CAMARILLO : Trial Delayed in 2 Pedestrian Deaths

The attorney for a Camarillo man charged with killing two pedestrians while driving drunk questioned his client’s mental competency Friday, forcing the suspension of criminal proceedings against the defendant.

A psychiatrist and a psychologist were appointed by Superior Court Judge James M. McNally to examine Gary Scott Samaniego, 21, pending a Sept. 3 hearing to determine whether the defendant can aid in his defense at trial.

If Samaniego is found to be competent, criminal proceedings against him will resume.

Samaniego is charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter in the May 2 deaths of Oxnard residents Baltazar Camacho Bojorquez, 37, and Bojorquez’s nephew, Eleno Leyva Bojorquez, 20.

Witnesses said Samaniego was driving at least 65 m.p.h. on Oxnard Boulevard in Oxnard when he ran a red light at 7th Avenue and hit the two men, who were in the crosswalk.

McNally ordered the mental evaluation of Samaniego after attorney Richard Hanawalt presented a letter from a neurosurgeon who said the defendant is suffering from mood swings, extreme remorse, confusion, guilt and nightly insomnia, Deputy Dist. Atty. James D. Ellison said.

“These are symptoms that I’d certainly expect in a person who gets drunk and kills two people,” Ellison said. “I don’t think these symptoms are going to go away for a long, long time.”

The surgeon also said Samaniego suffers from such low self-esteem he has trouble communicating with others and therefore cannot aid in his trial defense.

Ellison said he objected to the suspension of criminal proceedings, but McNally was legally obligated to order a mental evaluation of Samaniego after Hanawalt raised the competency issue.

Samaniego’s Aug. 2 trial date was canceled, Ellison said.