Knife-wielding man in Arden arrested twice in a day for tresspassing, neighborhood left shaken up
Home surveillance footage shows a man accused of attempting to gain access to houses in the Arden area swinging around a knife on someone's front porch. Brian Mattson, 56, was arrested twice on Saturday, both for similar circumstances.
The incident was first reported on Thursday evening, when surveillance video captured Mattson allegedly acting erratically and waving a knife on a front porch.
"I thought it was a movie or a prank. It seemed like such a fake thing going on, especially in our neck of the woods," said Michael Deauville, who lives next door to where the surveillance footage was taken.
The quiet family neighborhood is shaken up after Thursday's incident.
"I've got young kids sleeping real close to where he was," said Deauville.
Mattson was later arrested and charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing on Saturday morning. According to the Sacramento County Sheriff's office, Sacramento County Probation declined to hold Mattson, and he was released.
Sheriff's deputies arrested him again just a few hours later at a business near Fair Oaks Boulevard and San Lucas Way. He was booked for criminal trespassing and violating probation.
"I saw cops flying by, went to see what was going on, and lo and behold, it was déjà vu. Police were getting him for some occurrences done previously during the day, so it just seems like the definition of insanity, doing something over and over again," Deauville said.
Deauville said neighbors were shocked to learn Mattson had been released so quickly after the first arrest. "None of us are lawyers or attorneys or understand how that system works, but to hear he was back within two hours… was just kind of mind-blowing," he said.
Mattson's probation violation charge is a felony. He is currently not eligible for bail, according to jail records.
A legal expert told CBS News Sacramento the initial release may have been due to the lesser charge at the time. Justin Ward, managing attorney at Ward Law Firm, said probation officials may have only seen a misdemeanor trespassing charge and determined it did not warrant holding him.
Ward added that public concern following the incident may have contributed to the second arrest, as agencies became more aware of the situation.
"I don't think anybody's slept good since knowing this is happening and then happening again so quickly after he was arrested the first time. There's a lot of questions in the neighborhood of what do we do now," said Deauville.
Mattson is expected to be in court on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, neighbors are asking for more transparency from law enforcement and county probation.
CBS Sacramento reached out to the county probation about the initial release, but hasn't heard back.
Neighbors, including Deauville, also held a small community gathering on Monday, saying they believe the incident may be isolated but want to ensure lessons are learned to prevent something similar from happening again.
