By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com
A judge in Placerville suspended the criminal prosecution of accused kidnapper Phillip Garrido after his public defender declared she doubted his mental competency to face trial.
The judge ordered a hearing for Oct. 8 on whether to appoint a mental expert to examine the 59-year-old alleged kidnapper of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was abducted in 1991 at the age of 11.
The judge said he would allow the prosecution of Garrido's wife, Nancy Garrido to proceed. But he said he had his own doubts about Phillip Garrido's competency after public defender Susan Gellman said she, too, doubted his competency. The judge suspended the case.
The development could delay the prosecution of Phillip Garrido indefinitely.
His wife still faces a hearing Oct. 1.
An El Dorado County grand jury indicted the Garridos on new charges this week in an apparent attempt to speed up the case. It is likely that the indictment will be unsealed and Nancy Garrido arraigned in the coming week.
"We're talking about a timeout in the case," Gellman said. "We're not talking about not going forward."
She would not say that she was certain whether her client would someday face trial but told reporters the matter would be resolved in some fashion.
To declare a defendant incompetent, the law requires a finding that the defendant doesn't understand the nature of the proceedings and cannot assist in his defense. Gellman has previously said in court filings that her client may suffer from "serious mental illness" and she said today that she has seen him in the Eldorado County Jail more than 20 times and "We have had persistent trouble. I would just characterize it in that fashion."
Judge Douglas C. Phimister said he, too, had doubts about Garrido's competency, noting that in some hearings he witnessed Garrido looking away and ignoring his attorney as she tried to talk to him, sitting "totally mute" at times and "in a very aggressive manner making notes" when there appeared to be no reason to do so.
Call The Bee's Sam Stanton, (916) 321-1091.
Photo caption: Phillip Garrido sits with his attorney Susan Gellman during a June court appearance. (Jose Luis Villegas/jvillegas@sacbee.com)
KCRA: Garrido's mental state called into question
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