HAMMER-ATTACK SUSPECT WILL BE EVALUATED.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - A telephone repairman re·pair·man n. A man whose occupation is making repairs. Noun 1. repairman - a skilled worker whose job is to repair things maintenance man, service man accused of attacking a teenage girl and a woman with a hammer will be evaluated by psychiatrists and psychologists to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial. Gregory Franks, 25, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity not guilty by reason of insanity n. plea in court of a person charged with a crime who admits the criminal act, but whose attorney claims he/she was so mentally disturbed at the time of the crime that he/she lacked the capacity to have intended to commit a crime. Tuesday in Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Superior Court. ``There is a belief that he was insane at the time the crimes were committed,'' Deputy Public Defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was Fred Gagliardini said. ``There is evidence he was not sane at the time.'' Franks was jailed in lieu of $330,000 bail. He will return to court in September after being evaluated. If Franks is found to be incompetent, he will be treated in a state mental hospital until he is deemed competent to stand trial, Gagliardini said. Deputy District Attorney Dan Akemon said if Franks is found competent to stand trial, he will have a two-phase trial, one to determine if he's guilty, and a second to determine if he was sane at the time of the offenses. ``He pled not guilty by reason of insanity. That means we will have to litigate whether or not he was sane at the time of the incident,'' Akemon said. ``Proceedings have been suspended pending litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. of competence.'' Franks is charged in the November 2004 hammer attack on a 17-year-old girl at a home where he was sent on a telephone repair call and in another assault in June 2004 in which a woman acquaintance was threatened with a hammer. The charges against Franks include assault with intent to commit rape, attempted rape, residential burglary and assault with a deadly weapon Assault with a Deadly Weapon is the term used to describe the act of threatening to harm one or more people by using a weapon (usually a firearm). Here, assault must be differentiated from battery as they are often confused. Assault is threatening to use force. . He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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