OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A man accused of killing four Omaha people last summer is competent to stand trial, a district judge ruled Thursday.
Nikko Jenkins, 27, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Juan Uribe-Pena, Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz, Curtis Bradford and Andrea Kruger. Prosecutors say the four were killed in three separate ambushes last summer by Jenkins and others over a 10-day period. The shooting deaths came within three weeks of Jenkins’ release from prison on July 30.
Jenkins has pleaded not guilty. In November, he declared he wanted to plead guilty, but had changed his mind by late January, saying he is mentally ill and should be released from jail.
A psychiatrist working for prosecutors testified at Jenkins’ competency hearing last week that Jenkins is fit to stand trial, meaning he understands the charges against him and the court process and can assist in his own defense. A defense psychiatrist countered that Jenkins has been diagnosed with several mental illnesses since he was 8, and that he is currently paranoid, delusional and could not aid in his own defense.
But Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon said Thursday that Jenkins showed he understood the charges against him when he insisted during his competency hearing that his constitutional rights had been violated by prosecutors. Bataillon also said that there is a difference in “not having the ability to assist in one’s defense as opposed to having the ability to assist in the defense, but voluntarily choosing not to assist.”
Police say Jenkins used a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun loaded with deer slugs Aug. 11 to kill Cajiga-Ruiz and Uribe-Pena, whose bodies were found inside a pickup truck in southeast Omaha. Police say eight days later, he used a small-caliber gun to kill Bradford, a one-time prison acquaintance. Then on Aug. 21, police say Jenkins pulled Andrea Kruger from her SUV as she drove home from work and shot her four times before speeding off in her vehicle.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
The case has led to criticism of the Nebraska prison system and played a part in the introduction of a bill this year in the Nebraska Legislature that would provide more oversight of released prisoners.
Jenkins was released from prison last summer without supervision, despite the fact that he had threatened violence while incarcerated and begged corrections officials to commit him to a mental health institution.
A state ombudsman’s report released in January faulted the Department of Correctional Services for its handling of the case, saying officials should have done more to get treatment for Jenkins and that the department missed several warnings about Jenkins’ mental health before his release.
Jenkins had spent most of the last two years of his sentence in an isolation cell because of behavior problems. The report said Jenkins’ extended segregation kept him from participating in programs that might have helped him prepare for life outside prison.
The Ombudsman’s Office provided copies of documents showing that Douglas County jail officials urged the state in 2010 to provide mental health treatment for Jenkins. A psychiatrist working for the county diagnosed Jenkins as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia then.
Corrections officials said they disagree with the report’s allegations, but declined to comment because of pending litigation.
The husband of Kruger has filed a $7.5 million claim against the state of Nebraska, arguing prison officials knew Jenkins was dangerous and should have done more to prevent the killings. That claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.
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