Man accused of shooting his neighbors will have mental evaluation

A competency hearing was cancelled Wednesday for a man charged with attempting to kill his next door neighbors last year because attorneys agreed to have him undergo a state psychiatric evaluation.

Joseph Pham, 42, of Cedar Rapids, will undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is suffering from a mental disorder that prevents him from understanding the proceedings and the charges against him, according to a judge's previous order. Any proceedings in the case will now be suspended until the evaluation is complete.

Pham is charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon. He is accused of shooting multiple times at Brian Wilson, 39, his daughter Jayde Wilson and Tracy Moses in June 2012 at Moses' home. Brian Wilson was hit three times and seriously wounded.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Nic Scott asked for the competency hearing to determine if a state evaluation was needed but the defense agreed to it so the hearing was cancelled.

Pham's previous attorney asked the court to conduct a mental evaluation last year and he was found competent, but now Pham is claiming diminished responsibility as his defense.