Evaluation ordered for man accused of firing at deputies
Santa Fean’s mental health must be examined to be released under father’s care
A man accused of firing a gun at Santa Fe County sheriff ’s deputies at his La Cienega home last month must undergo a mental health evaluation before he can be released, a state district judge ruled Tuesday.
Judge T. Glenn Ellington accepted an agreement between Allen James Mirabal’s
defense attorney, Shaheen Rassoul, and Assistant District Attorney Nicole Manning to have Mirabal examined by a mental health expert to determine if he can be safely released to the supervision of his father.
Mirabal, 39, was charged with multiple felonies stemming from the Nov. 27 incident, in which he is accused of firing multiple shots at deputies from a window of his home while a small child was in the residence.
Mirabal told deputies he started firing because he believed people were shooting at him, according to court documents.
Mirabal was arrested and charged with three counts of assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a peace officer, abuse of a child, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a household member, criminal damage to property over $1,000, receiving stolen property and shooting at a dwelling or occupied building.
He also faces a misdemeanor count of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
Prosecutors filed a motion Dec. 2 seeking a hearing to determine if Mirabal should be held without bond until his trial, but Manning and Rassoul agreed he should first have a mental evaluation.
Mirabal could be permitted to stay with his father, one of the victims in the case, under electronic monitoring if the judge grants his release.
“The questions are: Is he manageable? That is unknown at this time because there is no diagnosis,” Ellington said. “We need to know the answer to those questions before we know whether it would be safe to release him back into the community under third-party custody of his parents.”
Rassoul said he would try to expedite an evaluation.