The death penalty murder trial for a man accused in a 2010 shooting rampage that killed three people is being postponed so his mental competency can be determined.
Jury selection for Jesse James Warren’s capital murder trial was scheduled to begin Monday. But Warren, 60, is being evaluated by state mental health officials following an order issued three weeks ago by a Cobb County Superior Court judge.
“Whereas these mental health professionals have offered an opinion that the defendant is currently incompetent to stand trial but could benefit from treatment and potentially be restored, it is hereby ordered that custody of the defendant shall be transferred to the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities and/or the Adult Forensic Services Division of Georgia Regional Hospital for further psychological observation, evaluation and treatment,” Superior Court Judge Mary E. Staley wrote in her May 9 order.
It is unclear how long Warren is to be evaluated, but Staley ordered the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities to provide a diagnosis as well as determine whether Warren is capable of standing trial or “whether there is a substantial probability that the defendant will attain competency in the foreseeable future.”
Warren faces three murder charges and multiple aggravated assault charges on accusations that he went to his former job, Penske truck rental in Kennesaw, on Jan. 12, 2010, and shot five men.
Killed at the scene were 43-year-old Jaider Phillipe Marvlanda of Lawrenceville and 59-year-old Van Springer of Woodstock.
Roberto Gonzalez, 31, of Dallas died the next day.
The shooting spree also left Joshua Holbrook paralyzed and initially left Zacharia Werner in a coma with a bullet lodged in his brain stem.
Warren worked as a truck mechanic at the Kennesaw Penske facility from June 2005 to July 2009.
It is unclear when a new court date will be set.
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