VENTURA : Suspect in Attack Competent for Trial

A Ventura man charged with attempted murder was found mentally competent to stand trial Friday despite his claims that he hears voices and speaks with the devil.

Two doctors who examined Dallas Keith Carter, 24, concluded that he can help in his trial defense if he remains on medication for his paranoid schizophrenia, according to court documents.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch accepted the doctors’ findings, allowing the prosecution of Carter to go forward. Criminal proceedings had been put on hold until a determination of Carter’s mental competency could be made.

Carter is charged with attempted murder, rape and robbery in an April 22 attack on a Ventura girl, who was choked into unconsciousness and then raped in the bedroom of a friend’s Ventura home, attorneys said.

The robbery charge stems from Carter allegedly taking the victim’s purse after the attack.

In light of the court’s ruling that Carter is mentally competent, a July 19 preliminary hearing has been scheduled to decide if there is enough evidence to bring the case to trial.