Teen Found Competent to Stand Trial

A Santa Barbara jury this week found a 16-year old Goleta teen, being charged as an adult on second-degree robbery and assault charges, competent to stand trial. The teen’s defense attorney, public defender Michael Hanley, argued his client suffered from psychological development problems that made him unfit to assist in his own defense. Hanley contended his client was not guilty of the assault alleged, and that he was not a gang member either. Prosecutors contend the assault—which left the victim’s nose broken— took place in furtherance of a street gang, one of the key reasons he was charged an adult rather than a juvenile.