After his attorney raised the question of whether murder suspect Austin Michael Medeiros is competent to stand trial, Judge Timothy Canning suspended criminal proceedings this morning and ordered a psychiatric evaluation.

Medeiros.

Deputy Conflict Counsel Owen Tipps, representing the 27-year-old Rhode Island man, declared a doubt today about Medeiros’s mental competence. Canning appointed a psychiatrist to examine Medeiros and submit an opinion. The doctor’s report is due on May 31.

Medeiros is accused of murdering Emily Rose May Lobba, a 28-year-old disabled woman whose body was found April 3 in her Kneeland-area home. Medeiros is also charged with assault and battery on Lobba’s caretaker.

While most murder complaints allege that a gun or other weapon was used to kill a victim, the charges against Medeiros include no mention of a weapon.

While in jail, Medeiros allegedly fashioned a weapon and used it to attack a deputy in Humboldt County Correctional Facility. The officer suffered minor injuries.

Deputy District Attorney Candace Myers has filed a motion to file new charges of assault on a correctional officer, battery on a correctional officer and manufacturing a weapon in a correctional facility.

Today Medeiros, whose bail is set at $1 million, wore a red jumpsuit that signifies he is segregated from the jail’s general population.

After Lobba’s body was found and her death reported, Medeiros managed to escape during a police chase that ended when he fled into the Arcata Community Forest. He was arrested about a week later while reportedly trying to steal a boat in Santa Cruz.

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