Orange shooter ruled not competent to stand trial due to head injury
Scott Trausch, a lieutenant for Orange Police Department, holds up an image of a gunman who killed three adults and one child March 31, 2021 on Lincoln Avenue. Photo courtesy of Sam Andrus.
Trigger warning: gun violence, murder
A Nov. 5 ruling from Santa Ana Judge Cheri Pham declared Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez — the man facing charges for a March 31 shooting in Orange that killed three adults and one child — not competent to stand trial due to a head injury he suffered during the incident.
Pham made the decision after three evaluations from mental health experts, according to the Orange County Register. Two of these professionals were court-appointed and one was hired by the Orange County District Attorney’s office.
Pham's judgment was based on Gonzalez’s injury, which she said prevented him from communicating and understanding the court proceedings effectively. Gonzalez was shot in the head during a shootout with police, but if Gonzalez’s condition improves, he could possibly stand trial in the future.
The case is now suspended indefinitely.
“(Gonzalez) will now be evaluated by medical professionals who will assist the court to determine his future placement and medical treatment plan in an effort to restore his competency,” the district attorney’s office wrote in a statement. “He will continue to be housed in a lockdown facility.”
After the shooting, Gonzalez was charged with special circumstances murder for the killings of 28-year-old Jenevieve Raygoza, 50-year-old Luis Tovar, 58-year-old Leticia Solis Guzman and 9-year-old Matthew Farias.
Shots were actively being fired March 31 as police officers arrived around 5:30 p.m., after responding to a call of a shooting at an office building. No officers were injured.
Just one month after the shooting, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer urged the Orange Police Department (OPD) to not release 911 calls and police-worn body camera footage from the scene, fearing negative impact to the ongoing investigation.
The last mass shooting in Orange took place in 1997, when Arturo Reyes Torres returned to a Caltrans yard where he had been fired weeks earlier and fatally shot four men. He also wounded a police officer during a shootout, which ended with Torres being shot and killed.
Gunshots were also heard near Chapman University earlier this semester, but no one was injured, and OPD quickly had the suspect in custody.
This is a developing story. Follow The Panther on social media and at www.thepanthernewspaper.org for updates.