Man found competent to face charges in alleged hate crime attack on neighbor
A man ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation after he was accused of attacking his 75-year-old Filipino-American neighbor was deemed competent to face charges on Friday.
Christian Lentz, 44, is facing felony charges of burglary motivated by bias or hatred, and abuse of an older of vulnerable person motivated by bias or hatred, court records show. A Las Vegas judge ordered Lentz to undergo a competency evaluation with a state psychiatrist earlier this month.
During a hearing on Friday, District Judge Christy Craig said Lentz has been deemed competent and is “capable of understanding the nature of the charges against him and able to aid and assist council in his defense.”
Lentz, who has been released from custody on bail, attended the hearing on Friday through a video call.
He is accused of attacking his neighbor, Amadeo Quindara, inside Quindara’s garage.
Quindara previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he had a negative interaction with Lentz the previous day, when Lentz told Quindara and his wife to speak English while the couple was talking in Tagalog with their fellow Filipino neighbors.
The following day, on May 30, Quindara said Lentz threatened to “put him on a ventilator.” Quindara alleged that about 30 minutes later, Lentz returned to his home and attacked him, punching Quindara in the face multiple times and slamming him on the ground.
Police said Lentz was not arrested the day of the attack, because he locked himself inside his house. He was arrested the following day outside the home.
Lentz has previously told the Review-Journal that his memory from the days surrounding the attack was “fuzzy,” and that he is “not a hate crime person.”
He is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.