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Hearing continued on insanity plea Tuesday in Warren County deputy shooting

Posted at 9:50 AM, Sep 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-06 10:55:39-04

LEBANON, Ohio -- The Warren County Prosecutor's Office might seek a second opinion on whether a man charged with shooting a sheriff's deputy is fit to stand trial.

Mohammed Laghaoui, 19, was indicted on charges including two counts of felonious assault, two counts of attempted murder, attempted aggravated murder, two counts of improper handling of a firearm, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and domestic violence.

He faces as much as 68 years in prison if he’s convicted of the 10 crimes he's been charged with committing.

In Judge Michael Gilb's court Tuesday, WCPO learned prosecutors and defense attorneys received Laghaoui's competency report Friday. But Prosecutor John Arnold asked for a continuance to "determine whether we're going to ask for a second opinion or contest the findings."

The hearing was continued to later this month.

Warren County officials aren't making the report public because the case is still active.

In early July, a judge appointed an attorney and entered a "not guilty" plea for Laghaoui.

 

Deputies said Laghaoui shot his father in the hand and opened fire on Deputy Katie Barnes when she responded to a 911 call from the family's apartment in Deerfield Township on June 9. One of the shots Laghaoui fired that night entered a child's bedroom in a neighboring apartment, according to evidence Prosecutor David Fornshell announced last month.

ALSO: Did a food item lead to shootout?

According to court documents, neither Laghaoui's family nor Barnes knew Laghaoui was armed with a semi-automatic weapon until the moment he opened fire: first on his father through the closed apartment door, then on a neighbor who witnessed the altercation and then on Barnes.

The bullet struck Barnes’ gun belt and lower abdomen. She was released from the hospital the day after the shooting.

RELATED: Barnes was pro athlete before becoming deputy

The "active shooter" incident left the neighborhood on lockdown as deputies spent hours searching the area before they found Laghaoui. They said he ditched the gun somewhere, and it is still missing.