ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A man charged with killing a former colleague and wounding five others in a rampage at an Orlando engineering firm has been declared incompetent to stand trial for the time being. Judge Belvin Perry Jr. did not ruled out the possibility that Jason Rodriguez could, after treatment, still face trial.
Rodriguez is accused of walking into the Gateway Center in November and killing one former co-worker and injuring five others. He has been under psychological evaluation at the Orange County jail for more than a month. On Monday, that evaluation, along with a laundry list of evidence from the day of the shooting, helped the judge decide Rodriguez was not mentally fit to stand trial.
MONDAY'S HEARING: Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4 | Pt. 5 ANALYSIS: Does Ruling Help Or Hurt Suspect? VIDEO REPORT: Shooter Speaks Out During Hearing SURVEILLANCE: Video During Shooting | Images
The man who blamed his former employer for the shooting became uncomfortable Monday during the hearing about his condition.
"I find the situation totally disrespectful and it insults my intelligence," Rodriguez said during a discussion about removing him during the hearing on his competency. "No one can make a decision about this without me being here."
Judge Perry ordered Rodriguez to a state mental hospital after three psychiatrists and a psychologist testified that he needs treatment before his case can proceed in court.
"He believes that this hearing today, all of the prosecution against him, is simply part of the plot to destroy him," defense psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey Danziger said.
His public defender, Bob Wesley, says Rodriguez understands what is happening in court, but he doesn't understand why it's happening to him. According to police documents, Rodriguez's mental health had been declining two years before the office shooting last November.
"They left me to rot," Rodriguez told reporters in November as police led him away in handcuffs after his arrest.
That is the same justification Jason Rodriguez gave police for shooting six former coworkers and killing one at RS&H.
Eyewitness News obtained a recording of his interrogation and, in it, Rodriguez told police his money and his life had hit rock bottom.
"They threw me out for no reason at all, and they made it all look like incompetency," said Rodriguez.
He blamed his former employer RS&H for pushing him over the edge, resulting in the shooting. The company let him go two years before he brought a gun to his former place of work and opened fire on former coworkers.
When he walked into the Gateway Center in Orlando he seemed chillingly calm. He even stopped at the unmanned security desk before going upstairs and firing 20 shots.
Rodriguez told police that revenge justified the shooting. That admission could eliminate the chances of his attorney entering an insanity plea.
"You hurt me and my family and I'm going to hurt you and your family. That's exactly what he did and his statements seem to support that thought process," said Eyewitness News Legal Analyst Bill Sheaffer.
Rodriguez is charged with first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder. Defense experts believe treatment at a mental hospital can restore his ability to participate in his own defense and, possibly, in as soon as six months or less.
Channel 9 tried to get reaction from former coworkers at Reynolds, Smith and Hills about Monday's ruling for treatment.
"As a group, they are aware of this. They've gathered to discuss and they know that there will be plenty of milestones like this as the case proceeds," RS&H spokeswoman Lisa Nason said.
The company still works out of the same downtown offices where the shootings happened.
Previous Stories: December 17, 2009: Shooting Surveillance Video, Interviews Released December 10, 2009: Documents: Shooter May Have Targeted Victim November 25, 2009: Downtown Shooting Victim: "I Was Petrified" November 21, 2009: Man Who Died In Downtown Shooting Rampage Laid To Rest November 10, 2009: 911 Calls In Office Shooting Show Chaos, Panic November 9, 2009: Workers Return To Building Terrorized By Gunman November 7, 2009: Victim Identified, Shooter To Face Judge
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