Judge suspends case in deadly shooting near Waterford

A judge on Thursday suspended a case for a Modesto man accused of killing two people near Waterford, because the court has to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial.

Alejandro Naranjo, 23, is charged with two counts of murder, along with carjacking and being a felon in possession of a gun, in the deaths of Corrine Winter, 33, of Modesto and Jose Antonio Leon, 34, of Ceres. They were shot outside El Rincon bar about 11:30 p.m. April 26, 2014.

Naranjo has chosen to represent himself in his trial, which was supposed to be rescheduled Thursday. But Martin Baker, who has been appointed to be stand-by defense counsel on this murder case, told the judge he questions Naranjo’s ability to understand the proceedings.

Baker’s job is to be ready to take over the defense’s case if Naranjo changes his mind about representing himself. Baker said the defendant’s competency became a concern to the defense attorney during a few conversations with Naranjo over the past month.

Deputy District Attorney Brad Nix argued that nothing has changed in Naranjo since he decided to represent himself and Baker was removed as court-appointed defense attorney. The prosecutor said there is not sufficient information to support Baker’s claim that Naranjo is mentally unfit.

“This is simply more delay tactics. And, frankly, I’m getting tired,” Nix told the judge.

Baker argued that the judge determined Naranjo was competent to represent himself in court, not whether he is mentally competent to understand the court proceedings in his pending trial.

Nix said it’s clear Naranjo should not act as his own attorney since he is not able to handle himself in a courtroom, but the court has already decided Naranjo can defend himself.

Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Ricardo Córdova suspended the murder case and assigned forensic psychologist Phil Trompetter to evaluate Naranjo. The judge said Trompetter will determine whether Naranjo is mentally competent to stand trial and whether he’s competent to represent him in court.

Córdova also reappointed Baker as Naranjo’s defense attorney, for now. Naranjo will return to court Feb. 17 for a report from the forensic psychologist.

Naranjo is suspected of trying to steal a vehicle belonging to one victim. The deadly shooting occurred outside the bar at 10012 Yosemite Blvd., about two miles west of Waterford.

Several hours after the shooting, Naranjo was arrested at his home in the 400 block of North Martin Luther King Drive in west Modesto.

This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Judge suspends case in deadly shooting near Waterford."