Reputed AIDS Victim Declared Competent to Stand Trial on Blood Sale Charges

Reputed street hustler Joseph E. Markowski was ruled mentally competent to stand trial on a charge that he attempted murder by allegedly selling his blood, which was tainted by the AIDS virus.

Wearing hospital blues and chained at the feet and hands, the 29-year-old Markowski listened silently during a three-minute hearing Thursday as Superior Court Judge Florence Bernstein explained that her decision was based on the recommendations of two court-appointed psychiatrists, who had examined Markowski in the County-USC Medical Center’s jail ward.

Markowski’s court-appointed attorney, Guy O’Brien, said after the hearing Thursday morning that he has yet to see medical evidence that his client has AIDS.

Late Thursday, however, Deputy Dist. Atty. Antonio Barreto said a Los Angeles laboratory had informed him that Markowski had tested positive for the AIDS virus. He said that further tests will be conducted to make certain the results are correct.

An earlier blood test, performed when Markowski sold his blood, also showed he had the AIDS virus.

When he was arrested last month while attempting to sell his blood to a private blood bank, Markowski reportedly acknowledged that he had sold his blood previously even though he knew he was afflicted with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. He also allegedly told police he had sex with another transient.

O’Brien said Thursday that Markowski was very disturbed when he made those statements. O’Brien had requested the examinations of his client’s mental state earlier this month after reporting that Markowski was “non-communicative” and “appeared to be imagining things.”

After the courtroom proceeding Thursday, O’Brien noted that his client’s behavior was substantially different. Since his arrest, Markowski has been treated with powerful psychotropic drugs, the attorney said.

“He’s able to communicate with me,” O’Brien said. “His hallucinations have apparently stopped.”