Jaycee Dugard Update: Trial Delayed to Evaluate Competency of Suspect Phillip Garrido

PLACERVILLE, Calif. (CBS/AP) The October trial of Phillip Garrido, the California man charged with 29 counts of kidnapping, rape and false imprisonment in the 1991 disappearance of Jaycee Dugard, has been postponed for a mental competency evaluation.

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El Dorado County Superior Judge Douglas Phimister said that, after observing Garrido in court hearings over the past few months, his interactions with his attorney and behavior in court "troubled" him.

A report from a psychiatrist Phimister previously appointed to assist the defense is pending.

The ruling means that a scheduled preliminary hearing, set for Oct. 7, where the prosecution was expected to lay out their evidence against Garrido, will be postponed. Phimister set a hearing date for Oct. 8 to consider appointing an independent expert to evaluate Garrido. Although he suspended the case against Garrido Friday, the judge must still hold a full competency hearing.

Phimister's decision was reportedly a response to a private meeting with Deputy Public Defender Susan Gellman who has previously stated that she thinks Garrido is mentally ill and has had "persistent trouble" speaking with her client about the case against him.

"This is a fundamental fairness issue," she said. "What we are talking about here is whether a defendant is able to make a decision about his case."

District attorney Vern Pierson said prosecutors think Garrido "is in fact competent."

The judge did not halt proceedings against Garrido's wife, Nancy, who faces similar counts. The couple is accused of kidnapping Dugard in 1991 and holding the girl captive in a backyard jumble of tents and sheds for nearly two decades until they were arrested in August 2009.

Authorities said Dugard, who is now 30, bore two daughters to Garrido while being held.

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