FILE - Yoni Barrios appears in court at the Regional Justice Center, on Oct. 11, 2022, in Las Vegas. Barrios, arrested October in a stabbing rampage that killed two people and wounded six on a Las Vegas Strip sidewalk has been found mentally unfit for trial. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — A man arrested for an October stabbing rampage that killed two people and wounded six others on a Las Vegas Strip sidewalk has been found unfit for trial, his lawyer said Friday.
A state court judge ordered Yoni Christian Barrios, 32, to remain indefinitely at a state psychiatric facility until doctors determine that he can understand the criminal charges against him, defense attorney Scott Coffee said.
If he is found competent, Barrios faces two counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder in the attack, which killed Maris DiGiovanni, 30, and Brent Allan Hallett, 46.
Authorities say Barrios asked DiGiovanni and other sidewalk showgirls to pose with him for a photo before wielding a large chef’s knife outside the Wynn Las Vegas resort.
Prosecutor John Giordani was not immediately available Friday for comment about the competency ruling by Clark County District Court Judge Christy Craig.
Giordani has said surveillance video clearly shows the midday attack.
Barrios’ attorney said his client was born in Guatemala and lived in the U.S. for at least several years, but it was not clear if he is a documented immigrant.
A police arrest report said that after arriving in Las Vegas from Los Angeles, Barrios asked a Wynn hotel janitor to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to return him to Guatemala.
Barrios told police he thought the women who were stabbed were laughing at him and making fun of his clothing, according to authorities.
Originally published at The Associated Press