Adrian Madrigal, accused of stabbing a 62-year-old Napa man to death in a botched robbery attempt, entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday in Napa County Superior Court.
Napa County Superior Court Judge Francisca Tisher set a preliminary hearing date for Nov. 12. A preliminary hearing is the next step in determining if the case will go to trial.
Madrigal's defense attorney Jess Raphael said he declined on Tuesday to file a motion to have Madrigal transferred from Napa County Department of Corrections to Napa State Hospital while he is in custody during the trial.
"We're not ready yet," Raphael said later on Tuesday. "We're still getting our defense team together -- he hasn't even been examined by a doctor yet."
Asked if he still planned to file a motion for the transfer, Raphael said he was doing legal research on the situation.
"I have to look at the law on this," he said. "I'm not sure if, in a capital (special circumstances) case, whether the defendant can be transferred out of a jail."
Madrigal, 24, a Napa-area transient, is accused of murdering Don Buffington on June 21.
Prosecutors have filed two motions for special circumstances, meaning that, if convicted of the murder, Madrigal could face a sentence of life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
Raphael said he would delay any decision on whether to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity until after the preliminary hearing.
If Madrigal were to enter that plea, "it would be after the preliminary hearing, not before," he said.
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