On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Sacramento was rocked by a critical drive-by shooting that left one man struggling for his life, according to a report by Hoodline. Patrol deputies who responded to the scene discovered the victim with a gunshot wound to the head near Morse Avenue and Lerwick Way, and they rapidly administered medical help before the arrival of Sheriff’s Homicide Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators, who had been monitoring the disturbing uptick in local crime.
The subsequent investigation quickly focused on 46-year-old Jason Hankins, whom detectives claim drove by and shot the victim in the head while he was sitting in the back of a vehicle; Hankins attempted to conceal both his vehicle and the weapon, but his efforts were futile; both the car and the gun were discovered by detectives. Hankins, who has a frightening history of violent actions dating back to 1997, was arrested and is being held without bail, facing attempted murder charges as he awaits his court appearance, which is supposedly scheduled for tomorrow, in reaction to a brazen act of violence.
However, Sheriff Jim Cooper’s social media post revealed a troubling detail: Hankins had “graduated” from Sacramento County’s Mental Health Diversion Program just two weeks prior to the incident, as stated on his Facebook page. Cooper criticized the program, claiming, “Many times, mental health diversion isn’t treatment. And it’s absolutely not justice,” he argues, referring to the systemic failure that reintegrates “violent predators” into society under the guise of rehabilitation.
This discovery has ignited a heated debate about the effectiveness and propriety of mental health diversion programs, with Sheriff Cooper claiming that they were never designed for “violent career criminals.”
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