Twelfth Judicial Circuit Judge John F. Lakin ruled a Holmes Beach stabbing suspect is competent to stand trial and his bond will not change.
Andrew James Helderman, 24, allegedly stabbed his female roommate and fought off a male roommate at their Clark Drive residence before Holmes Beach Police Department officers arrived during the alleged March attack.
At a Dec. 2 motion, the judge decided not to reduce Helderman’s bond.
Public information director Dave Bristow and Assistant State Attorney Darlene Ragoonanan said Helderman’s bond is set at $166,500.
The judge also went on record and found Helderman competent, Ragoonanan added.
Paine had filed a suggestion of incompetency in October, and the court appointed two psychologists to weigh in on the issue.
Helderman is charged with first-degree attempted murder — increased from a second-degree charge after law enforcement discovered he is a felon who’d been building a “bang stick,” capable of firing a 12-guage shotgun round.
He also is charged with aggravated assault for fighting with his male roommate, and three other felonies for making and possessing a firearm.
Helderman’s public defender filed a motion Dec. 1 — yet to be set for hearing — to suppress statements Helderman made March 21 to HBPD Officer Steve Ogline.
In that motion, Paine argues his client’s constitutional rights were violated by Ogline’s questioning at the jail, outside the presence of his public defender.
According to Paine’s motion, Ogline advised Helderman he’d come to talk about something other than the alleged attack, read his Miranda rights, and Helderman signed a waiver.
At one point, Helderman invoked his right to remain silent, but Ogline continued questioning, which, according to Paine, violated his client’s rights.
In addition, Paine argued Florida law prohibits jailhouse interviews when a defendant is represented by counsel.
Before Paine took over Helderman’s defense in October, Helderman had filed numerous motions on his own from jail, including one to remove his court-appointed attorney.
Lakin denied Helderman’s pro-se motions and the public defender’s office substituted Paine.
Helderman, who pleaded not guilty in both cases in March, faces life in prison if convicted on the premeditated attempted murder charge.
Helderman has a prior criminal history, including a Glades County conviction for which he was incarcerated for four years, according to the Florida Department of Corrections website. He was released from prison Nov. 20, 2012.
According to a Jan. 4, 2007, WBBH channel NBC2 report, he was one of three juveniles who escaped from the “Last Chance Ranch” after allegedly beating one guard and stealing another guard’s vehicle.
Helderman’s docket sounding and trial are set for March 2, 2015, and March 16, 2015, before a new judge, 12th Judicial Circuit Judge Deno Economou, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
