Competency hearing is sought for former L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca

Prosecutors in the case against former Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca have asked a federal judge to determine whether Baca is fit to stand trial.

The request for a finding on Baca’s competency came late Wednesday, after a morning court hearing during which Baca’s attorney made the latest in a series of comments meant to cast doubt on the mental acuity of Baca, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

In a court filing, Assistant U.S. Atty. Brandon Fox wrote that the government does not believe Baca is incompetent, but was seeking a definitive ruling in order to lay to rest doubts raised by the Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Baca, 74, is facing charges of obstruction of justice and lying that stem from his alleged role in a 2011 scheme by sheriff’s officials to thwart an FBI investigation into widespread abuses by sheriff’s deputies working in county jails.

Fox asked U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson to order Baca to undergo an evaluation in coming weeks by a medical expert chosen by the government or, failing that, by an expert appointed independently by Anderson.

Although Baca’s attorney Nathan Hochman has not asserted that his client is unfit to stand trial — and Anderson, in fact, concluded at a recent hearing that Baca was able to understand the legal proceedings — Fox pointed to several comments inside and out of court that have raised the prospect of incompetency. His request seemed aimed at putting to rest any doubts.

At his arraignment earlier this month, for example, Baca told Anderson that he had been suffering from periods of “cloudiness in my brain … for quite a while.” And when asked by Anderson if he understood the charges against him, Baca responded, “I can’t say I fully get it.”

Hochman and Baca’s previous attorneys have also indicated in past comments that they would move to have Baca’s competence for trial evaluated if his condition worsened.

Discussion of Baca’s mental abilities dominated the hearing Wednesday. In an effort to win more time to prepare for the trial, Hochman told Anderson he needed to have medical experts evaluate Baca in order to determine whether he would raise Baca’s mental condition as a defense at trial.

Anderson rejected the plea, setting the trial to start Dec. 6.

Fox proposed that if the judge agreed with the need for a competency hearing that he order the medical evaluation and then hold the hearing at the end of November.

Baca is accused of having a hand in an organized effort to interfere with the FBI jail probe and later lying to federal investigators about his awareness of the plan and his role in it. His second in command, Paul Tanaka, and several lower-ranking members of the department have already been convicted of participating in the obstruction ploy.

The former sheriff struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a single charge of lying to investigators, but that agreement fell apart when Anderson concluded it would not send Baca to prison for a sufficient amount of time.

joel.rubin@latimes.com

Follow @joelrubin on Twitter

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