Whether or not a new trial date will need to be set for murder suspect Rudolfo Amaya remains to be seen, as he continues to await a mental evaluation.
Public defender Doug Moore informed Judge John Atkins Wednesday morning that he believes the evaluation will be held in December. He and the Commonwealth have discussed vacating the current trial date of February 19, but the judge said he wants to see what happens with the evaluation first.
The evaluation has been pending for some time, with both sides waiting to see an official report from an expert.
Amaya is charged with murder in the first degree and first-degree wanton endangerment in the fatal shooting death of 43-year-old Dante Welch.
He is alleged to have shot and killed Welch on New Gritton Avenue in Oak Grove in March of this year—he allegedly shot Welch, who was inside of a parked vehicle, in front of a toddler who was also in the vehicle.