A gay man who is accused of slashing his ex-boyfriend’s face with a knife in Hillcrest has been committed to a state mental hospital after a judge ruled he was mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Criminal proceedings were suspended against Amier Rocky Issa, 32, of La Jolla, who was accused of assault with a deadly weapon upon Michael Serrato and making a criminal threat in an incident on July 11, 2008. Serrato, 28, who was a waiter at a Hillcrest restaurant, was walking home from his job that night and noticed Issa was following him in a car before he was hurt.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Frederick Maguire committed Issa to Patton State Hospital for treatment on April 7. Maguire ruled that Issa cannot be held longer than four years because that is the maximum sentence for the crimes if he was convicted. Issa’s lawyer brought the mental incompetency motion.

Maguire ruled that Issa “lacks the capacity to make a decision regarding (taking) anti-psychotic medication.” Issa will be treated at Patton with psychiatric medications, and could be sent back to San Diego if he regains his ability to become mentally competent to stand trial.

According to court records, Issa began experiencing auditory hallucinations and wore earplugs to make voices stop. He said his television had talked to him. “He was very good at presenting a normal front,” wrote one doctor who evaluated him.

Issa had been free on $80,000 bond, but his own bail bond agency informed another judge in Feb. that Issa was a flight risk. That unusual notification caused a judge to remand him into custody. Issa has been housed at the George Bailey Detention Facility since then, and his mental condition apparently worsened.

Serrato testified in 2008 that after he saw Issa following him, Issa got out of the car and confronted him. Serrato testified Issa pulled a knife and cut his face. The victim ran off and was treated at a hospital.

At the time, Issa’s lawyer tried to argue the cut on the face came from a broken watch that Issa was wearing at the time. Serrato said he remembered Issa had a broken watch, but maintained he was sure it was a knife that cut him.