Duncan

A defendant was found to be incompetent five months after his preliminary hearing, and criminal proceedings were suspended. After his competence was restored, he made a nonstatutory motion to dismiss the case. He argued that he had been incompetent at the time of the preliminary hearing, which rendered his commitment unlawful. The trial court granted his motion. We affirm.

Facts

A preliminary hearing was held following respondent Carl Roy Duncan’s arrest for robbery. The evidence showed that he was in the lobby of a residential hotel in downtown Los Angeles where he struck a woman in the face and pulled a $20 bill from her hand. The victim clung to his body, but was forced to let go when Duncan ran out the door. She chased him down the street where he ran into the path of a police car and was apprehended.

The court found probable cause that Duncan had committed the charged crime, and held him to answer. An information was filed in superior court charging him with first degree robbery, and alleging that he had suffered three prior convictions under the “Three Strikes” law. (Pen. Code, §§211, 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12.)

The case was called to trial on five occasions,…