TEXARKANA, Texas — A judge has granted a request from a murder suspect’s attorney to allow another mental evaluation for his client.
Travis Alston Turner, 28, is charged with murder in the Aug. 12 death of 29-year-old Jennifer Garrett at a residence in the 6200 block of Summer-hill Place. Turner was arrested the same day and has been in the Bowie County jail since.
Turner also faces charges of battery and terroristic acts across the state line in Miller County.
Turner was scheduled for a pretrial hearing Wednesday morning before District Judge John Tidwell but did not appear in court because of a disturbance in the jail. However, Tidwell granted a request by Turner’s lawyer, Ron Davis of Little Rock, for the mental evaluation.
An October mental evaluation found Turner competent to stand trial, which is set to start Jan. 30.
At a hearing in June, where the findings of the evaluation were announced, Turner was vocal about his opinion of working with Davis.
“I don’t want him,” he said. “I talk for myself,” he added later.
The outbursts led Tidwell to say he could arrange to “muzzle” Turner at future hearings if needed.
Turner faces five to 99 years or life in prison if convicted of murder.