SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) — A Washington state man accused of killing a cab driver in Idaho was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation, putting criminal proceedings on hold.
The Bonner County Daily Bee reported on Sept. 1 that Chief Public Defender Janet Whitney moved for 19-year-old Jacob Coleman to undergo an evaluation because of statements he made to investigators. Whitney did not say what the statements were.
The first-degree murder charge against Coleman stemmed from the stabbing death of 22-year-old Gagandeep Singh, who drove Coleman from the Spokane International Airport to Idaho on Aug. 28. Officials accuse Coleman of buying the knife used to kill Singh while they were on their way to Idaho.
The court order requires an evaluation for a diagnosis and an opinion about Coleman’s capacity to understand the charge against him.
Originally from Jalandhar in Punjab, Singh had been living in Washington state since 2003. He was the nephew of Jalandhar-based congress leader Manmohan Singh Raju, who blamed the Trump administration for “showing exit doors to Asians.”
According to the Hindustan Times, he said, “My nephew became a victim of racial hatred. As the Trump government is now showing exit doors to the Asians due to few job opportunities, Indians and Asians as a whole are becoming the victims of racial hatred.” ■