A defendant apprehended after fighting with a prosecutor on a rainy rooftop of the Allegheny County Courthouse last summer was granted a postponement yesterday for officials to determine whether he is mentally fit to stand trial.

Less than two weeks ago, Xavier S. Durah, 28, tried to hang himself from a bed sheet in his pod at the Allegheny County Jail, according to his court-appointed lawyer, Ira Houck. The inmate was hospitalized for a related injury and showed up at the courthouse bullpen wearing a neck brace.

Mr. Durah never made it upstairs to face Common Pleas Judge Kathleen A. Durkin yesterday, although three prosecutors were prepared to try him on five separate cases, including two robberies, a theft and escape.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony J. Krastek was prepared to prosecute him on a sixth case stemming from the July 12 rooftop struggle. Judge Lawrence J. O'Toole revoked Mr. Durah's bond that day, and before the deputy sheriff could handcuff him, officials said, he bolted from the courtroom, down a stairwell, out a window and onto a narrow fourth-floor ledge. Assistant District Attorney Ed Scheid, a who has worked 11 years for the district attorney and 29 as a federal drug agent, ran out after him onto the slick roof.

When the defendant realized he couldn't escape through a window at the other end of the ledge and he got into a fight with Mr. Scheid, now 66. At least six sheriffs stormed out onto the roof to apprehend him. For the July 12 incident, he is charged with escape, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and multiple counts of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.

Mr. Houck said he learned from a relative that there is a history of suicide in Mr. Durah's family. The defense lawyer requested a postponement to assess his client's mental health. Judge Durkin ordered an evaluation from a behavioral clinic and scheduled trial date for May 17. The six cases may be consolidated and heard before Judge Durkin at that time.

First Published: February 27, 2007, 5:00 a.m.