Napa State Hospital

A patient, who allegedly knocked a custodian unconscious last Wednesday, has been arrested in connection with another assault at Napa State Hospital, KGO reported.

In a statement to the media, Deborah Moore, public information officer for the hospital, wrote on Saturday: "A staff member was assaulted by a patient this morning while escorting them on grounds. The staff member has been transferred from a local hospital to another facility.  The patient has been arrested and transported to Napa County Jail."

Although hospital officials did not identify the name of the assailant, Sean Michael Bouchie, 24, was booked on suspicion of felony battery on Saturday at Napa County Jail – the only person booked in the jail that day, the Napa Valley Register reported. Staff members told KGO that Bouchie was also responsible for knocking unconscious a custodian at the hospital last week. 

The overwhelming majority of the patients in the state-run mental hospital are forensically committed, meaning that they've been deemed unfit to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity. 

In October, Donna Gross, a psychiatric technician, was slain on the hospital grounds. She was allegedly strangled by a patient, Jess Willard Massey, who is now facing charges in connection with her death. Since Gross' murder, patients' grounds passes have been revoked, and the hospital and the state's Department of Mental Health have been under increased pressure from employee unions to improve security at the facility.