Sacramento man charged in Amtrak train stabbing, competency hearing pending – The Vacaville Reporter

A 23-year-old Sacramento man arrested Sunday in Fairfield on charges of stabbing two people on an Amtrak train was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Solano County Superior Court, but a judge stayed proceedings and scheduled a competency hearing for the coming weeks.

According to court and jail records, Brandon Torres-Mendoza appeared before Judge Kelley J. Trujillo in Fairfield as the complaint filed by the Solano County District Attorney's Office was read.

At his scheduled arraignment in jail, Torres-Mendoza, a convicted felon on parole, was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon (not a firearm), a felony that included aggravated assault in one count, robbery, possession of brass knuckles and resisting arrest. Each of these felony counts carries several separate charges.

The public defender represented Torres-Mendoza, whose mental competence remains in question, by requesting what is known as a “1368 medical report” after a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist interviews a suspect.

According to the law, specifically Article 1368 of the Penal Code, which gives the report its name, a defendant who is found mentally incompetent and unable to defend himself may not be tried. However, once sanity is determined, the trial may resume and the defendant may face further legal proceedings, including a preliminary hearing and a jury trial.

Judge Trujillo stayed proceedings against Torres-Mendoza and then remanded the case to Division 25 in Fairfield, where Judge Janice M. Williams will hear the doctor's report at 8:30 a.m. on October 10 at the Justice Center.

Torres-Mendoza remains in the Solano County Jail without bail and has a Sacramento County warrant out for his arrest.

According to a social media post from Fairfield Police, dispatchers received a call from an Amtrak conductor around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The train had just reached Fairfield, and a man later identified as Torres-Mendoza allegedly stabbed one person on board and may have taken another person hostage.

The conductor asked for assistance and informed dispatchers that the train would stop at the Fairfield-Vacaville Amtrak station.

While searching for the suspect, officers initially found one victim, a 21-year-old man with two stab wounds to the chest. That person was taken to a local hospital, where he was reportedly still in critical condition Sunday evening.

“Police then encountered a man with a knife, but quickly realized it was actually a second victim, age 24, who had taken the weapon from Torres-Mendoza and bravely held him at bay until police arrived,” the post said.

According to jail records, Torres was arrested shortly after 11 p.m. in the 4900 block of Vanden Road.

Fairfield Police Detectives are investigating the crime with assistance from Amtrak Police.

Investigators confirmed that Torres-Mendoza did not know any of the victims and the motive for the stabbing remains unclear.

No further details were available at press time on Wednesday.

Originally published: September 11, 2024 at 16:32