
At about 2:08 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 700 block of Calais Drive. Officer Umstead arrived and spoke a resident who stated a male had broken his son’s bedroom window and was trying to get inside of his residence.
Officer Hutchins and Officer Pedro Torres arrived. As Officer Umstead was speaking with the caller, they heard glass breaking at a nearby house. Officers went to investigate the breaking glass further and they located a man in the back yard of the neighboring house identified as Meyer.
Officers attempted to detain Meyer but he resisted officers and tried to retrieve a straight razor/homemade cutting instrument that was tucked into his waistband. Officers were able to detain Meyer after a brief struggle.
Officer Umstead evaluated Meyer for possibly being under the influence of a controlled substance. Meyer was eventually arrested and charged with attempted burglary, vandalism, failure to register as a sex offender, and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
