Man charged in killing 2 near Las Vegas Strip to undergo mental health evaluation
A 30-year-old man accused of fatally shooting two women near The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is scheduled to have his mental health evaluated.
Omar Jamal Talley’s defense lawyer, William Skupa, told a judge Thursday that he wanted doctors to determine whether Talley would be competent to stand trial.
Meanwhile, Chief Deputy District Attorney Frank Coumou said prosecutors are expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to seek the death penalty against Talley.
That decision could be put on hold while Talley is evaluated.
Californians Melissa Mendoza and Jennifer Chicas, both 27, were shot and killed Feb. 19 near the Cosmopolitan.
Talley faces two counts of murder with a deadly weapon, one count of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, one count of discharging a firearm into a structure, one count of discharging a firearm out of a structure, and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Mendoza and Chicas were in a car with Jerraud Jackson at the Miracle Mile Shops parking garage at Planet Hollywood Resort, 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. South, when Jackson and Talley got into an argument, police said.
Parking garage security footage showed Talley getting out of a gray Toyota Camry with California license plates, walking to the driver’s side of a silver Hyundai sedan with Oregon plates and pointing a gun at the driver, detectives wrote in an arrest report.
About six minutes after security called police to report a fight at the garage, police received another call about gunfire at the intersection of Harmon and Polaris avenues.
Police found Chicas lying on the roadway. She was taken to University Medical Center, where she died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
Less than five minutes after the shooting, Mendoza drove the silver Hyundai into The Cosmopolitan’s valet area. She and Jackson both had been shot and were taken to the medical center.
Mendoza died of a gunshot wound to the chest. Jackson was hospitalized in critical condition.
Talley initially denied shooting anyone and later said the weapon he had was a BB gun.
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find @randompoker on Twitter.
