Mental competency hearing delayed for man accused of attacking 7-year-old
A hearing to set a date for the mental competency trial of a man accused of severely injuring a 7-year-old Desert Hot Springs boy in a random attack was rescheduled today to March 24 at the request of the defense.
Daniel Birch Poulsen, 33, was arrested last July after allegedly attacking Gavin Ludwick in the middle of the street in the 9600 block of Vista Del Valle, fracturing the boy s skull and rendering him unconscious.
At the request of the prosecution, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Harold Hopp previously ordered a jury trial to determine whether Poulsen is mentally fit to be prosecuted on one count each of attempted murder and willful child cruelty, along with two sentence-enhancing allegations of inflicting great bodily injury.