Charges Against Retarded Man Suspended : Courts: Eric Schimmel will enter a vocational program. He had vanished after his release from jail.

The saga of a mentally retarded teen-ager who disappeared after being released from jail without his parents’ knowledge appeared to end on a happy note Tuesday in a Ventura County courtroom.

Municipal Judge Art Gutierrez ruled that criminal charges against Eric Schimmel, 19, of Frazier Park be suspended for two years while he is enrolled in a state-funded vocational program.

“He’s going to get the help he needs,” said his mother, Linda Smith, after the ruling.

“This is one of the few cases where all parties are satisfied with the outcome,” added Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Brenda C. Andrade.

Schimmel was arrested Aug. 7 by sheriff’s deputies after he climbed into a neighbor’s van. He was booked on suspicion of vehicle tampering, loitering and petty theft and transported from the remote Frazier Park mountain community to Ventura County Jail.

An arrest report alleged that a bottle opener belonging to the van’s owner was found in Schimmel’s possession.

When Schimmel was released from jail on his own recognizance without his parents being notified, he became the subject of a widespread manhunt. He was found unharmed a few days later in Fillmore, about 20 miles from Ventura.

Although the district attorney’s office originally said it would pursue charges against Schimmel, prosecutors subsequently changed their minds.

Shortly after the arrest, Andrade had said it was almost impossible to tell from the sheriff’s report whether Schimmel had a disability problem.

On Tuesday, the 6-foot, 175-pound Schimmel, dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, stood before Gutierrez along with his mother and his attorney, Mark S. Armijo of Santa Ana. He said nothing.

If Schimmel successfully completes classes at a vocational center in Bakersfield, to which he will commute from his home, criminal charges will be dropped, Andrade said.

The judge also ordered Schimmel to pay the van owner $53.87 for a window that was broken during the break-in.