Former Oxnard resident Rodolfo Negrete, a Mexican national who is facing three counts of murder in the deaths of an Oxnard man and a young couple from Taft, is being sent to a state mental hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

A judge on Friday ordered that Negrete, 25, undergo the mental evaluation to determine if he competent to stand trial for the three killings.

Negrete's attorney William Quest with the Public Defender's Office, requested the mental evaluation for his client.

"He was displaying evidence, I believe, that he suffered from mental illness," said Quest, adding that Negrete wouldn't be able to "effectively assist me in preparation for his trial."

Prosecutor Richard Simon said in an interview that Negrete will be sent to Patton State Hospital, a forensic mental hospital in San Bernardino operated by the California Department of Mental Health.

"They will determine whether he is competent to stand trial. If he is, they'll send him back," said Simon. "If he is not, they'll restore him to competence" so he can stand trial, the prosecutor added.

Negrete is accused of killing Daniel Campos, Alex Jordan and Cynthia Jordan on April 17, 2004.

Negrete has pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charges.

The Negrete case gained national attention after he was profiled on the Fox television program "America's Most Wanted."

Campos, 21, was found dead on a deserted farm road about three miles east of CSU Channel Islands, south of Camarillo.

The bodies of Alex Jordan, 24, and his wife, Cynthia, 22, were found on another deserted road several miles from where Campos' body was discovered.

Cynthia Jordan, who was pregnant at the time of the murder, is reported to have begged for the lives of her family and her unborn child, according to law enforcement officials.

Negrete was arrested in Mexico in October 2006.

Simon said the district attorney can't ask for the death penalty in this case because of a U.S. extradition treaty with Mexico.

"Although he was facing capital murder charges, Mexico would not extradite in a case where we seek death," said Simon.

Negrete's trial is on hold pending the hospital evaluation.

The next hearing on this case is set for Sept. 14.

Negrete was arrested in Acapulco, in the state of Guerrerro, Mexico, by agents of the Agencia Federal de Investigaciones (AFI), acting on information provided by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the Mexico City Field Office of the United States Marshals Service, according to law enforcement officials.