The trial of the man accused of shooting Giants cornerback Corey Ballentine and his college teammate Dwane Simmons in Kansas last year was set to begin on Tuesday, but it has been postponed.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Shawnee County District Court Cheryl Rios scrapped the expected start date of Francisco Mendez’s trial by scheduling a hearing for later this month to see if he is mentally competent to stand trial. That hearing is set to take place on February 27.
Simmons was killed and Ballentine was shot in the buttocks hours after the Giants made him a sixth-round pick in last April’s draft. He recovered and played 13 games during his rookie season.
Mendez is charged with first-degree murder in Simmons’ death, attempted murder for Ballentine’s shooting and three other counts of attempted murder for shots fired at others that did not get hit that night. He’s also been charged with seven counts of aggravated robbery for other incidents before and after the shooting.