A Marion County Circuit Court judge on Friday ordered a man charged with attacking three Salem-Keizer Public School employees to remain in jail with weekly treatment at the Oregon State Hospital until he is able to aid and assist his lawyer in his defense.
Typically a defendant who had reached the end of their jurisdiction at the psychiatric hospital would enter a community restoration program to continue learning legal skills, take prescribed medication, and sometimes stay in a treatment bed provided by the Psychiatric Crisis Center in Salem.
But Judge Audrey Broyles said she found Charly Josh Velasquez-Sanchez, 27, of Keizer, a public safety risk and unable to engage in community restoration “at this time.”
Velasquez-Sanchez was in community restoration after treatment at the state psychiatric hospital when he was charged in June 2023 with attacking three employees of Highland Elementary School in North Salem.
There is a lack of community-based care for defendants with mental illness who have reached stay limits at the state hospital, so many are released, often to live on the streets, and sometimes commit new crimes .