Attorneys in Noriega murder case await psych test results
The trial of a Mayetta resident accused of the November 2015 stabbing death of a Mayetta woman may be delayed a second time unless Jackson County District Court Judge Norbert Marek receives a report on whether the accused is psychologically ready to stand trial, the judge said Thursday.
During a pre-trial motion hearing held that afternoon in district court, Marek said he had been told that a psychological evaluation had been performed on Wilson R. Noriega, 50, but no report has been received by the court.
“At this point, we’re going to have to have another setting,” Marek said, referring to the possible rescheduling of a five-day trial for Noriega, set to begin Monday, Dec. 12 in district court.
Noriega has been charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 21, 2015 stabbing death of 49-year-old Leann M. Sanchez at a residence reportedly owned by Noriega's parents on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation. He is also charged with possession of methamphetamines and possession of drug paraphernalia in this matter, it was reported.
He was originally slated to stand trial in July on the charges, but the trial was “taken out of setting” by Marek at that time after granting a motion to dismiss Noriega’s defense attorney at the outset of the case, Holton attorney J. Richard Lake.
Defense attorney Donald Hoffman of Topeka agreed with Marek’s assessment, saying he “won’t be ready” for a trial in December if the report on Noriega’s psychological evaluation was not received in the next week. Hoffman told Marek that if that were the case, he would need to file a motion for continuance.
According to court records, Hoffman had motioned for a determination of Noriega’s competency to stand trial in late July. Marek granted the motion and ordered KANZA Mental Health Services to conduct the competency evaluation a day after Hoffman’s motion was filed, but on Thursday, the judge said, “we don’t know where the report is.”
Hoffman agreed to meet on Tuesday afternoon in district court with Marek and a representative from the Jackson County Attorney’s office to discuss the whereabouts of the report, since County Attorney Shawna Miller noted that she would not be present at that time.
Noriega, who had pleaded guilty to the charges against him in March, currently remains at the Jackson County Detention Center on $1 million bond.
