Shooting Trial In New Orleans Postponed

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has postponed a trial for a Mississippi man charged with shooting at three men in what prosecutors call a racially motivated attack in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

It wasn't immediately clear why U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon moved the start of Roland Bourgeois Jr.'s trial from Dec. 3 to March 18. However, Bourgeois' trial already has been delayed several times due to questions about his mentally competency.

A federal magistrate ruled in July that Bourgeois is mentally competent to stand trial after doctors concluded he still suffers from depression and anxiety but is able to understand the nature of the proceedings against him.

In the 2005 storm's aftermath, Bourgeois allegedly wounded at least one of the three men he fired at with a shotgun.