1
9
(AP) - Jesus Ayala was found unfit for trial in the murder case of a Las Vegas bicyclist.
The killing was recorded and it happened in a crash with a stolen car.
Court records showed Thursday that a state court judge on Wednesday ordered the teen, now 19, moved from jail in Las Vegas to a secure Nevada psychiatric facility for evaluation, treatment and possible trial if he is found competent.
The commitment order suspends criminal charges against him.
His court-appointed public defender, David Westbrook, did not respond Thursday to messages about the case.
The teen and a younger co-defendant, Jzamir Keys, each pleaded not guilty last year to murder and other felony charges alleging they acted together in a series of car thefts and hit-and-run vehicle incidents in August 2023, including the apparently intentional striking of a bicyclist on a quiet northwest Las Vegas street.
According to police, the teenagers earlier stole a vehicle, struck a 72-year-old bicyclist with it, and drove away. That man reported knee pain but was not hospitalized.
The bicyclist who died was Andreas “Andy” Probst, 64, a retired former police chief in the city of Bell, outside Los Angeles. His family said he was on a recreational bike ride when video showed he was struck from behind and left fatally injured on the side of the road.