The man accused of repeating the offences in 2023 could undergo psychiatric diversion. (Times Standard file photo)
A man suspected of a 2023 crime spree in Eureka that ended in a police shootout may be able to receive psychiatric diversion treatment instead of a criminal trial.
Brandon Widmark and his brother, Jesse Widmark, are accused of robbing a man in a Bayshore Mall parking lot, pistol-whipping him, then fleeing at a high rate of speed, hitting pedestrians, trapping Widmark’s girlfriend in their car, T-crash-ing it into another vehicle, and attempting to shoot a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office officer trying to arrest them. His attorney, Rebecca Linkous, said he was evaluated by psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Wilson and found to be eligible for mental health diversion.
“The doctors found him eligible and suitable,” Linkous said.
A hearing was scheduled for Thursday, but the report remains under seal because Linkous never gave a copy of it to Deputy District Attorney Luke Bernthal. Bernthal opposed the diversion, but never had a chance to review the report (Linkous handed the actual report to Bernthal in court on Thursday), so the hearing was postponed to Monday.
The confidentiality of the report is likely to be an issue between the parties. Linkous argued that because it contains confidential medical information, the document should be sealed and unavailable to the public. Bernthal disagreed.
“Mr Widmark is taking issue with his own mental health report… to do so would make the report no longer confidential,” Bernthal said.
Linkous countered that if the matter were presented at trial, the report would certainly be in public view, but not in a mental health diversion hearing. If the court decides to proceed with the diversion, the case against Widmark could be dismissed if he complies with the court-ordered treatment program.
Judge Stephen Steward, who presided over Thursday’s hearing but will not be the judge when the hearing proceeds next Monday, appeared to side with Bernthal’s reasoning, saying mental health diversion procedures involve an assessment of the defendant and should be adversarial processes.
“There is certainly a public interest in these documents,” Steward said.
The Widmark brothers’ trial is scheduled for June 24. Linkous plans to file a motion for a continuance, but Jesse Widmark’s attorney, Andrea Sullivan, said she will not oppose it.
Jackson Guilfoyle can be contacted at 707-441-0506.
