Teen Must Undergo Mental Evaluation
BY Bill Braun World Staff Writer
Jan 21, 1998
9/03/08 at 7:13 AM
A mental competency evaluation was ordered Tuesday for a Tulsa teen-ager who is
accused of fatally shooting Michelle Hendrix outside a Tulsa health center almost two
years ago.
Steven Antonio White, who has spent more than 22 months in the Tulsa Jail, will be
transported to Eastern State Hospital in Vinita for an examination.
An affidavit filed by defense attorney Stan Monroe "raised a doubt" as to White's
current competency, said an order by Tulsa District Judge Jesse Harris.
Harris directed Eastern State to submit a report regarding White's status prior to a
post-
evaluation court hearing set for Feb. 20.
Hendrix, 30, of Sapulpa was shot once in the chest as she walked to her car from the
John Tomblin Memorial Health Center, 2828 W. 51st St., on Feb. 29, 1996. She was
carrying her 5-
month-old daughter and holding the hand of her 2-year-old daughter when she was confronted outside the center by a
purse-
snatcher, police said.
White, now 19, and Marcus Terrell Currie, now 17, were charged March 6, 1996, with
first-degree murder.
Prosecutors contend that White fired the fatal shot. He faces a potential death
penalty.
In a document filed Friday, Monroe said he has a doubt about whether White is
presently able to appreciate the nature of the charges against him, consult with his
attorneys and assist in the preparation and presentation of a legal defense -- key
legal issues regarding competency.
If it is determined that White is mentally incompetent, it will delay any prosecution
of his murder case.
The issue regarding White's status will not delay efforts in juvenile court to
certify 19-year-
old Jamie Nicole Chambers as an adult on a charge of being an accessory to the murder
of Hendrix, Assistant District Attorney John Priddy said.
