Costa Mesa man held by police since 2016 may be deemed mentally unfit for murder trial

A Costa Mesa man held in custody on suspicion of murder after he allegedly clubbed another man to death with a hammer hatchet more than six years ago appeared in a hearing Tuesday to determine whether he was mentally fit to stand trial.

The incident took place shortly before 9 a.m. on Nov. 2, 2016, when Costa Mesa police officers responded to a report of an assault in a parking area near an apartment complex on the 2300 block of Vanguard Way, across from Vanguard University.

Officers discovered the body of Kyle Boyd Avila, 53, and surmised he had been inside a Toyota Scion when he was beaten from outside the vehicle by another individual. A hammer-hatchet police believed to have been used to strike Avila was found inside the car, the Daily Pilot reported at the time of the incident.

A neighbor who witnessed the scene said she saw a man swinging an object inside the vehicle while he stood outside. She thought the man may have been trying to break the window, until she saw him dragging what looked like a bloodied body out of the Scion and called police.

Ivan Chernov Dimov, then 51, was arrested and held on $1-million bail after officers discovered him near the body and tasered him as he attempted to flee the scene.

Dimov, whose occupation was listed as shop owner, faced a charge of murder and a felony enhancement for using a deadly weapon. That December he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. In November 2017, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino found Dimov mentally unfit to stand trial and suspended criminal proceedings against him.

Neighbors reported Dimov was married and had three children when the incident took place. Now 58, Dimov has been held in custody for six years, appearing regularly at competency hearings to determine whether he is fit to defend himself in court.

A Costa Mesa Police Department spokesman said at the time of the murder investigators had not determined a motive for the crime or found any links between Avila and Dimov, who’d reportedly moved to Costa Mesa just a few days earlier.

Following Avila’s slaying, a neighbor of Dimov’s said she had spoken often with the suspect and his wife about mental-health issues he’d reportedly suffered, indicating he had undergone some form of medical testing. Dimov could face up to 26 years in prison if he is convicted of all charges.