The capital murder trial of a 25-year-old Hockley County man accused of killing a Lubbock County Sheriff’s Deputy has been delayed after he was deemed incompetent to stand trial.
However, officials believe Omar Soto-Chavira can be restored to competency to face trial in the future.
Soto-Chavira was set to stand trial this month for capital murder in the shooting death of Sgt. Joshua Bartlett, a nine-year veteran of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, during a July 15, 2021 standoff in Levelland.
The case is charged in the 286th District County in Hockley County, however, District Judge Pat Phelan moved the trial venue to Lubbock.
The trial was set to begin on Sept. 16 in Lubbock County, with attorneys picking a jury who will determine Soto-Chavira’s guilt and punishment, which includes life in prison without parole and the death penalty.
Attorneys with the Regional Public Defender’s Office have indicated that they plan to raise an insanity defense.
An insanity defense requires defendants to admit they committed the crime but were under the grips of a severe mental illness or defect and didn’t know their actions at the time were wrong.