Psych Evaluation Ordered
MURRIETA (CNS) – At the request of his attorney, a 31-year-old man accused of killing his aunt at her Menifee home was ordered Friday to undergo psychiatric evaluations to determine whether he’s fit to stand trial for murder.
Vicente Antonio Ortiz of Menifee was arrested last month following a Menifee Police Department investigation in the 27000 block of Adams Avenue, near Watson Road.
Along with murder, Ortiz is charged with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. Misdemeanor charges of brandishing a weapon and resisting arrest, stemming from an unrelated incident that occurred in December, were also filed by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
During his scheduled arraignment at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta Friday, Ortiz’s public defender submitted a motion to Superior Court Judge Judith Clark seeking psychological assessments to ascertain whether the defendant is mentally competent to stand trial.
The judge took Ortiz’s arraignment off the court’s calendar and directed that mental health examinations be conducted by Riverside University Health System professionals. She set another hearing for May 15 to confirm the status of the evaluations.
The defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.
According to Menifee police Lt. Paul Barbieri, shortly after 6 p.m. March 21, patrol officers were sent to the residence of 60-year-old Dixie Ortiz to investigate reports she had fallen and was hurt.
When they reached the location, officers found the victim “lying unresponsive on the floor with blood on her face,” Barbieri said.
Paramedics arrived moments later and pronounced her dead at the scene.
Homicide detectives were summoned and took over the investigation, confirming the victim had been stabbed one time, according to the lieutenant.
Detectives identified Vicente Ortiz as the alleged perpetrator and took him into custody without incident at the property. A possible motive wasn’t disclosed.
Ortiz has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County. No details were available regarding the misdemeanor allegations from December.
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