Anthony Mehlhaff’s public defender has pneumonia, which means yet another delay in his strung out criminal case, now a year and a half removed from his bizarre cross county tear through Yosemite National Park.
But time may finally be on Mehlhaff’s side.
The trial delay, until April 21, will afford Mehlhaff time for law enforcement to escort him to San Francisco to interview with counselors at the Delancey Street Foundation, an intensive two year residential and work treatment program for drug users who have “hit bottom.”
Acceptance into to the program, and successful completion, is the centerpiece of a potential plea deal that would allow Mehlhaff to avoid an eight-year prison sentence.
At a March 5 hearing, Mariposa County Superior Court Judge Michael Fagalde granted a continuance in this case. Defense attorney Robert Chase said doctors told him it would take longer to recover from pneumonia than he thought.
The trial, scheduled for March 10, was moved to April 21, allowing Chase time to recover, Mehlhaff to interview with Delancey Street Foundation and any continuing negotiations over the plea bargain.
The former lead singer of the Los Angeles punk-metal band Cancer Christ, has remained in the Mariposa County Jail ever since his capture on Aug. 21, 2024, when he led law enforcement on a high speed chase across Mariposa and Madera counties and through Yosemite Valley.
Mehlhaff’s strange behavior included ransacking the Tenaya Lodge gift shop wearing only his underwear and a road rage incident with a Tesla. Both incidents were caught on security cameras.
Two psychiatrists who examined Mehlhaff said he was experiencing a manic episode brought on by extended use of psychedelic mushrooms and high potency cannabis.
Mehlhaff is charged with 10 felonies, including carjacking, kidnapping, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
Entering and leaving the courthouse last week, Mehlhaff was particularly buoyant, saying good morning to all the bailiffs who he knows by name.
“Fingers crossed, fingers crossed,” he whispered. “Program. Program. Program.”
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