Centennial – One of three men accused in the witness killing of Javad Marshall-Fields and his fiancee was ordered today to undergo an evaluation at the state mental hospital to see if 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, said his attorney, Randy Canney, adding that his client may not even understand the charges against him now.
“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 set to testify against Owens and Ray for a July 2004 shooting that left one man dead at an Aurora park when he was shot and killed.
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 was found not guilty of first-degree murder. 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 today on behalf of their clients.
Police say Ray paid Owens and Carter cocaine to kill Marshall-Fields. Wolfe just happened to be an innocent bystander, police said.
The three suspects, who’ve been indicted on numerous charges, including first-degree murder, could face the death penalty if convicted. The District Attorney’s Office now has 60 days to decide whether it will seek the death penalty against Owens and Ray. A decision on the death penalty against Carter won’t come until after his competency is determined.
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
