La Pine-area man accused of hitting dog with shovel back in court, but ruling on fitness to stand trial delayed

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A La Pine-area man accused of hitting his 5-pound Chihuahua with a shovel last spring was back in court Monday, but a ruling on his mental fitness to proceed to trial was delayed yet again.

The attorney for John Coe Richardson, 76, said his client has undergone two mental health evaluation sessions, but the report of those findings is not back yet, as the evaluator has been involved in an ongoing trial.

Deschutes County Circuit Judge Alison Emerson set a new hearing date for Nov. 3.

As Monday's brief hearing began, Richardson asked the judge how she was doing. She responded, "Fine, and how are you?"

"Better than I deserve, your honor," he said, standing beside his attorney in the courtroom.

Richardson is charged with first-degree aggravated animal abuse, a Class C felony, and a misdemeanor count of second-degree animal abuse.

As KTVZ News has reported in our Problem Solvers reports, Richardson suffered severe brain injuries and PTSD during his time as a Marine combat veteran in the Vietnam War. Because of these injuries, his lawyer has said it's also crucial that he gets two of the three dogs seized from him - Paco and Evie.

Richardson, also acting as his own attorney, has filed multiple motions for dismissal of the charges over the ensuing months, court records show.

In his latest, 15-page summary filed late last month, Richardson again claims his three dogs were seized in late April without a court order and that his property was wrongly seized, including the wrong shovel used in the alleged crime - "correct shovel remains in garage."

As the latest hearing ended, Emerson told Richardson, "We have received your letters. We just have to get through this step (regarding his mental fitness to proceed) before we can review those."

"I get it, your honor," Richardson replied.