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Incompetent gunman ruled competent
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A misfiring handgun may have saved Mikyas Asefa from murder charges, but a judge ruled Friday that the 24-year-old Ethiopian native is competent to stand trial on charges of attempted murder and armed burglary.
Investigators said Asefa tried to shoot his former girlfriend in May 2009 then, when the weapon misfired, he turned the gun on himself. When the gun again failed to fire, he left for the home of a friend of the former girlfriend, where he tried -- again unsuccessfully -- to shoot her, police said.
Asefa was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and burglary with a firearm. Opening statements were to begin in his trial Thursday, but defense attorneys asked for a competency evaluation.
County Judge Wayne Miller listened to two mental health experts who examined Asefa. One said the suspect suffers from adjustment disorder and distrusts the court system, while the another expert testified that Asefa apparently had no mental health issues before his arrest in May 2009.
"I have observed Mr. Asefa a number of times in court and the court finds that he is competent to proceed," Miller said, adding, "It appears to me that if Mr. Asefa wishes to, he has no problem explaining that he is not guilty."
Miller then asked the suspect if he had anything further to say, but Asefa relayed through his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Trish Docherty, that he did not wish to say anything.
Miller then rescheduled opening statements for Monday.
Docherty declined comment on the case Friday, as did Chief Assistant State Attorney Manny Madruga, who is prosecuting Asefa.
Key West police allege Asefa first tried to shoot his former girlfriend, Galina Arsemi, at the CVS pharmacy on Truman Avenue, then tried to shoot himself. Failing that, he went to the Packer Street home of Elena Fyodorova, and tried to fire the gun at her, police said. Asefa again turned the gun on himself, but it again malfunctioned.
Key West Police Chief Donie Lee said at the time that the failure of the firearm saved three lives that day.
Asefa had been distraught about his breakup with Arsemi two weeks before the incident, and he blamed her friends, Fyodorova told The Citizen at the time.
Asefa remained in the Monroe County Detention Center on Stock Island Friday in lieu of $1.3 million bond. He also faces a July 2008 charge of cocaine possession, for which bond was set at $500,000.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A misfiring handgun may have saved Mikyas Asefa from murder charges, but a judge ruled Friday that the 24-year-old Ethiopian native is competent to stand trial on charges of attempted murder and armed burglary.
Investigators said Asefa tried to shoot his former girlfriend in May 2009 then, when the weapon misfired, he turned the gun on himself. When the gun again failed to fire, he left for the home of a friend of the former girlfriend, where he tried -- again unsuccessfully -- to shoot her, police said.
Asefa was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and burglary with a firearm. Opening statements were to begin in his trial Thursday, but defense attorneys asked for a competency evaluation.
County Judge Wayne Miller listened to two mental health experts who examined Asefa. One said the suspect suffers from adjustment disorder and distrusts the court system, while the another expert testified that Asefa apparently had no mental health issues before his arrest in May 2009.
"I have observed Mr. Asefa a number of times in court and the court finds that he is competent to proceed," Miller said, adding, "It appears to me that if Mr. Asefa wishes to, he has no problem explaining that he is not guilty."
Miller then asked the suspect if he had anything further to say, but Asefa relayed through his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Trish Docherty, that he did not wish to say anything.
Miller then rescheduled opening statements for Monday.
Docherty declined comment on the case Friday, as did Chief Assistant State Attorney Manny Madruga, who is prosecuting Asefa.
Key West police allege Asefa first tried to shoot his former girlfriend, Galina Arsemi, at the CVS pharmacy on Truman Avenue, then tried to shoot himself. Failing that, he went to the Packer Street home of Elena Fyodorova, and tried to fire the gun at her, police said. Asefa again turned the gun on himself, but it again malfunctioned.
Key West Police Chief Donie Lee said at the time that the failure of the firearm saved three lives that day.
Asefa had been distraught about his breakup with Arsemi two weeks before the incident, and he blamed her friends, Fyodorova told The Citizen at the time.
Asefa remained in the Monroe County Detention Center on Stock Island Friday in lieu of $1.3 million bond. He also faces a July 2008 charge of cocaine possession, for which bond was set at $500,000.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
