An Iowa woman who was arrested and charged with murder after admitting to running over a teenager because the girl was Latina has been charged in a second hit-and-run has been ruled not competent to face trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Nicole Marie Poole Franklin, 42, who also goes by the name Nicole Poole, was charged Monday by Des Moines police with attempted murder in connection with a Dec. 9 crash that occurred less than an hour before another crash in suburban Clive.
Poole Franklin told authorities she drove up onto the sidewalk near a high school where the 14-year-old was walking and ran her down because, as she told authorities the girl was "Mexican."
"The defendant admitted she intentionally struck the victim intending to injure or kill her," according to a complaint from the Clive Police Department. "She struck the victim because the victim is Hispanic."
Clive Police Chief Michael Venema said in a news conference Friday that Franklin also used derogatory language about Latinos.
Franklin will be charged with murder, assault, theft, consumption, intoxication, and possession of illegal substances.
On Tuesday, the judge issued the ruling, noting that “by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant is suffering from a mental disorder which prevents her from appreciating the charges, understanding the proceedings or assisting effectively in her own defense.”
Poole is also accused of leaving a roadway, traveling onto a sidewalk and hitting a 12-year-old African American boy in an apartment complex in Des Moines. The boy suffered minor injuries, but survived the attack.