Teen held in fatal 2023 crash into Las Vegas bicyclist captured on video found unfit for trial
LAS VEGAS (AP) — One of two teenagers charged with murder in the fatal video-recorded crash of an allegedly stolen car into a bicyclist in Las Vegas last year has been found unfit to stand trial next month.
Court records showed Thursday that a state court judge on Wednesday ordered the teen, now 19, moved from jail in Las Vegas to a secure Nevada psychiatric facility for evaluation, treatment and possible trial if he is found competent. The commitment order suspends criminal charges against him.
His court-appointed public defender, David Westbrook, did not respond Thursday to messages about the case.
The teen and a younger co-defendant, also male, each pleaded not guilty last year to murder and other felony charges alleging they acted together in a series of car thefts and hit-and-run vehicle incidents in August 2023, including the apparently intentional striking of a bicyclist on a quiet northwest Las Vegas street.
The Associated Press is not naming the defendants due to their ages at the time of the alleged crimes.
According to police, the teenagers earlier stole a vehicle, struck a 72-year-old bicyclist with it, and drove away. That man reported knee pain but was not hospitalized.
The bicyclist who died was Andreas “Andy” Probst, 64, a retired former police chief in the city of Bell, outside Los Angeles. His family said he was on a recreational bike ride when video showed he was struck from behind and left fatally injured on the side of the road.
Cellphone video, shot from the front passenger seat of an allegedly stolen vehicle, circulated widely on the internet before Las Vegas police found and arrested the teens.
They are charged as adults under Nevada law that lets suspects age 13 and older be tried in state court on murder or attempted murder charges. They cannot face the death penalty because of their ages. The most severe sentence they could receive if they are convicted of murder is 20 years to life in state prison.
Court records show that the older teen has also pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, battery and attempted robbery charges in a separate case related to a June 2023 stabbing.
It was not immediately clear Thursday if the younger teen will stand trial Nov. 12 as scheduled. A pretrial hearing is scheduled Nov. 5 in Clark County District Court. His attorney, Daniel Hill, did not respond to messages.
