Judge ends psychiatric commitment for man charged with stabbing elderly stranger in Boise
A man accused of stabbing an elderly man doing yardwork in Southeast Boise last year will appear in court this week after a judge on Tuesday ended his psychiatric commitment order.
Ruben Diaz had been in court-ordered state psychiatric care since December. He’ll now have a preliminary hearing at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Ada County that will determine how the case will proceed, according to court documents.
Fourth District Court Judge David Manweiler ordered that Diaz be taken from State Hospital South in Blackfoot to the Ada County Jail, based on a report from Dr. Tashina Keith, a psychologist at the hospital.
The Statesman’s previous reporting from March 7:
Ruben Diaz, who was charged in a brutal stabbing last year, is still mentally unfit for trial, a psychologist says.
Diaz is accused of stabbing a 74-year-old man who was raking leaves in his yard in Southeast Boise.
Diaz is expected to need psychiatric treatment for a few more months.
Read more: The state knew he’d turn violent without meds. So did he. But was anybody checking?
Under Idaho law, a defendant may be evaluated by a mental health expert and found incapable of aiding in their own defense. The accused is then given mental health treatment with the goal of becoming mentally competent to participate in their court case.
District Judge Jonathan Medema in December ordered Diaz into psychiatric treatment for that reason.
Medema said a psychiatric evaluation showed Diaz lacked “capacity to make informed decisions about treatment” and that he presented “a substantial risk of physical harm to other persons.”
That order was for 90 days, and this month Diaz was re-evaluated.
Dr. Richard Baker, chief of psychology at State Hospital South in Blackfoot, said in court documents March 5 that Diaz still isn’t ready.
But, Baker said, “with further treatment, there is a substantial probability that he will become fit to proceed within the foreseeable future.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 2:21 PM.
