SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A judge suspended criminal proceedings Friday (July 14) against Jon David Guerrero in the murders of four homeless people including a man who attended the Metropolitan Community Church.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Michael Smyth set a mental competency hearing for July 24 by another judge for Guerrero, 40, in which he might be returned to a state psychiatric facility for treatment.
Smyth didn’t make a ruling on mental competency because he only received an e-mail from a court appointed psychiatrist who interviewed Guerrero in jail instead of a full psychiatric evaluation.
In the email, the psychiatrist reported he evaluated Guerrero in jail recently and determined he was not mentally competent. The e-mail message was discussed by Smyth and the attorneys in open court.
The ruling about suspending criminal proceedings was opposed by Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey because she noted it was only an e-mail message and not a full psychiatric report.
Guerrero’s attorney, Dan Tandon, asked for the full hearing. “Jon Guerrero undoubtedly suffers from severe mental illness,” he said afterwards.
“Its clear he has suffered from mental illness for many, many years,” said Tandon, who added the key to understanding “what happened and why” is to understand the underlying mental illness.
The ruling is a blow to the prosecution as Mackenzie wanted to present witnesses in a 4-day preliminary hearing which is now put off indefinitely.
Railroad spikes were plunged into the bodies of three of the murder victims and other survivors. The identification of two victims was found in Guerrero’s apartment after he was arrested on July 15, 2016.
The first homicide victim was Angelo DeNardo, 53, who was attacked where he was sleeping under the Interstate 5 bridge near Mission Bay July 3, 2016. His body was set on fire after he died.
DeNardo attended MCC for two years. The church held a memorial service Aug. 7 in his memory and those of the other victims.
Shawn Longley, 41, died in Ocean Beach where he was sleeping on July 4, 2016. Another man was attacked in the Midway District after a railroad spike was driven into his sinus cavity and he survived, but was left blind.
The third murder victim was Dionicio Vahidy, 23, who was found dead July 6, 2016, downtown. A fourth murder victim was Molly Simons, 83, who was walking to a bus stop in North Park July 13, 2016 when she suffered a skull fracture. Simons is the only female victim.
Guerrero was found to be mentally incompetent in October 2016, and sent to Patton State Hospital. With medication, Guerrero was found to be mentally competent in March and returned here.
He previously has pleaded not guilty. He is also charged with special circumstance allegations that allege multiple victims were killed. He is also charged with assaulting many victims who also survived.
