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Sunday, May 19, 2013 | 9:28 a.m.

Posted: 2:54 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7, 2013

Oikos Univ. shooter declared mentally incompetent, won’t stand trial

One Goh in court for Oikos University mass shooting
Sean Havey
Former nursing student, One Goh, who is accused of murdering seven people and wounding three others at Oikos University appeared in Alameda County Superior Court on January 7, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. During the court session Judge Carrie Panetta ruled that Goh is incompetent to stand trial.

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KTVU.com

OAKLAND, Calif. —

An Alameda County judge declared Monday that the man charged with the killing seven people in a shooting rampage at Oakland's Oikos University last year was “mentally incompetent” and was unfit to stand trial.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Carrie Panetta made the announcement after evaluating the findings from two psychiatrists who examined 43-year-old One Goh after his attorney, Deputy Public Defender David Klaus, questioned Goh’s ability to stand trial at an earlier hearing.

Panetta ordered Goh, a Korean national who lived in Oakland, to return to court on Jan. 28 for a hearing on which state mental hospital he should be sent to.

At the time of the hearing, Goh was being held without bail at the Alameda County Jail in Dublin on seven counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder for allegedly shooting three victims who survived and 10 special-circumstance allegations, including committing murder during a carjacking.

Police said that Goh fled the campus after the April 2 shootings in a car belonging to one of the victims.

He was arrested in Alameda a short time later after he confessed to a Safeway security guard that he had just shot several people, according to police.

Goh is a former student of Oikos University who had left the school voluntarily.

Prosecutors have said that he appeared to have wanted a refund of his tuition, and may have been targeting an administrator who was not present the day of the shooting.

According to a probable cause statement filed in court by Oakland police Officer Robert Trevino, Goh has admitted that he carried out the shootings.

Those killed were students Lydia Sim, 21, Sonam Choedon, 33, Grace Kim, 23, Doris Chibuko, 40, Judith Seymour, 53, and Tshering Bhutia, 38, and Katleen Ping, 24, who worked at the school.

In addition to the murder and attempted murder charges, Goh faces 10 special-circumstance allegations that could result in the death penalty if he's convicted.

Seven of those allegations are for committing multiple murders and one each are for committing a murder during a robbery, murder during a carjacking and murder during a kidnapping.

 Klaus, said outside court that the two psychiatrists who have examined Goh concluded that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was unable to cooperate with his defense team because he doesn't understand the criminal justice system.

Klaus said his personal opinion is that Goh "is significantly mentally ill and needs help."

He said Goh "is deeply troubled and shows remorse" about his actions.

Some family members of the victims in the case have said they think Goh had to be mentally competent in order to plan and carry out the shooting and have alleged that he was taking advantage of the legal system.

But Klaus said Goh "is not avoiding responsibility" and still faces the prospect of standing trial if he's eventually ruled to be mentally competent after receiving medication and therapy.

"He has confessed to the shooting and accepted responsibility," Klaus said.

However, the defense lawyer said Goh was simply not mentally competent to stand trial at that time.

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