Criminal proceedings have been suspended against a man charged with killing a female clerk in a Midway Drive adult bookstore because his attorney says he may be mentally incompetent.
Ward is accused of fatally stabbing Diane Spaguolo, 65, on Oct. 29 at the X-Spot adult bookstore at 3600 Midway Drive.
The attorney for Shaun Douglas Ward, 39, told a judge Nov. 14 he thought he might not understand court proceedings, so Ward will be evaluated in jail by either a psychiatrist or a psychologist.
A mental competency hearing was set for Jan. 23, 2019. If he is found incompetent, he will be sent to a state psychiatric hospital for treatment. If he is found competent, a preliminary hearing will be set in San Diego Superior Court. When Ward was arraigned, a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf as he refused to say a word in court. He refused to give his name and would not sign a statement saying his attorney had advised him of his constitutional rights.
The judge at the arraignment read a page of his rights to Ward in open court, but he refused to acknowledge that he had heard them. She read into the record that she had advised him and he gave no response.
“He has been non verbal. He did not say he was not Shawn Ward,” said Judge Maureen Hallahan on Nov.
2.
Spagnuolo was apparently killed in a robbery. Someone walked into the store at 1:45 p.m. and called 911 after finding Spagnuolo with trauma to her upper body.