One of three men accused in the killing of witness Javad Marshall-Fields and his fiancée was ordered Tuesday to undergo an evaluation at the state mental hospital to see whether he is competent to continue in the case.
Parish Carter, 25, has an IQ of 64 and has been classified as being “mentally retarded” based on testing in high school, his attorney, Randy Canney, said.
“All of this appears to continue to the present day,” Canney said. “We don’t think he’s even competent to cooperate with the evaluation.”
Carter, Robert Ray, 21, and Sir Mario Owens, 21, have been charged with killing Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe on June 20, 2005, as they were driving on an Aurora street.
Marshall-Fields was shot and killed a week before he was to testify against Owens and Ray for a July 2004 shooting that left one man dead at an Aurora park.
This month, Ray was found guilty of accessory to murder in the 2004 case and guilty of five of the seven charges against him. He is to be sentenced in February.
Owens faces trial in that case next month.
The attorneys for Owens and Ray entered not-guilty pleas Tuesday on behalf of their clients.
Police say Ray paid Owens and Carter in cocaine to kill Marshall-Fields. Wolfe happened to be an innocent bystander, police said.
The three suspects, who have been indicted on numerous charges including first-degree murder, could face the death penalty if convicted.
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
