OWATONNA – Roger Schleicher has been ordered by a Third District judge to undergo a psychological competency examination before his trial proceeds.

Thursday, January 18, 2001

OWATONNA – Roger Schleicher has been ordered by a Third District judge to undergo a psychological competency examination before his trial proceeds.

Schleicher, accused of luring a Waseca man to his Ellendale home to kill him in late December, will undergo the evaluation at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Facility.

Judge William A. Johnson ordered last Thursday that no further proceedings be held until the evaluation – which could take as long as 60 days – is completed, said Gordon Meiners, Steele County Court Administrator.

Schleicher accepted counsel from Joe Bueltel, the court ordered standby counsel, when Johnson assured him he would not be charged for representation in the competency trial. Bueltel filed the motion for the competency evaluation.

Schleicher had earlier refused a court-appointed attorney because he did not want to pay for one.

If Schleicher is found incompetent, he will not be able to refuse counsel, Meiners said.

Earlier, proceedings were delayed when Schleicher requested the presiding judge be removed. Schleicher also refused to apply for a public defender for the second-degree murder charge.

A grand jury is reviewing the Steele County attorney’s request to charge Scheicher with first-degree murder, showing intent to kill.