A DC Superior Court judge scheduled a preliminary hearing in a murder case after the defendant was found competent to stand trial.
Christian Arndt, 28, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the death of his 54-year-old father, Donald Arndt. Arndt was reportedly beaten to death with a bat on Jan. 28 on the 3000 block of Newark Street, NW.
During the March 29 mental observation hearing, Judge Marisa Demeo reviewed a report from the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), which stated that Arndt was competent to proceed with his case.
Parties did not contest the competency finding, but defense attorney Philip Andonian asked for a few months before the preliminary hearing.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do at this moment, I think we need more time to be able to digest the report,” Andonian said.
Judge Demeo set a preliminary hearing for May 10.
Brennan Fiske wrote this article.
