The Storey Teller News and commentary on what’s really going on in Storey County.
Bret Black Murder Trial Postponed
On September 13th, Storey County District Attorney Anne Langer filed a motion to address Bret Black’s potential incompetence. According to the Court Order issued by Judge James Wilson, Ms. Langer based her motion on a letter from Dr. Dickran H Gulesserian dated September 18th, 2017. In his letter, Dr. Gulesserian indicates that he has treated Mr. Black since 2016. During his treatment of Mr. Black, Dr. Gulesserian has noticed several conditions including the onset of Dementia.
Dr. Gulesserian concludes that Mr. Black suffers from memory loss and related issues. These conditions occur with greater frequency and have become more pronounced over time. Dr. Gulesserian recommended that Mr. Black be placed in a senior living facility where he can receive direct care and supervision. Mr. Black was released to the care of his son, a fire battalion chief in Fresno, since the preliminary hearing held last year, which you can read about here.
After the preliminary hearing, Mr. Black moved in with his son for a time and was then placed into a senior care facility in California. After the hearing last week, Mr. Black returned to California with his son to his senior care facility until he can be evaluated at the Lakes Crossing facility. Lake’s Crossing Center is a maximum security psychiatric facility providing evaluations of legal competency, risk assessments and recommendations for treatment. NRS 178.415 requires the court appoint two psychiatrists, two psychologists, or one psychiatrist and one psychologist to examine the defendant. These doctors must be certified by the Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Black will be placed into Lakes Crossing to undergo testing.
Langer Explains Filing For Postponment
I asked Storey County DA Anne Langer why this evaluation was conducted a year after Dr. Gulesserian filed his report and so close to the trial date. Ms. Laner explained, “The only way to know the competency of a person standing trial for murder is to conduct the competency evaluation just before the trial. A person’s mental condition can change from better to worse, or from worse to better over time. The only way to obtain a clear picture of the mental competency of a person right now is to evaluate them today. Evaluating someone a year before trial would not be an accurate reflection of that person’s mental condition a year later.”
The order issued by Judge Wilson suspends the proceedings until Mr. Black’s competency is determined. Once that decision is made, things will either proceed to trial or Mr. Black may be committed to a care facility. We expect to hear from the court in the coming weeks and will file another report when this information becomes available.
Stay Tuned.
Gee. Maybe, just maybe you address the competency issue slightly EARLIER so that it doesn’t delay the trial — say in June or July. It’s not like the trial date was any kind of mystery.
I was curious about the timing of the motion as well. While I understand the competency of the defendant needs to be evaluated as close to trial as possible, creating a postponement kicks the can down the road months. I waited for three months for a hearing date to be set three months down the road in my SLAPP lawsuit with Gilman by the same Judge in the First District.
Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied, so the saying goes.
Is there an update to this story.
Is there any update as to his evaluation? Will there be a trial or not. He has now been being evaluated for almost three weeks.
Is there an update on Bret Blacks mental evaluation. He has been detained now for almost three weeks.
Any update on this case?
What’s ever happened with theM Bret Black case?
This whole competency evaluation delay and supposed development of dementia and memory loss looks like nothing but a defense strategy to get Bret off the hook for murder.
I knew Bret for many years and I never did consider him too mentally competent. Nothing new there.
Memory loss and “onset of dementia” would be very easy to fake. “Uh, I don’t remember.”
This would not only get Bret into a much more comfortable Senior Care Facility instead of a cell in State Prison, but possibly allow him to live with and “under the care of” his son.
A huge benefit for his son would be the complication this would bring to preventing Bret from inheriting his wife’s fortune. No murder conviction for financial gain. And of course, his lawyer knows there would then be no problem with getting paid.
If the estate all goes to Bret, it ends up going to Bret, Jr. Nice reward for helping his dad out.
Bret is confined to a state-run care facility. He has been deemed incompetent by the District Attorney who has, as we understand it, dropped all charges.
A “state run care facility” is a lot more comfortable than a cell in state prison. This way the taxpayers pay for his retirement home and the estate goes to Bret Jr.
A hangman’s noose would have been a lot quicker and cheaper.
Oh well, he beat the system and didn’t even have to go to trial, didn’t have to pay the very high legal costs of a trial, etc.
And the District Attorney skirts having to prepare for and go to trial. A lot of time and expense that can be spent on the comparatively much less demanding easy daily tasks of the office. Also, no chance of losing this way. No chance of demonstrating just how easy it can be to “get away with murder” in Storey County. Everything goes away quietly, everything is soon forgotten and nobody cares. EXCEPT FOR THE CLOSE FRIENDS OF THE VICTIM–A WONDERFUL, WARM AND GRACIOUS LADY that didn’t deserve to be beaten to death and have the perpetrator walk away unscathed.
I’d love to visit Bret and see how well he’d remember me and old times if he knew no one was watching.
Thank you for this forum, this opportunity to share that some of us care very much.