A Solano County Superior Court jury determined a 32-year-old Vallejo man is a sexually violent predator and will be committed to the Department of State Hospitals for an indefinite period of time.
Jurors returned their verdict against Devin Hawkins on Wednesday in Department 2 in Vallejo. They found a petition alleging Hawkins was a SVP, as it’s called for short, to be true, Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams said in a press statement.
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Court records show Hawkins was convicted in 2016 of two qualifying offenses, forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, for what Abrams described as “a horrific sexual assault” against a stranger in 2013.
On May 19 of that year, Hawkins approached the victim as she was walking by herself in south Vallejo at night. He pointed a handgun at her, ordered her to walk to a vacant home, and then committed several acts of sexual assault against her, including forcible oral copulation, forcible rape, and attempted sodomy. Hawkins also emptied the victim’s purse and took all her cash before leaving the victim in the abandoned home.
Recovered DNA led to the identification of Hawkins, and he received a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to two felony offenses of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation.
Under the law, potential SVPs are subject to mental health reviews prior to completion of their criminal sentences. If prosecutors can prove that the defendant meets SVP criteria, a petition is filed to have the defendant civilly committed, Abrams noted in the prepared statement.
Before being paroled from state prison, Hawkins was evaluated by two psychologists at the Department of State Hospitals. They found that he met the criteria of a SVP, and the Solano County DA’s Office filed a petition on Sept. 10, 2021.
In addition to the 2013 qualifying offenses, psychologists considered a 2006 case in which Hawkins was determined to have attempted to commit rape when he was 13 years old.
During the four-week trial, both victims testified about the 2006 and 2013 crimes. Deputy District Attorney Barry Shapiro called as witnesses retired Vallejo Police Department detectives, retired Solano County probation officers, a clinician who treated Hawkins after his adjudication in 2006, and two psychologists, Abrams said.
Because the jury found Hawkins met the SVP criteria, he will be committed for treatment for an indefinite period of time, in accord with statutes in the Welfare and Institutions Code, to the Department of State Hospitals in Coalinga.
Shapiro led the prosecution, with assistance from Victim Advocate Cynthia Malloy, retired Vallejo Police Department detectives Sean Kenny and Jeremie Patzer, District Attorney Clerical Supervisor Carlos Noriega, and District Attorney Investigator Angela Pangelinan.