A judge Tuesday granted a Vancouver man’s request to end his mental health supervision requirements following his 2015 acquittal of attempted rape by reason of insanity in an attack on the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail.
Tremaine Rambo, 28, was charged in Clark County Superior Court with second-degree attempted rape in connection with the April 19, 2015, incident. Following his acquittal, Rambo was committed to Western State Hospital for an indeterminate amount of time.
Rambo, then 20, had grabbed a 26-year-old woman and tried to pull her off the trail and remove her clothes, according to a probable cause affidavit. She had been exercising on the trail behind her apartment complex.
In September 2020, Rambo was granted a conditional release to live with his mother while remaining under the supervision of the Department of Social and Health Services, according to a defense motion. The motion states Rambo has not committed any additional crimes since his release into the community, and he has continued to take medication and participate in treatment. The motion states his mental illness has been in remission, and he has a relapse prevention plan in place.
“He is clearly not just surviving out in the community but excelling,” the defense motion reads.
Western State Hospital’s Risk Review Board unanimously supported his release, along with Rambo’s treatment team at DSHS, the motion says.
The state’s Public Safety Review Panel did not agree with the department’s recommendation for his release. The panel expressed concern over Rambo’s desire to move, in order to go to school, and the potential strain it could put on his mental health. The panel said it feels Rambo should remain under supervision through that transition.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Toby Krauel said Tuesday the victim was glad to hear Rambo has made significant progress through treatment, but she still wished to see him be supervised.
“On all accounts, this has been a huge success for Mr. Rambo,” Krauel said. “I would come down on the side of (the Public Safety Review Panel’s) concern of him getting through these transitions and just maintaining the course with not completely doing away with the supervision that Western State Hospital provides.”
In a letter to the court, Rambo’s mother wrote that once he was released to her house, he got his driver’s license and immediately sought employment. She said he has done well at his job and contributes to household expenses. She also wrote he has been vigilant about taking and refilling his medications, and he has gotten back into an active lifestyle.
Judge Jennifer Snider noted Rambo’s age at the time of the incident, and she said she believes he has shown he is no longer a danger to the community.
“It was pretty clear from the (probable cause affidavit) that Mr. Rambo was in the throes of a pretty significant mental health crisis at the time this took place,” Snider said. “Very scary for the individual that encountered him but off track for his typical behavior prior to that. Since then, he’s been monitored. He’s been going through a variety of different steps. He’s remained pretty committed to his mental health treatment, … all of the things that we would want an individual to do — when given an opportunity to return out into the community — he’s done.”
