Napa man charged with murder after body found near Napa River
The body of 47-year-old Noel Batres of Napa was found on the afternoon of July 3, according to the Napa County District Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors said that 36-year-old Ramiro Ochoa Mendoza of Napa killed Batres and left his body under the Third Street Bridge on the banks of the Napa River at Soscol Avenue.
Mendoza appeared in court Tuesday afternoon for an arraignment hearing and was held without bail at the Napa County Department of Corrections, prosecutors said.
The defendant also faces multiple criminal charges from earlier this year, authorities said.
On April 27, Mendoza was arrested for violating a restraining order, violating his Post-Release Community Supervision and resisting arrest, officials said.
Two days later, the county superior court raised concerns about his mental health competency to stand trial and appointed doctors to evaluate him, who found him to be not competent, prosecutors said. Mendoza was then granted a mental health diversion hearing.
Before Mendoza's latest arrest, he failed to appear in court for his mental health diversion review and fell out of compliance with the diversion program, prosecutors said.
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