A woman who was charged with setting four coffee carts on fire at the University of California San Diego was committed on Friday, July 7 to a state psychiatric hospital because a judge found her mentally incompetent.
Criminal proceedings remain suspended against Kay Lyn Williamson, 30, who was arrested after the bizarre April 17 incident in which four separate coffee kiosks were set on fire at different parts of the campus around midnight.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Margo Woods read the psychiatric evaluation of Williamson before ordering her to go to Patton State Hospital for up to three years.
There has been no motive expressed for the incidents and Williamson is not affiliated with UC San Diego. Each cart received $5,000 in damages and the contents were estimated at $2,000 each. The kiosks were located near the Social Sciences building, Warren Mall, Center Hall, and Revelle Plaza.
Williamson was arrested the next day by the UC San Diego Police and she had been housed at the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility.
If she regains her ability to understand court proceedings via medication, she would return here for trial.