After nearly three years of stops and starts over his mental fitness, jury selection is now set for Aug. 31, 2026, in the case of Marco Antonio Gonzalez, the man accused of killing a Greenwood resident outside the Ale Emporium in 2023. The run-up to trial has been dominated by a flurry of competency evaluations, hospital treatment and a fresh court-ordered sanity exam that could still change whether the case actually reaches a jury this summer.
Indiana law on competency and restoration
Under Indiana law, when a judge has reasonable doubt about whether a defendant can understand what is happening in court or work with their attorney, the court must pause and order mental health evaluations. If the defendant is found incompetent, state law allows judges to commit that person for “restoration” services, with clinicians deciding whether there is a substantial probability that competency can be restored. Those determinations can delay or even reshape a criminal case.
As laid out in an Indiana Supreme Court decision available on Justia, these competency and restoration steps are central to how trial courts are supposed to proceed once questions about a defendant’s mental fitness are raised.
Prosecutors' account of the shooting
Prosecutors allege Gonzalez shot and killed 52-year-old Greenwood resident Timothy A. Sannito in the parking lot of the Ale Emporium location in Greenwood. Investigators say security footage showed a black SUV leaving the scene and that police used that video to identify Gonzalez, according to court records.
A Johnson County judge has set a jury trial for Aug. 31, 2026, even as the case continues to grind through the overlapping competency and sanity issues, as reported by the Daily Journal.
Competency dispute and defense notice
Gonzalez’s mental fitness has seesawed since shortly after the shooting. He first underwent a competency evaluation in July 2023. By February 2024 he was ruled competent, only for the court to later find him incompetent in November 2024 and order him sent to an Indianapolis hospital, according to the reporting.
Fresh evaluation reports submitted in April and May 2026 again concluded he is competent to stand trial. The court has now directed that Gonzalez undergo a sanity evaluation focused on his mental state at the time of the alleged offense, and Gonzalez has formally notified the court that he intends to pursue an insanity defense.
According to the Daily Journal, Gonzalez allegedly told an officer, “I should have joined the military, at least then I could have murdered someone and gotten away with it,” a statement that is now looming over the legal fight about his mental state.
What a sanity evaluation means for the case
Once a defendant raises an insanity defense in Indiana, the legal focus shifts to whether that person was legally responsible at the moment the crime allegedly occurred. Expert witnesses and detailed legal standards guide that decision, and the bar for proving insanity is anything but easy to clear.
Appellate rulings have refined how trial courts handle insanity claims and expert testimony, influencing what judges and juries can hear in serious criminal cases. For a deeper look at how those standards work in practice, see the case law collected on FindLaw.
Next steps and community impact
The upcoming sanity exam, along with any additional restoration findings, will help determine whether the Aug. 31 trial date sticks or whether the court orders more treatment, continued commitment or another adjustment to the case’s status.
The Greenwood Ale Emporium location on East County Line Road is where the shooting allegedly unfolded, and local patrons along with regular court watchers are expected to keep a close eye on hearings in Johnson County as summer progresses. The business describes its Greenwood spot on its own site, Ale Emporium.
We will continue to track new filings, court orders and hearing dates in Johnson County and reflect any developments in future coverage as the case moves forward.
