Overview
- An amended complaint filed Nov. 10 lists 10 felony counts, with four additional charges—including battery on an officer—reduced to misdemeanors.
- Authorities describe a daylong Aug. 21, 2024 sequence across Mariposa and Madera counties involving threats, thefts, an attempted kidnapping, vehicle crashes, and an alleged assault on deputies at a hospital.
- Two forensic psychiatrists diagnosed bipolar disorder, complex trauma, cannabis use disorder, and hallucinogen use disorder, concluding the episode likely stemmed from a psilocybin- and THC-triggered manic state.
- Mehlhaff has remained jailed since his arrest and has cycled through court-appointed counsel, dismissing his fifth public defender this week.
- Court records detail escalating episodes weeks earlier, including an involuntary psychiatric hold and an alleged hospital barricade that caused about $5,000 in damage.