The Menlo Park handyman accused of shooting a 21-year-old cab driver during a botched robbery last fall may avoid trial if two court-appointed psychiatrists find him unable to aid in his own defense.
Criminal proceedings against Lousa Mataele, 32, were suspended yesterday after his defense attorneys questioned his competency. Mataele's was scheduled to face a jury January but now returns to court Dec. 16 to learn if he'll instead be sent to a state mental hospital for treatment.
If Mataele is deemed competent and is ultimately convicted, he could be sent to prison for life without parole for the first-degree murder of Davinder Singh, the attempted murder of another passenger and the robbery. District Attorney Jim Fox decided against seeking the death penalty.
Mataele was arrested Sept. 13, 2003, shortly after Singh was found shot twice in the head in his cab in Redwood City. The shooting occurred in the early morning hours, after a night of drinking with 25-year-old Jaime Torres of Redwood City. The men barely knew each other but Torres testified during a preliminary hearing that Mataele went with him to a friend's home to continue drinking.
When Torres called a cab to go home, Mataele climbed in, too. Shortly into the drive, Mataele allegedly pulled a gun from a backpack he was carrying and demanded money from Singh, the driver. Before Singh could respond, he was shot twice, Torres said.
The shooting caused Singh to crash the cab into a parked car at Ebener Street and Oak Avenue. Torres said Mataele then turned the gun toward him, demanding his cell phone and gold teeth, before fleeing. Torres suffered a cut lip. Singh died. Mataele was discovered about 20 minutes later at a bus stop on El Camino Real with the backpack containing the gun.
Mataele remains in custody on no-bail status.
Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.
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CA Is Burning said:
Makes sense, 500 union jobs, millions in donations from unions to democrats.
CA Is Burning said:
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