Key court dates set for alleged cop-killer case
A man accused of fatally shooting two Palm Springs Police officers in October of 2016 appeared in court today. The appearance yielded some new dates for the case’s timeline; John Hernandez Felix’s trial readiness conference was pushed back to April 27, and his tentative jury trial date is set for October 23.
Felix’s Atkins hearing date is set for October 9. During this hearing, Felix’s defense can make an argument that Felix’s intellectual disabilities would disallow him from being eligible for the death penalty.
The argument would be founded on constitutional grounds; if an intellectually disabled person is sentenced to the death penalty, it is considered a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
On October 8, 2016, Felix allegedly shot and killed veteran training Officer Jose Gilbert Vega, 63, and rookie Officer Lesley Zerebney, 27. (In February, a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in honor of Officers Zerebney and Vega.)
Late last summer, Felix was deemed competent to stand trial after a brief case suspension from May to September, when his attorneys declared their doubts in his competence.
In December, Felix was ordered to stand trial on two charges of murder and six charges of attempted murder (three of the attempted murder charges were brought against Felix during the December appearance). In January, Felix pled not guilty to the additional attempted murder charges.
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