* Prosecutors seek fuller mental evaluation
* Initial screening found him competent
By Jeremy Pelofsky
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A doctor has determined that
a man accused of trying to assassinate President Barack Obama
this month is competent to stand trial, but prosecutors
Monday asked for a fuller evaluation.
Prosecutors are seeking a competency hearing and a full
psychological screening of Oscar Ortega-Hernandez. He has been
charged with trying to kill Obama when he opened fire on the
White House with a semi-automatic assault rifle.
Obama and his wife, Michelle, were in California at the
time of the gunfire the night of Nov. 11.
An initial screening ordered by a federal magistrate on
Nov. 21 concluded that Ortega-Hernandez was competent,
according to a court filing.
"The government notes that it was based only on a 50-minute
screening and submits a full psychiatric or psychological
screening ... is warranted, given the serious nature of the
criminal charges pending against the defendant and the
likelihood that mental health issues may arise in the course of
these proceedings," the prosecutors said in a motion.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay agreed to delay a detention
hearing until Dec. 12 and asked prosecutors to provide "more
substance" to their motion.
Ortega-Hernandez, 21, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was ordered
held pending that hearing.
Witnesses interviewed by authorities said Ortega-Hernandez
had called the president the "devil" and "anti-Christ."
His abandoned car was found blocks from the White House
after the Friday night shooting. He was arrested at a hotel
near Indiana, Pennsylvania, the following Wednesday.
If convicted, Ortega-Hernandez faces up to life in prison.
(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Doina Chiacu)
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