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Double homicide suspect allowed to live in group setting despite civil commitment
A man charged in a gruesome double homicide in St. Paul last week had a well documented history of violence and mental health issues, court documents say.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man charged in a gruesome double homicide in St. Paul last week had a well documented history of violence and mental health issues, court documents say.
Thirty-two-year-old Joseph Sandoval II is accused of fatally stabbing a fellow resident and a handyman at the sober house where he was living. Police say a third victim was able to escape Sandoval’s chokehold and run for help.
When he was arrested October 20, he told officers "the TV said they were gonna kill me and told me to take the opportunity." When he was at the hospital for his evaluation, he asked to be handcuffed with both legs shackled to the bed "because I don’t know what I’ll do."
A look at Sandoval’s recent court history shows a history of violence, mental health issues, and substance abuse. In March 2021, he was charged with intentionally running someone over and fleeing from police. In the summer of 2021, he was found incompetent to stand trial in that case and civilly committed.
After being released from a state-run inpatient facility in Anoka County last December, the Department of Human Services placed Sandoval in a "community setting" without giving the courts advanced notice. After the judge was notified of the move, she ordered him to comply with a lengthy list of conditions for his release to the sober house. "Supervision by the Hennepin County Mental Health court judge" and "weekly updates" on his compliance were included in the conditions.
Due to privacy laws, FOX 9 is unable to access much of his mental health records, but a source close to the case says this past May a court evaluator noted that his mental health was "deteriorating" and that he was at moderate to high risk of harming himself and others.