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California man arrested for brutal murder after being granted mental health diversion, having charges dropped
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A California man was arrested for allegedly committing a brutal murder just three days after he was granted immunity from prosecution for separate misdemeanor charges under California’s mental health diversion laws, prompting serious concerns about a system intended to protect public safety.
On July 11, Napa County prosecutors filed murder charges against Ramiro Ochoa Mendoza, 36, for the killing of Noel Batres, 47, whose body was found under a bridge on July 3. Mendoza allegedly killed Batres on June 27.
Mendoza, who had a history of criminal offenses and poor compliance on probation, was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial earlier this year on misdemeanor charges including violating a restraining order and resisting arrest.
Despite numerous attempts by defense counsel to dismiss the cases outright, the Court, following legislative guidelines, ordered Mendoza into a mental health diversion program with supervised release for the two remaining misdemeanors.
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A Napa man was charged with murder just days after he was released, and misdemeanor charges were dismissed due to California’s mental health laws. (Napa Police Department)
Mendoza, however, failed to appear for his scheduled mental health diversion review and was deemed non-compliant with the terms of the program.
“Mendoza promptly failed to appear in court for his mental health diversion review and was found to be out of compliance with the diversion program,” the Napa County District Attorney’s Office said.
Even with repeated violations and non-compliance, the court was legally required to dismiss charges due to Mendoza’s mental health status and the misdemeanor-only nature of his offenses.
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“Because the law prohibits prosecution from continuing in cases where a defendant is deemed incompetent on only misdemeanor charges, the court had no choice but to dismiss both remaining cases and did so on July 8, 2025,” the DA’s office said.
The dismissal followed recent legislative reforms, specifically Senate Bill 317, that bar courts from restoring competency in misdemeanor-only cases, even if the defendant shows signs of escalating behavior.
Mendoza was re-arrested on July 11 and now faces murder charges with enhancements related to his prior offenses and the alleged brutality of Batres’ killing. The case is already fueling debate over the limits of mental health protections and their implications for public safety.
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A Napa man was charged with murder days after being granted mental health immunity. (Credit: iStock)
“This case highlights the real-world impact of the recent legal reforms, where courts are required to prioritize mental health treatment over traditional prosecution, even when defendants exhibit an unwillingness or inability to comply with court-ordered programs,” Napa County Deputy District Attorney Katie Susemihl said in a statement.
California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones criticized California’s “mental health diversion” law, arguing it allowed a violent repeat offender to be released without proper oversight, leading to the murder of an innocent man.
“This is yet another devastating example of California’s soft-on-crime policies creating more victims instead of preventing crime. Under the so-called ‘mental health diversion’ law, a violent repeat offender was released and just days later, he brutally murdered an innocent man,” Jones shared in a statement with Fox News Digital.
“The system failed at every turn. This law prioritizes the rights of offenders over public safety, even when individuals show no willingness to comply with court-ordered treatment. If someone is truly mentally unwell, they should receive help within the justice system — not be dumped back onto our streets without accountability or oversight,” he continued.
Jones called the current system broken and urged legal reform to prevent further tragedies and better protect the public.
“Californians deserve better than laws that protect dangerous individuals while endangering the public. It’s time to fix this broken system before more innocent lives are lost,” Jones said.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched to assist with returning Batres’ remains to his home country of Guatemala. According to the page, Batres was a resident of Napa for 26 years.
“Noel was not perfect by any means. However, he was a wonderful, caring, gentle soul,” the page read. “We ask that you please help us send Noel back home to be seen by his immediate family one last time before they lay him to rest.”
Mendoza was being held without bail at the Napa County Department of Corrections.
Fox News Digital reached out to Governor Gavin Newsom’s office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
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Denver, Colo. (03/27/2026) – In front of another expected record-breaking crowd, the Washington Spirit is set to take on Denver Summit FC in the side’s inaugural home match at Empower Field at Mile High. With over 60,000 tickets already distributed, the match is poised to break the NWSL attendance record of 40,091 set last summer when the Spirit visited Bay FC at San Francisco’s Oracle Park. Kicking off at 2 p.m. EDT, the match will broadcast nationally on CBS.
The Spirit
Washington comes into this weekend’s fixture off a difficult 1-1 home draw with Utah Royals FC earlier this week. After scoring in the 18th minute, the Spirit nearly earned its first victory of 2026 but conceded an equalizer late and had to settle for a single point on the table. Washington’s goal was scored by midfielder Rebeca Bernal, the Mexican star’s first since transferring to the NWSL last year.
