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Jerry Vulich is shown in this undated photo.<\/p>\n
SPECIAL TO THE BEE<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n Judge suspended Norman Vulich\u2019s criminal case pending a mental competency evaluation.Vulich’s attorneys requested the evaluation, saying he had not cooperated with trial preparation.Dr. Luis Velosa must submit his psychiatric report by May 29 for a June 4 hearing.<\/p>\n A Fresno County judge has suspended the criminal case against accused killer Norman Vulich, after his attorneys doubted his mental competency.<\/p>\n Mark Coleman and Daniel Harralson made the request Thursday saying Vulich, who was arrested for his brother\u2019s murder in 2020, has not been cooperating in the preparation for his upcoming trial on April 27.<\/p>\n Vulich was charged with murder for allegedly shooting and killing his older brother, 68-year-old raisin farmer Jerry Vulich. The shooting took place on the family\u2019s farming property near Manning and Fruit avenues, just southwest of Easton.<\/p>\n Harralson said his client was distraught over his big brother\u2019s decision to bulldoze a 40-acre raisin grape vineyard to make way for almonds, a more profitable crop.<\/p>\n Vulich was against the move, arguing that dozens of stray cats would lose their home. On the morning of Oct. 23, 2020, the brothers confronted each other as a bulldozer was getting ready to take out the vineyards.<\/p>\n They argued. As Jerry Vulich began to walk away, his brother shot him with a shotgun, striking him in the back, according to testimony in a civil trial. The elder Vulich collapsed on the dusty earth.<\/p>\n Coleman told Judge Ryan Wells that although Vulich disagrees with the evaluation, he believes it is necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cI am doing this with great reluctance,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cBut my fear is that if we go forward, given what we know…this case would come back if there was a conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n Vulich did not speak during the brief hearing. His niece Nicole Vulich, however, was in the audience and expressed her frustration over the delays.<\/p>\n She is the shooting victim\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a waste of time, just a waste of time,\u201d she said outside of the courtroom. \u201cI don\u2019t believe he doesn\u2019t have the ability to understand what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n Prosecutor Kaitlin M. Drake also shared her frustration with the delay.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been five and a half years since this happened, so yes its frustrating, but we have to let the evaluation play out in order to move forward,\u201d Drake said.<\/p>\n The judge ordered that Vulich be evaluated by Dr. Luis Velosa, a psychiatrist based in Visalia. The doctor\u2019s report is due on May 29 with a competency hearing set for June 4.<\/p>\n Vulich has already lost one legal battle in civil court. A Fresno County jury awarded his brother\u2019s family $2.7 million in a wrongful death lawsuit in 2024.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n
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