An Idaho judge says the man accused of killing two men and injuring another during a 6,500-mile crime spree across the West last year remains mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Fourth District Judge Deborah Bail has ordered John Delling to remain in state custody until at least late November before his Ada County first-degree murder trial in the death of Bradley Morse can begin.

Court records say that Delling admitted to police that he shot and injured former high school classmate Jacob Thompson in Tuscon, Ariz., on March 20, 2007, then killed David Boss in Boss’ Moscow apartment on March 30, before killing Morse in Boise April 2.  Delling was arrested the next day in Sparks, Nev., driving Morse’s car.

The Latah County trial is on hold until the Ada County case is resolved.

Delling has spent the past five months in the care of the state Health and Welfare Department to receive medical treatment for paranoid schizophrenia. Last February, Delling was put in state custody for 90 days, but more than two months after that deadline passed, prosecutors filed a motion earlier this month asking for a hearing so they could show Delling was ready to stand trial.

In a commitment order issued last week, Bail said that while medical reports show Delling is making some improvement, he lacks the mental fitness to proceed or make informed decisions about how he is treated. (Idaho Statesman)