Mother pleads for jail release of her daughter
‘Sad that she’s being criminalized for her condition,’ says city councilman and director of Puente Arizona
The mother of a 19-year-old woman diagnosed with several mental illnesses is pleading for authorities to release her daughter from a Maricopa County jail, where she has been in custody since February.
The mother of a 19-year-old woman diagnosed with several mental illnesses is pleading for authorities to release her daughter from a Maricopa County jail where she has been in custody since February.
The court has said she isn’t mentally competent. But because the charges remain, she must stay in jail and be treated until she is able to face the charges.
“It is my responsibility as her parent to stand up and speak for her,” Vangelina Gloria said of her daughter Valentina.
The migrant justice group Puente Arizona is also advocating for Valentina’s release.
“It’s sad that she’s being criminalized for her condition,” said Phoenix City Councilman Carlos Garcia, who is also the executive director of Puente Arizona.
Puente Arizona and the mother asked Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery to drop the charges against the teen. They also said Valentina’s mental illnesses are being aggravated in jail.
“We cannot treat a public-health crisis with cages,” said Jovana Renteria, the legal director for Puente Arizona.
Valentina has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, paranoia, depression, schizoaffective disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to court documents.
Charged after spitting at an officer
Valentina was charged with four counts of aggravated assault on a correction employee. She is accused of spitting at two Lower Buckeye Jail correctional officers as other employees were tying her down to a bed on Dec. 31.
She had been initially arrested and taken to jail after spitting at a nurse at a hospital where she was receiving mental health treatment. Her mother said her daughter’s reactions stemmed from her mental illnesses.
In May, a judge ruled Valentina was incompetent to face the charges and must stay in jail to receive treatment through the Restoration to Competency Program.
In a statement, Montgomery said cases similar to Valentina’s are complex. He also acknowledged the challenges communities face in assisting people with a mental illness.
“Issues involving mental health and criminal conduct where violence is also a factor regularly present challenges,” Montgomery said in the statement. “Nonetheless, we endeavor to identify therapeutic resolutions that take into account the needs of an offender and the public’s safety.”
“We endeavor to identify therapeutic resolutions that take into account the needs of an offender and the public’s safety.” Bill Montgomery Maricopa County Attorney
Restoration to Competency Program
A previous Arizona Republic analysis of the Restoration to Competency Program found that some people have concerns about how efficient it is. Among the key concerns was that the quality of jailhouse mental health care has declined over the years.
Also, defense attorneys have expressed frustration over disparate diagnoses in high-profile cases. Defendants with apparent mental illnesses are deemed competent by the county’s restoration providers and incompetent by the defense experts.
This can prolong cases for years.
Of almost 500 defendants sent for restoration from January 2017 to mid-May 2018, more than half were later found competent to go to trial, and many more cases were pending. Almost all of those defendants ultimately were convicted through plea agreements.
But those numbers don’t reveal how many people may be languishing in the restoration process after being referred in earlier years.
Vangelina, along with members from Puente Arizona, delivered a letter asking prosecutors to drop the charges against Valentina.
Gloria’s history with mental-health issues
Court documents and her mother allege Valentina had been surrounded by drugs growing up and is a survivor of sexual abuse. Court records also show that anytime Valentina has come in contact with police, the incidents stem from being in a mental health crisis.
For example, in March 2018 she was arrested and charged with interfering with an education institution. According to a Phoenix police report, she told someone in a phone call that she was near South Mountain High School cutting herself with a knife.
Valentina also told the person on the phone that she wanted to end her life and wanted to shoot up the school, according to the police report.
She was eventually sentenced to two and a half years of probation for charges stemming from that incident.
In December 2018, Gloria was in a behavioral health unit at St. Luke’s Hospital where she spat and punched two different nurses, according to a police report. She was yelling about her medication, the report says.
She told police a nurse had pushed her head against a wall which is why she attacked the nurses, the report says. She was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault.
The following month, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office dropped the charges without prejudice “for the reason that it serves the interests of justice.”
But, the County Attorney’s Office has continued to prosecute the charges stemming from Dec. 31, when she spat at the two correctional officers.