Truck driver in standoff at Sacramento courthouse ordered released from jail

A judge on Monday ordered the release from jail of a man accused of parking a semi truck at the federal courthouse in downtown Sacramento early Thursday, an incident that led to the closure of city streets and the court and left the truck still parked nearby five days later.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes agreed to the release of Patrick Blackshire despite opposition from Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lee, who cited Blackshire’s “significant criminal history,” a lack of stable housing and questions about his mental health.

But Blackshire’s assistant federal defender, Linda Harter, successfully argued that her client should not be facing more jail time for misdemeanor charges that are the lowest classification that can be filed in the federal system.

“These are primarily parking tickets,” Harter said.

Blackshire, 40, faces two misdemeanor counts after the FBI says he parked his truck on the entrance ramp to the courthouse about 4:40 a.m. Thursday and later moved it across the street next to the Amtrak station while livestreaming the incident and asking to speak to elected officials.

Blackshire has been in custody since Thursday and made his first court appearance Friday, during which he tried to object to some of the proceedings and eventually was ordered detained over the weekend.

During Monday afternoon’s hearing Blackshire answered questions from the judge only by nodding “yes” for most of the hearing.

Barnes declined a recommendation from pre-trial services and the prosecution that Blackshire be given medical and psychiatric treatment.

She agreed to release him with conditions that included reporting into the court’s pre-trial services office and promising to appear for scheduled court hearings, including the next one Friday afternoon.

Blackshire finally spoke when the judge told him she wanted him to verbally assure her that he understood the terms.

Blackshire said he understood, then began to launch into a soliloquy about wanting justice for his civil cases until Barnes stopped him, saying, “I knew somehow I was opening a can of worms.

“You have one of the most experienced criminal defense lawyers in California,” Barnes told Blackshire. “You hit the jackpot.”

The decision to order his release came after Harter filed a brief Monday arguing that the defendant should be released on his own recognizance and that he already had served five days in jail since his arrest on charges that typically would be resolved with a fine.

“Mr. Blackshire can and should be released OR,” Harter wrote. “He is a lifelong resident of this area, he has a stable place to live, he has a valid driver’s license and is employed.

“He has indicated that he would come to court as ordered, there are no facts to indicate that he currently presents a danger to the community.”

Harter argued that his conduct at Friday’s hearing stemmed in part from because of overcrowding at the Sacramento County Main Jail, where Blackshire was “placed into a temporary holding area with a number of other detainees” and could not sleep there.

“He had also slept in his truck the night before,” she added. “By Friday’s hearing he had barely slept for 48 hours.

“Patrick was concerned about the location of his truck (which is his most important asset), missing an appointment for a new job, missing church on Sunday where he has duties and he believed that his ticket was a low-level charge and was distressed to hear he would be detained.”

Barnes advised Blackshire after a break in the proceedings that his truck was still parked where he left it Thursday, in a fire zone on the east side of the Sacramento Valley Amtrak Station.

“I just looked out my window,” she told him. “Your truck is still out there.”

Blackshire, who lives in a recreational vehicle parked in a rural area of Elk Grove, faces two misdemeanor counts that carry maximum penalties of 30 days in jail and $5,000 fines, but a prosecutor argued Friday that his conduct in court and a criminal history required that he remain in custody.

Blackshire has filed 20 lawsuits against various law enforcement and other agencies and complained during his 10-minute video livestream from the cab of the truck that his cases had gone nowhere and that he wanted to speak to various elected and government officials.

“I’m at the federal building and I want to talk to the mayor, to the congressmen, to governor and even the president, too,” he said on the video. “I want to talk to the CIA, to the FBI, to the Hague, to the world’s courts, to the Pope and the Vatican.

“I need the world to understand, I am not about to harm myself — I do not want to harm anyone.”

No one was injured in the incident and Blackshire eventually surrendered to a crisis negotiation team.