Rally Planned In Redwood City For Man Held In County Jail

By Astrid Casimire, Bay City News Foundation

REDWOOD CITY, CA — A rally is planned by immigration advocates Wednesday for a man who they say should be released to a local treatment center instead of waiting for months in jail.

The San Mateo County Coalition for Immigrant Rights will hold the rally Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Maguire Correctional Facility at 300 Bradford St. in Redwood City.

The rally is being held for Fernando Diaz Herrera, an immigrant father being held at the jail on felony charges while he awaits mental health treatment at Napa State Hospital, which has a six- to seven-month-long waiting list.

Herrera's family will give a statement along with public health advocates and representatives from Silicon Valley De-Bug, a San Jose-based advocacy organization.

Herrera is being held on a felony charge for showing a fake ID to a police officer while seeking treatment at a medical center in 2019 and for violating probation due to a prior felony stalking offense.

When Herrera was declared incompetent for trial due to his mental health condition, a San Mateo County Superior Court judge ordered treatment at Napa State Hospital on the recommendation of the District Attorney's Office. Wednesday was meant to be Herrera's status check regarding his treatment progress.

But because of the hospital's months-long waiting list, Herrera is being held at the county jail in administrative segregation.

During a hearing in early April, the judge denied a request from Herrera's attorney Dale Major to allow Herrera to be released to a local treatment facility, which has a spot for Herrera and would provide him with the mental health treatment he needs right away, according to Major.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said that the judge is legally right in requiring Herrera to go to Napa State Hospital, which he says is the only facility in the Bay Area that can treat mental incompetency for people on felony charges.

Wagstaffe said he believes it is wrong that Herrera is being held in jail with minimal treatment but that state hospitals are overwhelmed. There are 23 other people in San Mateo County awaiting a spot at the Napa State Hospital, he said.

At the last hearing, the judge also set bail at $500,000 for Herrera's current charge and decided on no bail for Herrera's probation violation. Advocates are calling on Wagstaffe to help reduce Herrera's bail, release him from jail or drop the charges entirely.

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