Arson Defendant Joins Forces With Prosecutor : Courts: Despite his attorney’s advice, the man is trying to prove he is mentally competent to stand trial in the setting of eight fires.

In an uncommon alliance, an arson suspect has teamed up with the prosecution to prove that he is competent to stand trial in Ventura County Superior Court.

In at least a dozen court proceedings since his arrest in October, Ronald K. Sneed has fought Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard E. Simon’s efforts to convict him of setting eight fires in downtown Ventura.

But this week, Sneed and Simon have both been trying to persuade a jury that Sneed is able to stand trial, while the attorney appointed to represent Sneed wants the jury to find him incompetent.

On the final day of testimony in the competency trial Wednesday, Sneed mostly ignored his own attorney, Deputy Public Defender Neil B. Quinn, while he repeatedly huddled with Simon and dispatched notes to the prosecutor with suggestions on strategy.

“This is an unusual situation,” Quinn told the jury in his closing argument.

The competency trial is the latest episode in a case that has already bounced among three Superior Court judges and two defense attorneys.

The 48-year-old Sneed, who has trained himself in some aspects of the law, has represented himself at several appearances, filing hand-penciled briefs that have cited various legal precedents. Some of them have succeeded, such as a brief aimed at obtaining a court-appointed investigator to aid in his defense. Others, such as his efforts to reduce bail or suppress evidence, have gone nowhere.

Quinn told the jury Wednesday that many of Sneed’s briefs were legally insufficient or wrong. Even if Sneed knows more law than the average layman, he is not competent to represent himself or help an attorney represent him, Quinn said.

Under the law, Quinn must prove that Sneed has a mental defect that prevents him from understanding the charges against him or prevents him from assisting in his defense or from defending himself.

“Mr. Sneed is obsessive, compulsive and paranoid,” Quinn said, adding that Sneed thinks that there is little evidence against him and that he is being persecuted.

Actually, the evidence is quite strong, said district attorney’s investigator Larry B. Fryar, who testified Wednesday.

When Sneed was arrested, he smelled of smoke and had soot on his hands, investigators have said. In his car they found several used packs of matches and pamphlets from the American Red Cross headquarters, which was one of the buildings that burned.

“There is very damning evidence,” Quinn said. However, he added, “he wants to be found competent. That’s further evidence he just does not get it.”

In his closing argument, Simon reminded the jurors that a defendant is presumed to be competent. He said Sneed’s legal research shows that he “clearly understands the nature of the charges.”

And Simon insisted that Sneed can assist his attorney in his defense. “They simply have a disagreement over strategy,” Simon said.

As for the Sneed’s insufficient legal briefs, Simon said: “You can’t fault him for trying.”

The prosecutor put one of his colleagues, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael D. Schwartz, on the witness stand to talk about Sneed’s briefs.

“Would you agree that if every lawyer who filed a legally insufficient brief was found incompetent, our mental institutions would be filled with lawyers?” Simon asked.

“We’d all be there,” Schwartz replied, as the courtroom erupted in laughter.

The jury begins deliberations today. Sneed, a former Oxnard resident who was living in Santa Barbara when arrested, remains in Ventura County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.