Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute
FAIRFAX, Va. - Virginia senators are considering amending a law that allows the Behavioral Health Commissioner to allow people with a violent record into the community unescorted despite a judge's order against their release.
What we know:
In Virginia, when someone pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, even in violent cases involving a loss of life, they go into the custody of the State Department of Behavioral Health instead of going to jail. Once that happens, there are two ways they can be released into the community.
One is called conditional release, which has to be approved by a judge. The other is called community privileges, which includes an unescorted release into the community for up to 48 hours.
A judge does not have to approve community release privileges. Even if a judge says a patient should not be released into the community, the commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health can still grant unescorted community visits.
Two senators said they are considering changing that law.
What they're saying:
"Any time you have two organizations concerned with the same issue that interact with each other, there needs to be a clear understanding of where those two systems meet and that the goals of both can continue to be met," said Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Fairfax). "But when it starts in the criminal justice system, when it starts in a judicial system, that's where some final determinations need to be made."
"This is the interface between two very different systems. One, the judge and the Commonwealth attorney, defense attorneys, whatever on the public safety end of things involved in the judicial system. And then you have the needs of the mental health system," Sen. Marsden said. "These are two very different systems with very different goals. One is public safety, the other is restoration of someone's mental health."
In July, Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda fled the country on a weekend community visit pass. He became a patient at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute after he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing his landlord in 2019.
Dr. Azure Baron, who approved community privileges for Toshpulodzoda, has a history of misconduct. A Virginia inspector general report identified some of the misconduct, including "manipulating" patient-related documents. The report showed that Dr. Baron was also the subject of HR complaints and disciplinary actions.
Virginia Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) says there are too many red flags at the institute under Dr. Baron’s leadership.
"'I’ve circulated the story about the inspector general's findings through the entire Northern Virginia delegation and initially got some feedback from some people that were very disturbed about what they read," Sen. Surrovell said. "I think people are just starting to process it and trying to figure out what we can do to ensure safety as a priority in our entire system. I mean we just can't have people that are known to be mentally ill running around in public creating a safety risk, and especially just fleeing the country."
READ MORE | Virginia mental health director engaged in misconduct, inspector general report says
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said her office was looking into Toshpulodzoda’s case in August. Despite follow-ups, FOX 5 DC has not received a substantive response on her progress.
The Source: Information in this article is from original FOX 5 DC reporting.