A judge on Thursday once again delayed the decision to set a
sanity hearing date for Pete Joseph Valdez III, who is accused of
trying to shoot a police officer in the face.
A judge on Thursday once again delayed the decision to set a sanity hearing date for Pete Joseph Valdez III, who is accused of trying to shoot a police officer in the face.
Valdez, the son of former Gilroy City Councilman Pete Valdez Jr., faces felony charges of attempted murder of a police officer, assault of a police officer with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a gun, and delaying or resisting a police officer. If convicted of these charges Valdez, who has been denied bail, would spend the rest of his life in prison.
County prosecutors are looking to subpoena medical records for Pete Valdez III in the hopes of proving that the accused attempted killer is mentally competent to stand trial.
Two court-ordered doctors found the man incompetent earlier this summer, and a jury will decide if Valdez should face charges of attempted murder and three other felonies later this year. To make sure the jury can decide whether Valdez has legitimate mental issues or started feigning them to avoid a life sentence at San Quentin State Prison, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson is requesting that the court subpoena medical and phone records from the defendant’s time in jail, she said. She also wants to gather anecdotes from Gilroy police officers and associates of Valdez who knew him before his November 2007 arrest.
“Valdez was competent until a short while ago so is this a real breakdown or is he just under stress – as anybody would be – facing these charges?” Hendrickson said in September.
During the proceedings, the burden of proof will rest on the defense – not the prosecution, as it normally does – to prove that Valdez is incompetent. The jury will only decide on his competence and not whether he is guilty of any charges. A separate jury will decide the criminal matter only if the first jury finds the defendant mentally fit.
The court is scheduled to reconvene Dec. 10 to set Valdez’s trial date.
