Marin judge issues no-bail order for school lewdness suspect

A man accused of exposing himself to girls at Mill Valley Middle School was ordered held without bail Friday as school administrators looked to improve campus security.

Derrell Bland, 33, poses too great a risk to public safety because of his extensive criminal record and history of skipping court appearances, Judge Geoffrey Howard said during an arraignment in Marin County Superior Court.

Howard also noted that Bland was laughing while the prosecutor recited the charges against him.

Mill Valley police arrested Bland on Tuesday in connection with a campus incident the previous afternoon. Police allege he entered a girls’ bathroom, exposed himself and committed a lewd act in front of two 11-year-old students.

Police booked Bland into the county jail with a bail amount of $25,000. During the arraignment Friday morning, Deputy District Attorney Aicha Mievis asked the judge to raise the bail amount to $150,000.

Mievis described the incident as a “particularly egregious and frightening case” in which Bland accosted the two girls while they were changing for after-school volleyball practice.

“The children were terrified and crying,” Mievis said. “They hid inside the bathroom stall.”

Mievis also said that Bland’s “very significant and lengthy criminal history” dates to 2010 and includes numerous bench warrants for failing to come to court hearings. The criminal complaint lists prior convictions in Marin, Sonoma and Sacramento counties.

Bland’s public defender, Hayden Brown, objected to the proposed bail escalation and said Bland was unlikely to pay even the lower amount.

Howard went a step further by ordering the no-bail hold. But he said the defense could revisit the matter at the next hearing on Tuesday, when Bland is scheduled to enter a plea.

The prosecution has charged Bland with two counts of false imprisonment plus counts of indecent exposure and annoying children, according to court records. The criminal complaint also includes potential penalty enhancements for cases involving vulnerable victims, increasingly serious criminal records and probation failure.

On Oct. 26, Bland pleaded guilty to threatening the Sausalito parks and recreation director during preparations for the “A Toast to Sausalito” street festival last month, according to court records and police. Bland challenged the official to a fight after being asked to leave because he was staring at people and making them uncomfortable, said Sausalito police Lt. Brian Mather.

“This incident was not isolated, as our staff and city personnel were already well-acquainted with Bland’s history of similar issues,” Mather said. “However, none of the previous incidents resulted in criminal charges, as there were no victims willing to pursue charges for the misdemeanor offenses.”

A judge placed Bland on probation for a year for the Sausalito conviction. That probation was revoked on Friday.

In communications to parents this week, Danny Chui, the principal of Mill Valley Middle School, credited the staff members who intercepted the suspect and called police. But he said the school is taking steps to make sure more adults are keeping watch, including hiring a second campus supervisor.

The job listing, which was posted Thursday, is for eight hours a day, five days a week. The pay range starts at $22.73 per hour, the listing says. The application deadline is Nov. 12.

“We’ve also implemented more sweeps of the bathrooms since the year started and will continue to do that with vigilance, and administrators will now divvy up home games and ensure more adult presences moving forward,” Chui wrote.

Bland is unemployed and lives in Mill Valley, according to the jail booking log.