An attorney representing a Crown Point man charged in a double homicide last year said he will file a request to have his client evaluated for competency to stand trial.
Defense attorney John Maksimovich, representing James Lohnes, said he plans to file the request with Lake Superior Court Judge Samuel Cappas, who would appoint two mental health professionals to evaluate Lohnes and submit a report to him.
Lohnes, 45, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder filed in the Jan. 16, 2016, killings of former Calumet Township precinct committeewoman Velia Taneff, 86, and her daughter, Lana Taneff, 63. Autopsies found the women died of asphyxia due to strangulation, the probable cause affidavit states.
Cappas scheduled a status hearing for March 28 and said he would set the case for trial if a plea agreement hadn’t been submitted.
Police were asked to check on Velia Taneff’s well-being on Jan. 17, 2016, after a relative of Lohnes’ contacted police and informed them that Lohnes had been doing work for Taneff at her residence in the 2300 block of West 44th Avenue in unincorporated Calumet Township or an adjacent rental property. The relative said he had been unable to contact Taneff and was concerned for her welfare because of what he described as Lohnes’ violent nature, documents state.
Officers found an outside gate and an entrance door to the residence unlocked. Police found Lana Taneff’s body on the basement floor. Velia Taneff’s body was found dead in an upstairs apartment in the 4400 block of Taft Street. Court records indicate it appeared a struggle occurred as the woman’s glasses were broken on the floor and a chair was turned on its side and laying across her legs.
Investigators activated OnStar for Taneff’s dark blue 2003 Cadillac STS. An Ohio State trooper located it on the Ohio Turnpike in Montpelier, Ohio, and encountered Lohnes walking toward the car. Lohnes, who was arrested for drunken driving, spontaneously told a Lake County police investigator who traveled to Ohio: “She let me take her car. I haven’t seen her since 3:30 or 4 p.m. on Saturday,” court records state. Lohnes then refused to answer questions.
On the day of the killings, a witness told police Lohnes had made two separate purchases of crack cocaine, documents said. The witness said Lohnes had sought a ride to purchase the drugs. Because of his increasing level of agitation and argumentative behavior, the friend asked someone else to give Lohnes a ride. The other friend told police he dropped Lohnes at a gas station in the area of 43rd Avenue and Taft Street, near Taneff’s home, court records state.
Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
