ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man accused in a 1992 Orange County murder will go to a new treatment center after he was found incompetent.
Ronald Cates was arrested in August 2022 in connection with the Aug. 10, 1992, death of John Stagner, 53.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Cates was a family friend of Stagner. He was previously considered a person of interest in the case. He wasn’t arrested until 2022 when he confessed while at a North Carolina hospital, deputies said.
His lawyers filed a motion earlier this month to dismiss the charges after he was found incompetent in August 2023. A judge on Monday denied the motion.
Detective Kevin Wilson said during a news conference on the cold case arrest that Stagner worked for the county as a maintenance worker.
Detectives at the time reportedly knew that Cates borrowed several power tools from Stagner, but Wilson said Cates pawned them for drugs. At one point, Stagner confronted Cates about his missing tools and asked for the items back.
“At the time, when detectives started kind of investigating this, they went to the Cates’ home. One of the daughters was visibly shaking at home and said that he wasn’t in the home,” Wilson said. “Later on, the detectives learned that Mr. Cates actually hid under the house that day, asked his daughter to lie for him and say he wasn’t home.”
Cates faces a second-degree murder charge.
Stagner’s family was at the hearing Monday, and said they are worried that justice may never come.
“This is the third time we’ve tried to have the hearing on whether the case may be dismissed, or whether he may or may not be competent,” said Stagner’s daughter, Johnetta Grant.
“It’s hard to be patient, but there’s really nothing we can do about it,” she added.
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