Indio courtroom locked down when inmate self-harms
An Indio courtroom was cleared out today when an inmate cut himself in a holding area, prompting his transportation to a local hospital.
Canaan Sloat, 29, was slated to appear in court Thursday on sexual assault and burglary charges, but just before 11 a.m., “attempted to slip his cuffs and became combative” in a courtroom holding area at the Larson Justice Center, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Sloat “injured himself” and was “removed from the courthouse without further incident” to be taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, deputies said.
“No citizens or staff were injured during the incident and the courtroom was cleared out for safety precautions,” the department’s statement read.
Court minutes show that Sloat’s hearing proceeded without him, during which his attorney declared doubts as to his mental competence. Riverside
County Superior Court Judge Harold W. Hopp granted the motion and suspended criminal proceedings, pursuant to a psychiatrist’s report to be furnished on or before May 31.
Sloat was recently transported to Riverside County from the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, according to jail records, to face newly filed charges alleging that he sexually assaulted a woman during a stay at a Palm Springs rehab facility in 2015.
He’s accused of assaulting the woman — identified only as Jane Doe in court documents — during a stay at an unspecified facility at 501 Cantera Circle on June 11, 2015.
The victim told police that at around 3:30 a.m. that day, Sloat entered her bedroom at the facility, then assaulted her, though he was interrupted minutes later by the facility’s house manager, according to an arrest warrant declaration.
Jane Doe then left the room while the manager called police. Doe and the manager went to his office, where Sloat allegedly “was pounding on the door demanding to come inside and retrieve his phone,” then left the building, the declaration states.
Doe and the manager both identified Sloat in a photographic lineup, while a sexual assault exam on Doe “showed results consistent with her statement,” according to the declaration.
Jail and court records show he was transported to a Riverside County jail on March 16 and pleaded not guilty to all counts last week.
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