Judge Rules Man Fit to Stand Trial : Courts: La Habra janitor faces a possible death sentence if convicted of setting a bookkeeper on fire after a dispute.

A La Habra janitor accused of setting a bookkeeper on fire after a dispute over a $150 check is mentally fit to stand trial for murder, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Jonathan Daniel D’Arcy, 31, faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the Feb. 2, 1993, death of Karen Marie LaBorde, 42, of Orange.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald had ordered D’Arcy to undergo a 90-day psychiatric evaluation after expressing concern that while D’Arcy understood the nature of the charges against him, he might not have the mental ability to assist in his own defense.

After reviewing reports from the evaluation, Fitzgerald determined Tuesday that prosecutors can go forward with their capital case against D’Arcy. A trial is expected later this year.

Defense attorney Paul G. Stark, who recently began defending D’Arcy, declined to comment.

Psychiatrists have determined that D’Arcy suffers from paranoid delusions and court records show he has a history of criminal arrests and violent behavior. Recently, D’Arcy had told the judge he wanted to act as his own attorney, a request that was denied.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Molko said it is not unusual for a defendant to have mental difficulties while also being found mentally competent to stand trial.

“If you couldn’t do this, anyone with a mental problem could never be tried,” Molko said.

Before her death, LaBorde worked for a Tustin building maintenance company to support her two teen-age children and an unemployed husband. D’Arcy was a contract maintenance worker for the company and was enraged over a late payment of $150 he claimed the company owed him, authorities said.

Witnesses said D’Arcy forced his way into LaBorde’s office, doused her with gasoline from a plastic drink container and then walked away as flames engulfed her. The bookkeeper suffered burns on over 95% of her body and died shortly after the attack, officials said.