Prosecutors Want Second Opinion In Competency

A prosecutor asked a judge today to seek a second opinion concerning the mental competency of a 20-year-old Los Angeles gang member accused of fatally shooting a man in front of a Desert Hot Springs supermarket.

Anthony Raymond Magdaleno, also known as “Little Crow,” is charged with murder in the Oct. 10, 2009, death of 45-year-old Chi-Lu “Tony” Chen at the Vons store on Palm Drive.

A doctor’s report returned today concluded that Magdaleno was not competent to stand trial. Deputy District Attorney David Anderson argued the report was incomplete, and asked that a second doctor be appointed to evaluate the defendant’s mental state.

Superior Court Judge John M. Davis granted the motion, assigning a psychologist to return a second report to the court by July 18.

This is the second time Magdaleno’s mental state has come into question since he allegedly killed Chen.

Another judge declared Magdaleno competent to stand trial in April of last year. However, after an apparent breakdown by the defendant while in custody about two months ago, Magdaleno was committed to a psychiatric ward and defense attorney Rodney Verlato requested another hearing regarding his client’s mental state.

Magdaleno, an admitted member of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang in Los Angeles County, has been in custody since October 2009. The defendant has the gang name tattooed across his forehead and the initials “HG” tattooed on his chin.

A witness said Chen and Magdaleno spoke for less than a minute before the defendant allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Chen in the temple, according to Desert Hot Springs police Sgt. Dan Bressler.

When Magdaleno was ordered to stand trial last year, a District Attorney’s Office spokesman deemed the shooting “a random act of violence.”

Magdaleno, who also faces a sentence-enhancing firearm allegation, was identified as the alleged shooter by several witnesses who said they came into contact with him as he fled.

The defendant, who is being held in lieu of $1.5 million bail, faces up to 50 years to life in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors.

Chen had recently moved to the Coachella Valley to work in sales and marketing at the Agua Caliente Hotel and Spa on Palm Drive, which is across the street from the supermarket, according to the District Attorney’s Office.