Mental evaluation planned for suspect in S&R shooting

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004 | 9:30 a.m.

A former NFL player accused of shooting at the home of entertainers Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn told District Judge Jackie Glass, "I'd rather not go to trial. I'd rather plead."

"Is it possible to plead today?" asked 31-year-old Cole Ford as he stood before Glass on Tuesday during what was scheduled to be his arraignment for six charges of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle and two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Glass said she wants proof that the former Oakland Raiders kicker is competent to enter a plea, so she rescheduled Ford's arraignment for Jan. 13 because a court ordered psychiatric evaluation of Ford had yet to be performed.

That evaluation will be the basis for a decision about whether a competency hearing is needed.

Glass explained to Ford that he would "need to cooperate with doctors because the sooner you do the sooner the case could move forward." Ford said he would cooperate.

The delay in administering Ford's psychiatric evaluation was apparently due to scheduling conflicts caused by the holiday season, Assistant Public Defender Daren Richards said.

Ford has been jailed since Nov. 2. The shotgun blasts fired Sept. 21 at the home of the famed Las Vegas illusionists allegedly came from the white minivan Ford owns. No one was hurt in the shooting, but windows were shattered and walls of the home were damaged.

Deputy Clark County District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said outside court there have been no plea discussions and Ford had not seen the required two doctors since his previous hearing Dec. 17.

Ford's lawyer declined to say whether Ford wanted to plead guilty.

"He doesn't understand what's going on," Richards said. "That's why the case is stalled."

Ford could face up to 27 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

He was drafted out of USC in 1995 by the Pittsburgh Steelers and released. He signed on with the Raiders and kicked for three seasons. Ford was cut before the 1998 season after missing several crucial kicks in 1997.

Family members in Tucson have said Ford started showing signs of schizophrenia after he left the Raiders and grew more reclusive until they lost contact with him in 1999.

A civil suit filed by Ford against the Monte Carlo hotel on Jan. 28 is one reason why people are questioning his mental state.

In that lawsuit, Ford was seeking $5 million from the Monte Carlo because, he wrote, by allowing people to place bets on the football teams for which he played in the 1990s the casino "acquired leverage from my works."

"I believe gaming is stealing from an athlete's earning potential," the suit states. "The athlete is creating the results and the sports books are claiming them."

District Judge Valerie Adair dismissed the suit on May 13.