Woman in apartment fire case faces mental hearing

VISTA (CNS) - A mental competency evaluation was ordered Monday for a woman accused of setting a three-unit Escondido apartment complex on fire after attacking her neighbor with a mop handle five days earlier.

Jade Kimberly Havlik, 46, faces up to nine years in state prison if convicted of arson and assault. An exam was ordered today to determine if Havlik understands the charges against her and can assist her attorney at trial. At Havlik’s Oct. 2 arraignment, Deputy District Attorney Chandelle Konstanzer said the defendant was jailed Sept. 25 for allegedly assaulting her upstairs neighbor, 55-year-old Vincent Sarno.

The defendant was released from jail Sept. 29 and the next day, she allegedly poured gasoline in her living room and next to Sarno’s front door and set it ablaze, Konstanzer said.

Sarno was not home at the time and no one was hurt, but Havlik could have endangered the lives of many who lived nearby, the prosecutor said. It took firefighters about 20 minutes to put out the blaze.

A hearing is scheduled Dec. 18 at the downtown courthouse to determine whether Havlik is mentally competent to face the charges at trial.

This story was written and edited by City News Service staff.

Tags: apartment fire, Escondido, SDNN

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