SANTA PAULA : Jury to Rule on Suspect’s Sanity

A Ventura County judge decided Tuesday to let a jury determine whether a 24-year-old man who is accused of killing a Santa Paula ranch foreman is mentally competent to stand trial.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch’s decision came after two psychiatrists who examined Jose Luis Gonzalez could not agree on the issue.

The judge set jury selection for Feb. 7.

Gonzalez, a 23-year-old transient, is charged with murder in the May 14 death of Rosario De la Cruz, 47, who was shot four times in the chest as he stood in his Santa Paula home. Attorneys said De la Cruz told his wife just before he died that it was Gonzalez, a longtime family friend, who shot him.

In August, Gonzalez was sent to Patton State Hospital after two Ventura County doctors concluded he was severely mentally ill and could not understand the criminal court proceedings.

But in a letter to the court dated Oct. 10, Patton’s medical director said Gonzalez “is now able to understand the nature of the charges” against him and should be tried as soon as possible, while he is still mentally competent.

Deputy Public Defender Douglas W. Daily said he believes it will be difficult for a jury to understand the technicalities of the issue. He said he wanted Storch to decide the matter, not a jury.

However, Deputy Dist. Atty. James D. Ellison said prosecutors felt that a jury was the best way to decide the issue.