Killer to Stay in Hospital Longer

A man who killed a father and daughter during a psychotic episode in the Ojai Valley nearly five years ago lost a bid for freedom Wednesday and will remain at a state hospital for at least another year.

During an afternoon hearing before Superior Court Judge Edward F. Brodie, defense attorneys asked for the release of Michael Hugo Garcia, since state doctors have found that he is no longer dangerous.

But Brodie rejected the request and agreed with a prosecutor, who said that county doctors have found Garcia unfit and that consensus is needed among all the doctors before release can be considered.

“In my opinion ... I don’t think he should ever be released,” Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathleen O’Brien said outside court. “No one was able to control him before.... I don’t think they will be able to now.”

Garcia, once a part-time Ojai Valley resident who lived next door to his victims, has been at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County since 1997. He did not attend Wednesday’s hearing.

“This is a denial of his rights,” attorney James Farley said after the hearing. Farley said he will appeal the ruling.

Garcia, now 47, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the killings of Albert “Jim” Alexander, 83, and his 43-year-old daughter, Helen Giardina, on May 22, 1997.

Garcia, a former furniture salesman, had gone to his neighbors’ home for dinner. He shot Alexander and Giardina, claiming he was killing the devil and a demon. Giardina’s then 3-year-old son witnessed the slayings.

The central issue in Wednesday’s hearing was whether Brodie would agree to hold a hearing in the near future in which he would hear testimony from all the medical experts and determine for himself whether Garcia should be freed.

Farley’s colleague, attorney Kay Duffy, argued that state law demands that such a hearing be held when state doctors deem a patient appropriate for release.

The defense team wanted a chance to prove that Garcia was suitable for the Ventura County Conditional Release Program, in which mental health experts monitor released patients and assist them with therapy and medication.

O’Brien argued that state law required Brodie to hold a hearing only if both state doctors and county doctors agreed on Garcia’s condition and if there was an adequate treatment plan in place for him after release.

Mary Beimforde, director of the county’s conditional release program, wrote an opinion in which she said: “The defendant continues to pose a danger to the community and is not now ready for outpatient treatment.”

A psychologist hired by the court agreed with Beimforde.

Duffy countered the prosecutor’s claim by saying that county doctors had based their opinions solely on reading reports and visiting Garcia twice a year.

“What’s being done here is an attempt [by the prosecution] to circumvent the court’s right [to decide what happens to Garcia],” she argued during the hearing.

Both defense attorneys said the release process appears to give far too much power to county officials.