KALAMAZOO, MI – A man accused of killing his girlfriend will undergo mental health treatment to see if he can become competent to stand trial.
Anthony Ozomaro, 35, is charged with open murder and felony firearm in the March 8, 2019, killing of Nikkole Riojas, 35, while she was in bed at her Charles Street home.
Ozomaro had a mental competency hearing July 22 before Kalamazoo County Circuit Chief Judge Gary Giguere Jr. Ozomaro was found mentally incompetent but restorable with treatment.
Related: Kalamazoo man charged in girlfriend’s 2019 killing heading toward trial
Ozomaro was ordered to undergo secure in-patient psychiatric treatment to see if treatment can make him mentally competent. He had a mental competency examination by the state of Michigan and was found competent to stand trial in 2020.
The defendant refused to participate in the hearing, Kalamazoo County Sheriff Deputy Michael Leeger said. Leeger asked Ozomaro, while he was in his jail cell, if he wanted to participate in the hearing by video, iPad or be transported to court and Ozomaro said no to all. He also said he did not want to observe any proceedings, Leeger said.
Ozomaro has said he is a sovereign citizen and does not recognize the authority of the courts or police.
After an independent psychiatric evaluation May 5 at the Kalamazoo County Jail, Dr. Julia Cunningham found Ozomaro was not competent to proceed but could be restored, she said during the Friday hearing before Giguere.
Ozomaro told Cunningham that he was being held at the jail as a prisoner of war. When asked what war, he said that she would not be able to comprehend, according to a report filed in court.
A judge’s role in a case is, “To stabilize the phosphorous bloodline and DNA Line to make it stable,” Ozomaro told Cunningham. He then added, “Sitting inside this cell, my body is being mined for minerals,” according to the report. Ozomaro also said his body is being mined for melanin.
When asked about what would happen if he was convicted, Ozomaro told Cunningham, “Conviction, what is a convict?”
When she asked him to explain, he said, “It’s a compound. It’s a compound word. Convict is a victim of a con, stolen to me from what is time,” he then said, “The sun, the light travels differently in carbon,” the report said.
Riojas and Ozomaro had two children together. The morning of March 8, 2019, their young daughter told Riojas’ friend that her mom was not waking up. The friend went inside, found Riojas dead and called 911, according to prior court testimony.
Ozomaro was previously convicted, after a three-day trial in U.S. District Court, on federal drug charges connected to crystal methamphetamine found when police searched the man’s home after finding Riojas dead in March 2019. Ozomaro represented himself throughout the federal trial, per court records.
A review date is scheduled for Oct. 13 to see if a bed is available for Ozomaro for in-patient treatment and, if so, where he is in his treatment.
More from MLive:
‘I want justice for Tommy,’ mom pleads 5 years after son killed at Kalamazoo party
Police release name of father, son killed in U.S. 131 crash
South Haven police issue more than 2 dozen $1,000 citations for beach red-flag violations
