Murder charge for woman who allegedly rammed wheelchair-bound mom

SAN FRANCISCO -- A Ukiah woman was charged with first-degree murder Thursday for allegedly placing her wheelchair-bound mother in front of her van and ramming the 89-year-old woman into a tree about 25 feet away.

A Mendocino County judge ordered Carlene Hagood, 60, held on $500,000 bail after she agreed to postpone her arraignment until May 28 so her public defender has more time to review the case. She was also charged with felony elder abuse causing serious injury or death and vehicular manslaughter.

Witnesses said Hagood told them she accidentally shifted the van into drive instead of reverse.

But Ukiah Police Capt. Dan Walker said her actions suggest an incident "far beyond any sort of accident. ... It was intentional."

Hagood's mother, Naomi Hagood, was pronounced dead at the scene Tuesday morning in this town about 110 miles northwest of San Francisco.

According to police and prosecutors, the events occurred outside the offices of the mother's doctor, who was out of town. Naomi Hagood reportedly suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

After parking the van, prosecutors allege Hagood wheeled her mother's chair onto a sidewalk, climbed back into the vehicle and accelerated with enough force to jump the curb. She allegedly continued driving across a lawn until she pinned her mother against a tree.

"There is evidence indicating there was at least some sustained acceleration when she hit the tree," Walker said. "The tires spun for a little bit."

Deputy District Attorney Keith Faulder said there was no sign of skid marks that might suggest Hagood tried to brake once her van shot forward.

"The conduct was so clear, it was so public, we were left with no choice but to charge her with murder," Faulder said. "But why she did it will be, I suppose, the subject of much debate in the future and I don't have an answer to that right now."

After the mother was fatally injured, Carlene Hagood reparked the van in another space, got out, made a call on her cell phone and started taking pictures of the scene, according to Walker. Investigators are trying to determine whom she called, but Walker said it was not 911.

When officers arrived, Hagood refused to answer questions and was lucid enough to request an attorney, according to Walker.

Faulder confirmed Carlene Hagood was arrested in 1997 on suspicion of cruelty to a dependent adult, her mother. At the time, prosecutors asked that Hagood not be released on her own recognizance because of "mental instability," according to court documents obtained by the Ukiah Daily Journal.

The charges were later dismissed, but Hagood was required to attend a support group for sufferers of Alzheimer's disease and cooperate with officials from Adult Protective Services, apparent references to her mother. The two lived together in the mother's home.

Susan Era, deputy director of the adult services division of Mendocino County's Department of Social Services, said she could not discuss details about either woman.

"What I can tell you is that as a standard practice in any investigation, what we are going to do is an assessment of what a family needs and we'll make referrals to any services," Era said.

She described "caregiver stress" as a known cause of elder abuse. In extreme cases, such as when a senior citizen or dependent adult is incapable of making their own decisions and appears to be at risk from a caregiver, the case may be referred to a court-appointed guardian.