Eddie Van Tassel, the 28-year-old Iraq War veteran who made national headlines with his traffic-stopping armed protest Monday on the La Cumbre Road overpass, pleaded not guilty Friday in court.
Santa Barbara County court Commissioner Edward DeCaro was unable to set a date for a preliminary hearing, however, because Van Tassel and his attorney, Robert Landheer, needed more time to discuss his options. A judge will schedule such a hearing date Wednesday. Van Tassel’s bail has been set at $250,000.
Specifically, Landheer asked DeCaro — with Van Tassel, clad in prison orange, standing behind a glass window — if his client could stay at a treatment facility for disabled veterans in Los Angeles in lieu of jail. While making his argument, Landheer cited a penal code reserving that right for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
But when Landheer asked Van Tassel if he was up for this, Van Tassel expressed wariness.
“In the case of my own freedom, I would like to have a little more input,” said Van Tassel, holding the palms of his hands together in an apparent gesture of supplication. “I don’t really feel that going to Los Angeles would be the best thing for me at this time, because I believe that in the case of what happened on the 3rd, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and my time in service may have a small part to do with it, but I also believe I’m not guilty of the charges because of the way things worked out, if I was given the chance to explain it.”
Landheer then explained to Van Tassel that his guilt or innocence is not yet the topic of discussion.
Still, Van Tassel was reluctant to agree to the request.
“My mom and my grandma are here in Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara is my home,” he said. “County Jail is not the best place for anyone really, it has a lot of issues it needs to address. But I don’t feel right about going to Los Angeles.”
After the hearing, local veterans advocate Lance Anderson, who sat in the audience, said he wasn’t surprised that Van Tassel hesitated to accept the offer.
“If he wants to see his family more than he wants to see a psychiatrist down in L.A., that’s kind of a good thing, isn’t it?” said Anderson, adjutant for Disabled American Veterans in Santa Barbara.
He added that the system might be able to transport and house some of his family in Los Angeles during the trial.
Anderson said he believes Van Tassel is “just the tip of the iceberg.”
“We’re going to see a lot more people who need treatment,” he predicted.
Meanwhile, the man who has been identified by police as Van Tassel’s accomplice is scheduled to have his preliminary hearing Nov. 20.
Santa Barbara police said Aaron Jacob Levy, 33, of Santa Barbara, drove Van Tassel to the scene intent on “accomplishing the task.” Levy has pleaded not guilty.
Police and local media reports have said that when officers discovered Van Tassel attempting to affix signs to the fence on the overpass, they asked him to stop, at which point he produced the weapon and aimed it at his head. He is also being charged with “brandishing a firearm toward police officers.”
Van Tassel was also arrested on suspicion of possession of a concealed firearm; possession of a dangerous weapon; conspiracy; resisting or delaying arrest; disturbing the peace; wearing a mask for the commission of a crime; and permitting another person to operate a vehicle without a valid license. He also faces charges of burglary, possession of a concealed firearm and brandishing a firearm for an Oct. 31 incident at KJEE radio.
Write to rkuznia@noozhawk.com.
