Court Declares Competency of Accused Arsonist Cannot Be Restored

It was the ruling of Jefferson County Court Judge Linda Bauer that, “the Defendant cannot be restored to competency in the reasonably foreseeable future.”The defendant in this case is Lorenzo A. Ramirez, age 23, of Fairbury. Ramirez appeared in court on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, in the custody of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. He was charged with first degree arson, a class 2 felony punishable by up to 50 years in prison. He was also charged with resisting arrest, a class 1 misdemeanor that carries a possible penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.Ramirez was arrested in connection with a suspicious house fire that began shortly before midnight on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. At that time, the Fairbury Rural Fire Department was dispatched to the 1300 block of D Street in Fairbury. The dispatcher reported a porch was “smoldering” and that a neighbor had seen the fire and turned a hose on it. The fire was extinguished with minimal damage. Fairbury Fire Chief Kenny Krause noted, “It was out on our arrival.”This was actually the second fire of the night. An earlier fire was reported at approximately 10 p.m. just a few blocks away on G Street. Krause noted that two fires, so close together in both location and time was naturally suspicious and the Fire Marshall was called in to investigate. Krause told FJN, “We remained on scene all night, mainly because the investigator wanted to look at both the fire scenes.”While the earlier fire was determined to be an accident, the later fire on D Street was suspicious. The investigation led to the arrest of Ramirez.The defendant is represented by attorney Ben Murray, who filed a motion for a competency evaluation the first time he appeared in court on behalf of his client in 2021. Murray told the judge at that time, “I think we need to determine his competency first. He has been diagnosed as autistic, has been involuntarily hospitalized before and, I believe, has even been determined to be incompetent by a court on a previous occasion. So at this point, I think we should do that first.”Judge Bauer granted the motion.According to an evaluation completed on May 18, 2021, Ramirez was unable to assist in his own defense and was not competent to stand trial.In her decision, the presiding judge, Linda Bauer, wrote, “It is therefore ordered that the Defendant is incompetent to stand trial and he is ordered to be held for inpatient services at the Lincoln Regional Center, Lincoln, NE until it is determined he is competent to stand trial.”Despite the judge's order, it would be several months before Ramirez was seen for treatment. There have been long waits for inmates to receive needed mental health treatment, even when that treatment is ordered by a judge. Jefferson County Sheriff Nick Georgi met with county commissioners on September 14, 2021, to discuss mental health services for inmates. The sheriff said at that time, “We have a couple inmates right now that are sitting there waiting to go the Regional Center.”In February of this year, the defendant was moved to the Regional Center in Lincoln. The judge has received a letter from a clinical psychiatrist. It was that letter, listed in court documents as Exhibit #2, that formed the basis of Judge Bauer's ruling that Ramirez would likely not be restored to competency in the near future.Murray made a motion that his client be discharged. The county attorney requested that Ramirez be held for civil commitment. The judge agreed to both.Involuntary civil commitment is court-ordered institutionalization of a person suffering from mental illness, usually after determining that person is dangerous to himself or herself or to the community.

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