A judge has suspended criminal proceedings against Nicolas Rosales who is charged with killing his former employer who was an auto repair shop owner on Rosecrans Street in 2011.
The attorney for Rosales, now 53, told a San Diego Superior Court judge he doubted that his client was mentally competent to understand court proceedings.
Although his preliminary hearing was set for Jan. 24, the judge canceled that hearing and set a March 2 mental competency hearing.
Rosales is accused of shooting Jalal (Joe) Abou, 63, on April 19, 2011 at 7:30 a.m. at Joe’s Auto Repair in the 1900 block of Rosecrans Street. Abou was shot several times.
Rosales, a mechanic, fled to Mexico and was arrested there for a separate crime. He was in prison for several years, but finished his term and handed over to the U.S. Marshals Service in Mexico City in September 2017. He was extradited here.
Rosales will be interviewed in jail and a psychiatric evaluation will be given to the judge before the March 2 hearing. If a judge finds him competent, criminal proceedings will resume. If not, Rosales would be sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment and would be returned if doctors said he regained his mental competency.
Rosales previously pleaded not guilty and remains in jail without bail.