After the arraignment, Shonna Hall (far left), a niece of hit-and-run victim Leon Stevens, consoles
a family member of suspect Omeed Aziz Popal as they walk out the Hall of Justice.
Posted on 09/06/2006 2:38:03 PM PDT by SmithL
SAN FRANCISCO -- The 29-year-old Fremont man accused of 18 counts of attempted murder stemming from a hit-and-run rampage last week entered a not-guilty plea today, but his attorney quickly withdrew it pending the outcome of a psychiatric evaluation.
Omeed Aziz Popal was chained at the waist and ankles and looked bewildered during his brief appearance in San Francisco Superior Court before Judge Donna Little. At one point, he looked around the courtroom and slowly raised his right hand as if in prayer. He then put his hand down and bowed his head.
The court was packed with Popal's family members as well as relatives of victims in the case. Some were in tears.
Popal did not visibly acknowledge his family.
After he pleaded not guilty, the attorneys went into the judge's chambers and emerged moments later. At that point, Popal's attorney, Sandy Feinland, withdrew the plea, and the judge ordered Popal to return to court on Friday.
Following the Aug. 29 rampage, Popal's family and defense attorneys said he is mentally ill, and Feinland said in court today that his client suffered "severe mental illness and recent mental breakdowns.''
Popal, who is being held in the psychiatric ward of San Francisco General Hospital, is scheduled to return to court Friday pending the outcome of additional evaluation.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
After the arraignment, Shonna Hall (far left), a niece of hit-and-run victim Leon Stevens, consoles
a family member of suspect Omeed Aziz Popal as they walk out the Hall of Justice.
"Everyone needs to be killed,'' Omeed Aziz Popal calmly told officers as he sat in the back of a police car after a hit-and-run rampage that left one person dead in Fremont and 19 injured in San Francisco...
His family is so surprised by his actions, considering his religious upbringing, and all.
Why should they be? He was simply practicing Islam.
I understand the 18 counts of attempted murder but what about the person that actually died. Will they try him for vehicular homicide for that one, separately?
I have added them to keywords.
Man? Another berserk Amish guy?
Be my guest.
Nope. It's the Religion of Peace.
Hit-and-run suspect attempts suicide in jail
(11-30) 17:42 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- The man held in the hit-and-run rampage that left one man dead in Fremont and 18 injured in San Francisco tried to commit suicide today, but deputies intervened and stopped him from hanging himself in a San Francisco jail holding area, authorities said.
Omeed Aziz Popal, 29, made the attempt a week after a San Francisco judge found that he was competent to be tried for attempted murder in the Aug. 29 rampage after reviewing a report from a court-appointed doctor.
Popal tried to hang himself with his sweat shirt that he had tied to a pipe while awaiting transfer to County Jail No. 2 at the Hall of Justice, said Eileen Hirst of the Sheriff's Department.
"Deputies heard a suspicious noise and went immediately to where he was,'' Hirst said. Popal was standing on a chair, but "never succeeded in kicking the chair out from under him,'' she said.
Popal was sent to San Francisco General Hospital for evaluation after the 1p.m. incident, Hirst said. He had been housed in the psychiatric ward there from shortly after his arrest in August until recently, when he was moved to the County Jail. Popal was to be housed in a psychiatric unit there.
Popal's family and his attorney say he is mentally ill, but the court-appointed doctor who reported on him last week to Superior Court Judge Mary Morgan found that his condition had improved after his medication was changed.
In addition to 18 counts of attempted murder, Popal is charged with one count of murder in Alameda County for allegedly running down a man who was walking in a bike lane in Fremont. He is to be tried there after the San Francisco case is completed.
Popal's attorney, Sandy Feinland, did not return calls seeking comment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
