Competency Hearing Delayed in Homeless Assault Case

The competency hearing scheduled for an Ames man accused of threatening the lives of two homeless men and a third man in July has been delayed.

Michael Ray Nootz, 56, was charged with first-degree harassment and assault while displaying a weapon last July for allegedly threatening homeless men and one other man in Ames. A jury trial had been scheduled for Nov. 27, but it was delayed pending the outcome of the competency hearing which had been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Assistant Story County Attorney Timothy Meals wrote in an order requesting the competency evaluation that Nootz made comments at a Nov. 14 pretrial conference that indicated he may be suffering a mental disorder preventing him from appreciating the charges against him and assisting in his defense, according to court documents.

“Specifically the defendant indicated that he had the legal authority to commit the crime he was accused of and made incoherent statements concerning criminal networks and had been given authority by the Boone County Sheriff's Office to deal with the 'tramp problem' with the railroad,” the competency request stated.

Nootz said he feared that members of the Freight Train Riders of America gang had a presence in Ames and launched a write-in campaign for Story County Sheriff's Office in late October.

According to trial information, Nootz allegedly threatened two homeless men and a third man while displaying a gun in a threatening manner.

Nootz, an engineer with Union Pacific, has said he was searching for members of a gang that illegally rides train cars and had dogs with them, but didn't find them and didn't threaten the men's lives as they have alleged.

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