Accused O.C. mass shooter is ruled unfit to stand trial
A man accused of carrying out a mass shooting in March in Orange County will not stand trial after a judge ruled that a gunshot wound to his head had rendered him unable to assist in his defense.
The case against Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, 45, will be put on hold indefinitely while he is placed in medical care to see if his condition improves enough for legal proceedings to continue.
Court records show that following Friday’s mental competency hearing, Gonzalez was returned to the custody of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, with no bail set.
“Every medical expert who has evaluated the defendant has concluded that he is not competent to assist his lawyers in his defense as a result of deficits he suffered from a gunshot wound by the responding police who stopped his massacre,” Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office, said in a statement.
Gonzalez will be evaluated by medical professionals who will help the court determine his placement and develop a treatment plan, “in an effort to restore his competency,” Edds said.
“He will continue to be housed in a lockdown facility,” she added. “His lawyers will return to court on Dec. 1 to discuss the report with the prosecution and judge.”
Gonzalez was charged with four counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, all felonies, as well as several enhancements and the special circumstance of multiple murders.
The mass shooting occurred March 31 at Unified Homes, a real estate company and dealer of manufactured homes in Orange.
Authorities allege that Gonzalez drove a rental car to the commercial building, then used bicycle cable locks to shut the front and rear entrances, trapping people inside the complex, before carrying out the shooting.
Officers arrived around 5:30 p.m. to the scene in the 200 block of Lincoln Avenue, minutes after receiving reports of a shooting. They encountered gunfire and shot through the locked gates, wounding the gunman, before using bolt cutters to enter the complex.
Killed in the attack were Genevieve Raygoza, 28; Luis Tovar, 50; Matthew Farias, 9; and Leticia Solis Guzman, 58.
Blanca Tamayo, the sole survivor, was shot twice in the head and once in the arm. She lost two children that night: Raygoza and Farias.
In court, Superior Court Judge Cheri Pham told the victims’ families that Gonzalez’s incapacity had forced her to halt the proceedings.
Competency proceedings usually involve defendants with mental health issues. In Gonzalez’s case, the limitations were caused by physical wounds.
Gonzalez has been compared to a stroke patient who has lost the ability to communicate effectively.
Edds said the district attorney’s office will have an expert conduct regular competency evaluations.