By The Associated Press, AP
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) Criminal proceedings were suspended Thursday for a man charged with killing four people in a shooting at a Southern California office complex pending a mental competency evaluation, his attorney said.
Kenneth Morrison, assistant public defender, said he told the court that Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez was not mentally competent to assist in his own defense and might not understand the charges against him. It was the first time his client was brought to court since he was charged more than three months ago, Morrison said.
Two doctors were assigned to assess the competency of Gaxiola Gonzalez, who remains in custody and faces four counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 6.
Mental exam ordered for California mass murder suspect shot in head by police
By Keith Coffman
Reuters
(Reuters) - A California judge on Thursday ordered a mental competency exam for a man accused of fatally shooting four people at a Los Angeles-area real estate office in March and who was shot in the head by police during the rampage.
Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, 44, appeared in an Orange County courtroom while sitting in a wheelchair and wearing a white helmet, said Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the county district attorney.
Prosecutors allege Gonzalez opened fire with a semiautomatic pistol inside the office of a mobile home realty company in the city of Orange, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, after padlocking gates to the business complex from the inside.
Judge Suspends Criminal Proceedings Against Alleged Mass Shooter, Orders Mental Exam
An Orange County, Calif. judge suspended court proceedings July 8 against Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, the man accused of killing four people and injuring another, pending a mental competency evaluation.
The proceedings marked Gonzalez’s first court appearance since a March 31 mass shooting in Orange that ended when he was shot in the head by police. He could be seen in court behind a barrier in a wheelchair, wearing a white helmet.
Ken Morrison, Gonzalez’s attorney, said during the proceedings that he doesn’t believe Gonzalez is currently competent enough to assist counsel in his own defense. He’s likely unable to understand the nature of the criminal proceedings against him, Morrison said.
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Superior Court Judge Cheri Pham ordered the mental evaluation to determine if Gonzales understands the charges against him and can meaningfully assist in his own defense, his lawyer, Kenneth Morrison, told Reuters.
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“As I told the court, he appears to be making improvement in his physical condition, but he is still not at this point able to communicate effectively,” Morrison said.
Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for the shooting spree, but have said the gunman had both personal and business connections to all of the adult victims.
Orange mass shooting suspect appears in court, criminal proceeding suspended
By CNS author article
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - An Orange County Superior Court judge Thursday suspended legal proceedings in the case against a man accused of killing four people in a shooting rampage in Orange while two doctors will examine the defendant to determine if he is able to assist in his defense.
Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, 44, sustained a bullet wound to the head in the March 31 shootings and had to have a portion of his brain removed during surgery.
He has been described as somewhat like a stroke patient working to recover his ability to walk and speak, but has shown some signs of progress, though not enough for his attorneys to say in court whether they can communicate with him enough so he can assist in his defense.