Competency bench trial set for accused Palm Springs cop killer
The mental state of a 27-year-old ex-con charged with the ambush killings of two Palm Springs police officers will be debated beginning Monday before an judge who will decide whether the defendant is competent to stand trial on murder and other charges that could result in the
death penalty.
After John Hernandez Felix’s attorneys declared doubts as to his ability to assist in his defense, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Erwood ruled in May that criminal proceedings would remain suspended until the defendant’s competence, of lack thereof, could be confirmed by two psychiatrists.
The doctors’ reports have since been filed with the court, and attorneys agreed Friday morning to commence with the bench trial on Monday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony R. Villalobos.
To obtain a mentally incompetent finding, Felix’s attorneys would need to provide “substantial evidence” that their client, who’s being held without bail, does not understand the nature of the criminal proceedings against him and cannot assist them in his defense.
Defense attorney John Dolan said he doubts Felix’s competence after having conversations with him and engaging the services of a neuropsychologist.
Felix is accused of shooting veteran training Officer Jose Gilbert Vega, 63, rookie Officer Lesley Zerebny, 27, and a third officer through the metal screen door of his home when they responded to a family disturbance call.
He also allegedly fired on two of their colleagues, who were not struck by the gunfire last Oct. 8.
The shooting triggered a 12-hour standoff and his eventual surrender. Prosecutors allege Felix was wearing body armor and fired armor piercing rounds from an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
District Attorney Mike Hestrin has alleged that Felix specifically targeted police.
“This individual knew what he was doing. His actions were deliberate. He attacked these officers for no other reason than they were there, answering a call for service,” Hestrin said when the charges were announced last fall.
The deaths of Vega and Zerebny marked the first time Palm Springs police officers had been killed in the line of duty since Jan. 1, 1962, when Officer Lyle Wayne Larrabee died during a vehicle pursuit. The only other death in the department was that of Officer Gale Gene Eldridge, fatally shot Jan. 18, 1961, while investigating an armed robbery.
Vega had been with the department for 35 years — five years past his retirement eligibility — and had planned to finish his career last December. He had eight children, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Zerebny had been with the department for a year and a half and had just returned to duty from maternity leave after the birth of a daughter, Cora, four months before her death.
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
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