Arnett declared mentally incompetent to stand trial for murder

Following a court-ordered evaluation by the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and a hearing in Hamilton County Court, murder suspect Caleb Arnett has been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial for the December stabbing death of his stepfather. Judge Lynelle D. Homolka issued the order at a hearing Tuesday morning and remanded Arnett to the custody of the Lincoln Regional Center for treatment as soon as a bed becomes available. 
The 29-year-old Aurora man was arrested on the early morning hours of Dec. 2 for the murder of Ross Nickolaus and the wounding of his mother, Theresa Nickolaus and a teen step brother. He has been lodged at the Hamilton County Jail since that time on a $2 million bond. A preliminary hearing in the case had been set for Dec. 19, but was postponed after the defendant's attorney asked for a delay in order to give him time to seek an independent evaluation of Arnett by a mental health professional to determine whether his client was competent to stand trial. At a subsequent status hearing on Jan. 30, the preliminary hearing was again delayed and County Attorney Douglas Dexter asked the court to order an evaluation of Arnett's mental status by the DHHS. Judge Homolka granted that request and ordered the DHHS evaluation, setting a status hearing for March 19. 
However, at a previously unannounced hearing on Tuesday, the judge issued the following order: “The court finds the defendant shall be deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial at this time... As there is a substantial probability that the defendant will become competent in the reasonably foreseeable future, the defendant shall stand committed to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, who is hereby ordered to provide the defendant the treatment necessary to restore competency at the Lincoln Regional Center... until such time as the disability may be removed.” 
The judge also ordered the center to file a written report on Arnett's status within 60 days of the order being entered and every 60 days after that, “until either the disability is removed or other disposition of the defendant has been made.” 
The order also stated that at which point the center determines the defendant is competent to stand trial, the court would hold a competency hearing. 
A review hearing on the matter was set for Tuesday, April 23. 
At his arraignment on Dec. 5, Arnett was charged with six felony counts in connection with the stabbing incident which took place in the family home on Fairview Drive in Aurora. The charges include first-degree murder, use of a knife or other deadly weapon in the commission of a felony (three counts) and first-degree assault with intent to do serious bodily injury (two counts).