A Tucson man facing murder charges in the deaths of his wife and a Pima County jail cellmate was ruled competent to proceed to trial Monday.
King Yates has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the December 2016 shooting death of his wife, Cassandra Yates, and the April suffocation and beating death of his Pima County jail cellmate, Brandon Roth.
In December, Pima County Superior Court Judge Howard Fell ordered a competency exam for Yates, after his attorney, Vincent Frey, filed a motion saying that Yates was not properly medicated at the time of Rothβs death.
Yates had previously been declared incompetent, but was ordered restored to competency after he was medicated with a specific dose of an antipsychotic drug.
At the time of Rothβs death, Yates was being under-medicated at the jail, and records donβt do not reflect any medical reasons for such a low dosage, the motion said.
In the December hearing, Yatesβ other attorney, Stephanie Bond, said he was not taking any medication at the time of Cassandraβs death.
On Monday, Fell reviewed medical exams by two doctors before ruling that Yates was competent to proceed.
Yatesβ trial in connection with Cassandraβs death is to last eight days, beginning June 25.
His trial on the murder charge stemming from Rothβs death is to begin Oct. 8, and is also scheduled for eight days.
But while Yates has been declared fit to stand trial, his competency at the time of the offenses is still up in the air.
Fell also ordered a second competency exam, or a βguilty except insaneβ evaluation, to determine Yatesβ competency at the time of the two deaths.
A hearing is set for April 10 to review the evaluations.
