FRESNO, Calif. _ A Fresno County judge on Friday ordered a psychiatric evaluation for suspected shooting-spree killer Kori Ali Muhammad, who entered the courtroom yelling, "Let black people go!"
Muhammad, in shackles and wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit, made his first Fresno County Superior Court appearance since the deadly shootings of the past week, but the proceedings were suspended after the defendant's outburst. He also yelled that black people "need reparations."
Muhammad's mental competency was questioned by his public defender. Judge W. Kent Hamlin ordered a psychiatric evaluation. Muhammad's arraignment was rescheduled for May 12.
Bail was set at $2.6 million.
A criminal complaint accuses Muhammad of murder in the April 13 shooting death of motel security guard Carl Allen Williams III. He also is accused of the attempted murder that night of security guard Oscar Menjivar.
Police say Muhammad was the gunman in a shooting rampage Tuesday morning in central Fresno that left three men dead.
If convicted of the Motel 6 murder charge, Muhammad, 39, faces life in prison. But he could face the death penalty in the case involving the alleged multiple murders.
Muhammad, 39, is being held in the Fresno County Jail.
Police continue to investigate the murders of Zackary David Randalls, 34, of Clovis; Mark James Gassett, 37, of Fresno; and David Martin Jackson, 58, of Fresno. Once police hand over investigative reports, the District Attorney's Office will review them to determine what charges to file for those slayings.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer has said the four killings were fueled by Muhammad's hatred of white people. Muhammad is black. All of the murder victims were white.
Court records say Muhammad has several aliases, including Kori McWallace, Kori Taylor, Corey Allen Taylor and Cory Allen Muhammad. He grew up in Fresno, but later moved to Sacramento, where he racked up nine criminal cases in Sacramento Superior Court between 1997 and 2004, including a gun conviction, online records indicate. His criminal record also includes making criminal threats, forgery, false imprisonment and driving under the influence, online records state.
In October 2006, he was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Fresno to possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. He released from prison in September 2001 and placed on supervised release.
He completed supervised release in September last year, court records say.
