Mental review ordered for suspect in 2 Santa Rosa stabbings

A Sonoma County judge on Friday ordered a psychologist to check the mental competence of a homeless man accused of a fatal Santa Rosa stabbing and a separate knife attack in a downtown movie theater.

Judge Jamie Thistlethwaite said criminal proceedings would remain suspended against Delonte Hart, 23, until it could be determined if he is capable of assisting in his own defense.

Doubt was raised about his mental fitness just after his June arrest, court records show.

Thistlethwaite assigned a doctor to examine him and report back any findings at the next court date on Nov. 4.

Hart remains in custody without bail. He is charged with first-degree murder in the June 27 stabbing death of Cirak Tesfazgi, 32, outside a Riley Street office building. Police said Tesfazgi suffered more than ?50 wounds in the attack with a chef’s knife.

And he’s charged with attempted murder in the June 29 attack on theatergoer Adam Lucero, 21.

Police said Hart walked into the darkened Roxy Theater and began stabbing the unsuspecting Lucero as the shark-attack survival movie, “The Shallows,” played on the screen.

Hart is originally from Baltimore, but came to Santa Rosa from Alameda County where he spent time in jail, attorneys said Friday.

Sonoma County prosecutors were attempting to review Hart’s Alameda County records to see if they shed light on his competence.

Details about the records were not released. An attorney for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment outside court.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.