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Presiding from the bench in the Antelope County District Court in Neligh on April 27, the Honorable Mark Johnson sustained a motion by public defender Pat Carney, calling for examination and evaluation by a licensed psychiatrist or clinical psychologist to determine the mental capacity of a defendant to stand trial.

According to Carney’s motion, the examination is necessary to determine whether his client, Steven H. Habegger, 18, who remains in custody at the Antelope County Jail, has a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings against him and whether he has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding. Carney said, in the motion, that he is aware of sufficient facts about the defendant’s mental condition to reasonably raise an issue about competency and that the issue needs to be resolved prior to trial.

Johnson ordered Habegger’s examination by Dr. Klaus Hartmann from the Lincoln Regional Center. The judge put all matters in the case on hold, pending receipt of a report from Hartmann. Bond is continued, in the amount of $100,000, 10% cash.

Habegger is charged with a Class 3A felony, child abuse, alleged Feb. 10 at a Neligh motel, along with three Class 1 misdemeanors, contributing to delinquency of a child, debauching a minor and cruel mistreatment of an animal.

Habegger was remanded back to the custody of Antelope County sheriff Robert Moore.