Jennifer Aniston stalker found mentally incompetent for trial

A man charged with stalking Hollywood A-lister Jennifer Aniston and crashing his car through the front gate of her home has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial, however, he demanded a second opinion at a court hearing Thursday.

Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, a 48-year-old from Mississippi, appeared while in custody behind glass at a Hollywood courthouse that specialises in mental health cases. He had a long, grey beard and wore a thick, blue smock that jails use for suicide prevention.

A county-appointed psychiatrist who evaluated Carwyle found the defendant incompetent, Deputy Public Defender Robert Krauss told the judge as he stood near his client with glass separating them.

But Krauss said Carwyle, as is his right, would like an evaluation from a different psychiatrist.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maria Cavaluzzi ordered the reevaluation and set another hearing for May 29.

Krauss declined comment outside court, as did the prosecutor handling the case and an attorney observing the hearing on behalf of Aniston.

Prosecutors allege Carwyle had been harassing the ‘Friends’ star with a flood of voicemail, email and social media messages for two years before driving his Chrysler PT Cruiser through the gate of her home in the wealthy Bel Air neighbourhood of Los Angeles on May 5, causing major damage.

He pleaded not guilty to felony stalking and vandalism at his first court appearance, where a judge paused the criminal proceedings so he could undergo a psychological evaluation.

Carwyle remains jailed, but he is under a judge’s order not to contact or get near Aniston.

Authorities said Aniston was home at the time of the gate crash, but he did not come into contact with her. A security guard stopped him at her driveway until police arrived. No one was injured.

Carwyle also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm. If convicted, he could get up to three years in prison. If Carwyle is found incompetent again, the judge could order him to be sent to a state mental hospital for treatment and ongoing evaluation.

Other than asking for the protective order for Aniston, prosecutors have not given their position on Carwyle’s competency status, and did not speak at Thursday’s hearing.

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