The 19-year-old charged in the murder of Washburn football player Dwane Simmons and the attempted murder of New York Giants cornerback Corey Ballentine was found competent to stand trial on Monday.
The latest ruling comes on the heels of Francisco Alejandro Mendez being deemed “uncooperative” during the initial competency hearing, which was scheduled for February 27.
At the time, psychiatrist Dr. David Blakely had informed the court that he was unable to render an opinion on Mendez due to a “lack of cooperation,” which Mendez claimed was a simple misunderstanding.
Following a second examination, Blakely determined that Mendez was incompetent to stand trial.
However, the Topkea-Capital Journal reports that Blakely changed his initial ruling after viewing Shawnee County Jail video and recordings of Mendez discussing his case with family, friends and other supporters.
David Blakely had initially concluded Francisco A. “Frankly” Mendez was not mentally competent to stand trial, but reversed that Monday after seeing and hearing Shawnee County Jail video and recordings of Mendez discussing the case with supporters.
Blakely said he now thought Mendez was probably competent to stand trial and assist in his own defense.
Shawnee County District Judge Cheryl Rios then found Mendez competent.
In those recording, Mendez told his mother and girlfriend that he had hoped to be deemed incompetent and subsequently forced to spend six months receiving mental evaluation at Larned State Hospital. He also revealed plans to change his representation several times in an effort to complicate matters.
Mendez faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder from the April 28 shooting, which came just hours after the Giants selected Ballentine in the sixth round of the draft. Mendez also faces several other charges, including seven counts of aggravated robbery stemming from unrelated incidents.
Shawnee County District Judge Cheryl Rios has schedule the trial to begin on July 13.
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