In mid-February, Francisco Alejandro Mendez, the man accused of shooting New York Giants cornerback Corey Ballentine and murdering Washburn football player Dwane Simmons, had his trial delayed in favor of a competency evaluation.
That evaluation was scheduled for February 27, but like the trial itself, has been delayed.
WBIW out Topeka, Kansas reports that Mendez was deemed “uncooperative” during the competency evaluation, leading to yet another delay.
A psychiatrist was unable to conduct a competency examination of a man charged with fatally shooting one Washburn University football player and wounding a second due to the defendant’s lack of cooperation, a judge was told on Thursday.
The judge on February 13 had ordered defendant Francisco Alejandro Mendez, 19, to undergo a competency evaluation by Dr. David Blakely.
Blakely informed the judge, prosecution and defense that he was unable to form an opinion on Mendez due to his “lack of cooperation.”
Mendez acknowledged the lack of cooperation, telling the Judge that he “didn’t understand what [the doctor] was saying.”
Shawnee County District Court Judge Cheryl Rios was not happy with the outcome and let Mendez know it.
“I want you to know this trial will go forward,” Rios told Mendez.
Judge Rios once again ordered that Mendez be evaluated by Dr. David Blakely and that an evidentiary hearing of the evaluation results would be scheduled for March 9.
Mendez faces a multitude of charges, including first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder from the April 28 shooting, which came hours after the Giants selected Ballentine in the sixth round of the draft. Mendez also faces several other charges, including seven counts of aggravated robbery stemming from unrelated incidents.