Saturday afternoon’s match will mark the first-ever meeting between the Spirit, one of the NWSL’s original clubs, and 2026 expansion side Denver Summit FC. Denver will be the 17th different opponent for Washington across its regular season history: the Spirit has played against 13 active clubs (all except expansion sides Denver and Boston) as well as defunct clubs the Boston Breakers, FC Kansas City and the Western New York Flash.
The Spirit has had success against expansion sides as of late, tallying 11 wins in 15 matches against NWSL clubs in their first season of competition since the start of the 2021 campaign. In 2024, the Spirit went a perfect 5-0-0 against Bay FC and Utah Royals FC, outscoring the teams 10-3 with a playoff win to boot. In 2022, Washington earned a 1-3-0 record against Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC and, in 2021, the eventual NWSL champions went an impressive 5-1-0 against Kansas City and Racing Louisville FC.
This weekend’s matchup at Empower Field at Mile High, home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos, is set to shatter the NWSL’s single match attendance record with over 60,000 tickets already distributed. The Spirit has also been the visiting team for two of the league’s previous three record-setting attendances: 34,130 fans at Seattle’s Lumen Field when the Spirit took on the Reign and 40,091 in the stands at San Francisco’s historic Oracle Park to watch Washington play Bay FC.
Washington is in good standing in several attacking categories through three matches despite two draws and a loss. The Spirit remains first in the league in rate of possession at nearly 62% and top three in both shots and shots on target with 49 and 17, respectively. With just three goals through three matches, look for the Spirit attack to continue getting attempts on frame this weekend.
Following Saturday’s match, the Spirit will hit the road again next weekend for an away match against Bay FC in San Jose on Sunday, April 5. Washington’s next home match will be on Friday, April 24 at 8 p.m. EDT when the side hosts the defending Shield winner Kansas City Current at Audi Field. Information on tickets can be found HERE.
The Opponent
Denver Summit FC opened its inaugural season with three straight away matches, collecting a win, a loss and a draw to carry four points into its home opener this weekend. Summit FC dropped its first match to Bay FC 1-2 before drawing Orlando 1-1 and beating Gotham 2-0.
Summit FC is led in scoring by star German forward Melissa Kössler who has three goals in three matches, scoring once in each contest. With a goal tomorrow, the forward would join Alex Morgan as just the second player in league history to score in each of her first four matches with a club. Look for the Spirit defending third to place an emphasis on limiting chances to Kössler on Saturday afternoon.
Denver has only allowed one goal across its last 240 minutes of action after giving up two in the first 30 minutes of the side’s opener. The strong recent form of Summit FC’s defending third against the Spirit attacking third’s ability to generate chance after chance will be a point to watch this weekend.
Three former Spirit players are currently on the Summit FC roster as midfielders Meg Boade and Jordan Baggett and defender Camryn Biegalski signed with the side ahead of this season. Baggett spent four years with the Spirit after being drafted by the side in 2019 while Biegalski signed with Washington in 2021 and played three seasons, both winning the 2021 NWSL Championship with the team. Boade spent the first half of the 2025 season in DC as a short-term injury replacement, even scoring a goal for the Spirit.
Following tomorrow’s match, Denver will travel to Seattle to face Reign FC on Saturday, April 4.
All-Time Series History
This weekend’s match will be the first-ever meeting between the Spirit and Denver Summit FC.
About The Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women’s soccer team based in Washington, D.C. and plays at Audi Field in Buzzard Point. The Spirit was founded on November 21, 2012 and is an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) the fastest growing sports league in the US. The club is home to some of the best players in the world who have won championships for both club and country. For more information about the Spirit, visit WashingtonSpirit.com and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The Seattle Seahawks are hiring former UW Huskies offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty as an offensive assistant, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Friday.
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This will be the first NFL job for the 47-year-old Dougherty, who has spent the past 24 seasons coaching at the college level. He was with the Huskies during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, serving as the team’s passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2024 and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2025. Dougherty was not the play-caller for UW under head coach Jedd Fisch.
Dougherty left his position at UW in February.
Dougherty also coached at UW from 2009-2012 as wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator under Steve Sarkisian.
Dougherty’s previous college stops include Illinois Wesleyan, San Diego, San Jose State, Michigan, UCLA and Arizona. While at Michigan as an offensive assistant in 2016, he coached alongside Seahawks special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh and under then-head coach Jim Harbaugh. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald coached under Jim and alongside Jay when he was Michigan’s defensive coordinator in 2021.
Dougherty played quarterback in college at the University of Missouri from 1997-2001 and was the starter in 1999.
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