JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — The Metairie man who was charged in a deadly shooting spree back in 2019, has been found “mentally competent” to stand trial.
As our partners at The Times-Picayune report, Sean Barrette, 26, is accused of killing three people while indiscriminately shooting at vehicles over a two-week period in the summer of 2019.
Court records show 24th Judicial District Court Judge, Scott Schlegel, made the ruling Wednesday after court-appointed doctors declared Barrette capable of assisting in his defense.
Barrette has a history of mental illness including being diagnosed with schizophrenia. He was previously ruled “incompetent” in 2020 and was sent to a mental health facility.
"I’m not surprised at this finding given that he’s spent the last year and a half at the state psychiatric hospital where he received adequate care and adequate medication,” Barrette's attorney, Paul Fleming, told The Times-Picayune on Thursday.
Barrette faces a list of charges including two counts of first-degree murder, and one count of second-degree murder among other charges. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Facility.
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