A man accused of killing four people in Omaha in 2008 and last year has been found competent to stand trial.
Judge Duane Dougherty ruled Friday afternoon in Douglas County Court that Anthony Garcia is fit for trial. Garcia is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Dr. Roger Brumback and his wife last May, as well as the 2008 killings of Thomas Hunter and Shirlee Sherman at Hunter’s Dundee home.
In court, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine submitted a four-page report from a state psychiatrist who evaluated Garcia at the Lincoln Regional Center in March. Garcia’s attorney, Robert Motta, also submitted a report from a San Diego-based psychiatrist who evaluated Garcia. That psychiatrist found that while Garcia has an underlying mental illness, he’s competent to stand trial.
Garcia also waived his right to a speedy trial on two charges of assault on an officer. He allegedly punched and kicked two corrections officers in late December at the Douglas County Department of Corrections.
A new court date was not set.
Prosecutors allege Garcia killed the Brumbacks, Hunter, and Sherman as revenge for his dismissal from Creighton medical school by Doctors Brumback and William Hunter, Thomas Hunter’s father.