Trial Delayed for Manchester Man Accused of Cutting Out Father’s Pacemaker
(AP Photo/Delaware County Sheriff Department)
By
Becky Ogann
Story Created:
Sep 8, 2010 at 1:29 PM CST
Story Updated:
Sep 8, 2010 at 1:29 PM CST
MANCHESTER, Iowa – The trial of the man accused of cutting out his father’s pacemaker from his chest last year will not start next week because a judge said there are conflicting medical reports regarding his competency.
First Judcial District Judge Monica Ackley said the three competency reports of Jesse Fierstine, 33, of rural Manchester, conflict each other and she ordered Fierstine to be sent to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale for a psychological evaluation.
Ackley said the trial won’t go ahead as scheduled for next week and the stay of the proceedings would be at the cost to the state.
Fierstine and his attorney Frank Santiago, of Iowa City, and Delaware County Attorney John Bernau agreed to the trial delay and evaluation.
The trial will be reset after the evaluation is completed. Ackley said Fierstine will be transferred to Oakdale as soon as there is room.
Fierstine, charged with attempted murder and willful injury, is accused of trying to cut the pacemaker from his father’s chest in an argument in April 2009.
Prosecutors said he hit Charles Fierstine, 63, in the head with a flashlight and a piece of firewood before using a pocketknife to cut his pacemaker from his chest, leaving a gash 6 1/2 inches long and 3/4 of an inch wide. Deputies found wires protruding from his father’s chest.
Charles Fierstine, who recovered after treatment at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, died in July.
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