A Palm Desert woman who attempted to kill her sister and almost ran over her mother has been found mentally competent for a sanity retrial on two felony counts. The verdict was returned by the jury at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Erin Leah Richey, 44, will be retried on charges of assault causing great bodily injury and arson on an inhabited structure. The trial is set for November 13, according to court records.
“Competence deals with whether, today, the defendant can understand the proceedings and rationally assist their attorney,” said spokesperson Brooke Beare of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. “Sanity deals with whether, at the time of the crime, the defendant understood their behavior and understood right from wrong.”
Richey was previously convicted on May 2, 2022, of assault, arson, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, having a fire explosive, and taking a vehicle without consent, according to court records. She was also convicted of cruelty to animals but acquitted of one count of attempted murder.
In the sanity phase of the first trial, the jury found Richey sane for a series of violent acts in December 2018, but was divided on her psychological condition during the assault and arson. As a result, a mistrial was declared on the two felony counts for which she was previously found guilty, and Richey is now being retried on her competence to stand trial for those offenses.
During the retrial’s opening statements, defense attorney Shaun Sullivan highlighted Richey’s history of mental illness, including hallucinations and multiple hospitalizations. He argued that her medication’s inconsistent administration and unpredictable effects contribute to stopping her from taking it. He also mentioned that the longer she goes without medication, the harder it is for her to restart the treatment.
Sullivan urged jurors to consider the evidence of Richey’s mental incompetence, including her history of hallucinations, hospitalizations, delusions, and unorganized thinking. He asked them to focus on her current capabilities rather than her past actions.
Deputy District Attorney Karen Salas presented a different perspective, acknowledging that Richey’s diagnosed mental illness varies among doctors from schizophrenia to bipolar disorder. However, she argued that Richey demonstrates the ability to cooperate with her attorney, understand court proceedings, and manipulate her answers depending on her goals.
“She understands that she has been convicted at this point and she is bitter about it. She is angry about it,” Salas said. “And you’re going to hear that.”
Salas stated that Richey refuses medication and cooperation with doctors in order to achieve her desired outcome. She asked the jurors to consider Richey’s goal-oriented behavior as evidence of her competence to stand trial.
The sanity phase of Richey’s first trial lasted less than a week after a two-week criminal trial related to attacks in the 77500 block of Mountain View Avenue and the 77330 block of Missouri Drive.
According to sheriff’s investigators, on December 15, 2018, Richey struck her unidentified sister on the head with a mallet multiple times and attempted to slash her with a knife during an unspecified confrontation. She then stole one of the victim’s vehicles and tried to run over her mother, who owned the property where Richey was staying in a trailer.
The sister was hospitalized with non-life-threatening head injuries, while their mother remained unharmed. Richey was later arrested on the same day while driving in Palm Springs.
The arson charge stems from an attack reported two days earlier on Missouri Drive, where Richey set fire to a carport, causing burn injuries to an unidentified woman. Additionally, Richey was charged with animal abuse for setting her cat on fire, resulting in its death, and spraying ant and roach killer into her mother’s dog’s eyes before throwing it over a wall.
Richey is currently held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
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