Suspected DUI driver in fatal hit-and-run of juvenile to undergo mental evaluation

The man charged in a suspected DUI hit-and-run crash that killed a Smith Middle School student will undergo competency evaluations following a motion made by his lawyer in court on Tuesday.

Defense attorney Joseph Gersten, during a preliminary hearing in Justice Court, asked Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure to temporarily halt the court proceedings for his client, Oh’Ryan Brooks, until he can be determined mentally fit.

Bonaventure ordered the request, sending Brook’s case to the competency court. The judge said that medical staff would visit Brooks at the Clark County Detention Center before his next court date in November.

“I will enter a finding that doubt has arisen as to the competence of the defendant,” Bonaventure said. “I will order these proceedings suspended until that question is determined.”

Brooks has been in custody since police identified him as the driver in the Oct. 3 crash, where 12-year-old Christofer Suarez, walking to school near East Owens Avenue and North 21st Street, was struck by an SUV and thrown into a nearby fence. The boy died after three days at the University Medical Center.

After the hearing, Gersten declined to say whether his client had exhibited any behavior that made him question his mental state, instead stating that the motion he made can sometimes be routine in cases like Brooks’.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.