The jury returned much sooner than District Attorney Jim Wheeler had expected. But for him, the verdict was a victory. Now he can get on with the real business of the state, trying Kaleb Hooks for murder.

It is not the first time Wheeler has argued Hooks' competence. Hooks has been sent back and forth between Wood County and a state mental hospital, at one time declared competent and another declared incompetent.

Yesterday, however, a jury of three men and nine women found Hooks able to understand the proceedings and participate in his defense. That opens the door to the actual trial which Wheeler says he hopes to start in August or September.