The man accused of shooting and wounding Vacaville K-9 Officer Murph last month seeks pretrial mental health diversion ahead of his preliminary hearing in Solano County Superior Court, The Reporter has learned.
An attorney for Darren Ronald Crail on Jan. 28 submitted a request that her client be allowed to participate in mental health diversion, something Crail consented to, court records show.
In her request to Judge Janice M. Williams, Deputy Public Defender Sormeh Yasaie noted Crail, a U.S. Army veteran with no prior criminal history, was eligible for the diversion. Additionally, Yasaie asserted that Crail, based on an unidentified mental health expert’s opinion, was “not an unreasonable risk of danger to the public.”
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Court documents show Crail, 52, returned to court on Jan. 31 for more proceedings, including a ruling on the diversion petition, but the judge put the matter over until Feb. 6, when it was delayed again.
Vacaville Police K-9 Murph was shot in the leg while attempting to apprehend a suspect, and the leg was amputated Wednesday night at the UCD Veterinary Hospital in Davis. A 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, he has returned home to recover. (Courtesy photo)
At that time, Deputy Public Defender Pamela Boskin represented Crail and Deputy District Attorney Matthew Olsen represented the DA’s Office, which filed a criminal complaint on Jan. 17.
Judge Williams scheduled the “military diversion intake” hearing and also a preliminary hearing setting at 8:30 a.m. March 6 in Department 25 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.
At his arraignment last month, Crail pleaded not guilty Tuesday to six felony counts during arraignment in Solano County Superior Court in Fairfield.
Crail, whose alleged actions last month led to the amputation of the Belgian Malinois’ left leg, entered the pleas during an afternoon session in Department 4 in the Hall of Justice.
Shortly after entering the pleas, Deputy Public Defender Mardin Malik, his defense attorney at the time, argued for bail for Crail, a gray-haired and bearded man who entered the courtroom in a wheelchair and was clad in a striped jail jumpsuit.
However, Deputy District Attorney Amanda Hopper, who represented the DA’s Office, said Crail should not be released from custody on bail because of the nature of the felony allegations: willfully harming a peace officer’s dog, illegally possessing an assault weapon, carrying a loaded handgun not his own, carrying a loaded firearm in public, discharging the firearm, and resisting arrest. Crail also is charged with making annoying calls to 911, a misdemeanor.
Judge Marlo S. Nisperos denied Malik’s request. She cited court records and “underlying facts” that he had “threatened himself and neighbors” on Jan. 15, the day he was arrested on suspicion of the shooting, which occurred after police arrived at a residence in the 300 block of Regency Circle in Vacaville.
Nisperos then assigned the case to Judge Williams’ courtroom.
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K-9 Officer Murph lost his left leg to amputation the night of Jan. 15 at UC Davis Veterinary Hospital. A 4-year-old male K-9, he later returned to his handler’s home.
As previously reported, police interactions with Crail actually began Jan. 14, said Lt. Chris Lechuga, the Vacaville Police Department’s public information officer and a patrol watch commander.
Crail had called police dispatch initially threatening to harm himself. Officers contacted him but he declined all resources and various services offered to him, Lechuga added.
The incident escalated after Crail called a department dispatcher, threatening to shoot members of the community. Police SWAT and crisis negotiators responded to the residence and attempted to get Crail to leave the home peacefully, Lechuga said.
K-9 Murph responded to the residence with his handler and several announcements were made to have Crail exit his home. Lechuga said that, when Crail finally exited the front door, he was armed with a rifle and refused to surrender peacefully.
K-9 Murph attempted to take Crail into custody, and he fired at least one rifle round, striking the dog in the leg, said Lechuga. Officers rushed the dog to the UCD hospital.
Lechuga couldn’t remember a time in his 17 years with the department that a K-9 officer was shot in Vacaville. He praised Murph for dedicated service to the department and city, where he has served for the past three years.
If convicted at trial, Crail, who remains in Solano County Jail, may face as much as three years in state prison for shooting and wounding K-9 Murph and perhaps more time for the firearms charges. He also could face a fine up to $10,000.
The Associated Press last year reported that at least six states were considering longer prison sentences and increased fines for harming or killing police dogs.
