A judge has dismissed charges against a man accused of driving a car at California Highway Patrol officers and sheriff's deputies in Atherton in 2006, but his defense attorney says "he is serving a sentence worse than any court could have given him."

The man, Nelson Gonzalez Jr., 44, of Redwood City, was shot by a CHP officer during the incident and is now paralyzed. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon for driving his car at the officers following a high-speed chase in Menlo Park and Atherton.

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Karesh dismissed the charges Sept. 12, during the fourth day of a trial, because of Mr. Gonzalez's medical condition.

Judge Karesh, according to the DA's report, "found the defendant's mental and physical condition to be dire, detailed a list of physical ailments the defendant is currently suffering from, and found that the medications the defendant must take for pain cause a severe mental degradation."

The judge determined that despite the seriousness of the charges, Mr. Gonzalez couldn't assist in his defense, and the trial should not go forward, the report said.

The DA's office objected to the dismissal, but Karen Guidotti, chief deputy DA, later said: "We are not upset by Judge Karesh's decision. We believe his ruling is reasonable given the testimony that was heard." That testimony included statements by Mr. Gonzalez's doctor; his brother, who along with his mother is his caregiver; and Rachel Holt, the defense attorney.

The shooting occurred Aug. 19, 2006, after Mr. Gonzalez led CHP and Sheriff's Office deputies on a chase that began in Redwood City, traversed a section of the Bayshore Freeway and Menlo Park roadways, and ended when he crashed his car into a fence and berm in Atherton.

Police say that after the crash, Mr. Gonzalez drove his car at them, which led one officer to fire his gun at him.

Mr. Gonzalez's trial began last week, but was hindered by the extremity of his disabilities, which largely confine him to a bed in his mother's home. His court appearances were limited to a few hours because of his medical condition.

During the brief trial, Mr. Gonzalez's doctor testified about the defendant's condition "and the dangers incurred by the defendant by being transported to court," according to the DA's report. Ms. Holt testified about the difficulty she had communicating with her client because of his mental and physical condition, the report said.

After the trial, Ms. Holt told the Almanac she was concerned that it would be "impossible for the court to determine that the defendant would be mentally present" and able to participate in the process of his defense.

Under state law, both the DA and the judge have the power to dismiss a court case "in the interest of justice," Ms. Holt said.

Ms. Guidotti told the Almanac that although the DA's office had the authority to dismiss the case, the prosecution objected to dismissal because Mr. Gonzalez, who has a lengthy criminal record, "engaged in extremely dangerous conduct toward officers." The officers, she added, wanted the case to go forward.

But she said her office wasn't seeking a prison sentence under the circumstances. Instead, it was pursuing a conviction and "seeking for him to admit responsibility," she said.

Ms. Holt said that her client "wanted to exercise his right to a trial," and hadn't intended to harm the officers. She said she was surprised that the DA's office didn't choose to dismiss the case after seeing "how bad off" Mr. Gonzalez is. His doctor had testified that he shouldn't be in the wheelchair he needed to attend the trial for more than a short time because his body needed to be rotated every two hours to avoid pressure sores that could lead to serious infections, she said.

The trial had consolidated the charges from the Aug. 19, 2006, incident with charges stemming from a South San Francisco incident five days earlier, in which Mr. Gonzalez allegedly tried to leave a motel without fully paying his bill, Ms. Holt said. In that incident, Mr. Gonzalez fought with officers, and was hospitalized under psychiatric watch, she said.

In both incidents, Mr. Gonzalez was found to be under the influence of drugs, she said.

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