Court official to decide whether murder defendant is mentally fit for trial
After years of delays, a court official could soon decide whether a murder defendant is mentally fit to stand trial on charges that he bludgeoned a Costa Mesa handyman to death in 2013.
Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Edward Hall is set to hear arguments next week on whether Christopher Ernest Leovy, 36, is able to understand the court proceedings in his case and help in his own defense.
Leovy, a Los Angeles resident who police say moved to Costa Mesa for drug rehabilitation before becoming homeless, could face up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of a murder charge.
Prosecutors allege Leovy was staying as a squatter at a building in Costa Mesa in September 2013 when he got into an altercation with handyman John Gerard Kubat, 54, and killed him with a blunt object.
Leovy’s lawyer, Joel Tamraz, has said Leovy is paranoid, hallucinating and unable to make any meaningful contribution to his defense.
Proceedings in the case were repeatedly delayed while Leovy declined to speak with court-appointed psychologists assigned to examine him.
According to Tamraz, two of the three appointed psychologists eventually managed to speak with Leovy and found him unfit to stand trial.
At a hearing Monday, Tamraz and prosecutor Matt Murphy agreed to forgo a jury trial to determine Leovy’s mental competency. Instead, Hall will review the psychologists’ reports and decide.
Hall scheduled a March 30 court date to hear arguments and any other evidence about Leovy’s mental state.
If Hall finds Leovy is not competent, Leovy would be treated at a state mental hospital until he’s well enough to face the charges.
In addition to the murder charge, Leovy is facing a felony count of battery on a peace officer. Police who arrested him in Costa Mesa’s Wilson Park two days after the killing alleged that he struggled with them.
Leovy is being held without bail in Orange County Jail.
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Jeremiah Dobruck, jeremiah.dobruck2@latimes.com
Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck
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