Marin school lewdness suspect to undergo mental health evaluation

A Marin Superior Court judge Wednesday ordered a mental health evaluation for a defendant accused of performing lewd acts in a school restroom.

Derrell Bland, 33, of Mill Valley allegedly entered a girls restroom at Mill Valley Middle School where he blocked the door, exposed himself to two 11-year-old students, and performed a lewd act on Oct. 30.

The Mill Valley police initially cited the suspect for trespassing and released him from custody. They arrested him the next day after investigators heard more about his alleged conduct at the restroom. The school has since taken steps to make sure more adults are keeping watch, including hiring a second campus supervisor.

Bland was booked into jail on suspicion of indecent exposure, false imprisonment, lewd conduct, trespassing and other charges.

His bail amount was initially set at $25,000, however, Judge Geoffrey Howard ordered him to be held without bail on Nov. 3 due to his long history of criminal convictions and skipped court hearings. Howard also noted that Bland was laughing while the prosecutor recited the charges against him.

Prosecutors also charged him with two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of annoying minors.

The criminal complaint lists prior convictions in Marin, Sonoma and Sacramento counties. On Oct. 26, Bland pleaded guilty to threatening the Sausalito parks and recreation director during preparations for a street festival that month, according to court records and police. Bland challenged the official to a fight after being asked to leave because he was staring at people and making them uncomfortable, according to Sausalito police.

A judge placed Bland on probation for a year for the Sausalito conviction. That probation has since been revoked.

Bland was scheduled to enter a plea at his Wednesday hearing, but Howard instead ordered the defendant to be evaluated by a mental health professional. He is being represented by court-appointed attorney Kevin Heaney.

Bland’s next court hearing was scheduled for Jan. 10.