Steichen Declared Mentally Unfit to Stand Trial (Update)

Arcata resident Jacob Steichen, 34, who was arrested for the homicide of his brother Aaron Steichen on September 21, 2020, has been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. Judge Timothy Canning in Department 5 of the Humboldt County Superior Court has ordered Mr. Steichen to undergo treatment under the directive of Humboldt County. Steichen was not present during the proceedings this morning, but Judge Canning initiated a formal court order demanding Steichen takes antipsychotic medications. The case is continued to November 18.

The Steichen family have told a consistent story; treatment was seemingly impossible to receive for Jacob, who was on Medi-Cal at the time of his decline and subsequent arrest. Spanning a five week period, the Steichen family called Arcata Police Department an estimated eight times to initiate a 51/50 hold for Jacob, who was gravely disabled from advanced paranoid schizophrenia.

Conflict Counsel Owen Tipps, in dialogue with Canning, made reference to nondescript documents or records from the Arcata Police Department which are under subpoena. To paraphrase Canning, he stated that such documents will only be included in the litigation if they are considered relevant. The substance and content of the records in question are unknown at this time.

#justiceforaaron
#justiceforjacob