Colorado shooting suspect can’t afford to appear in court, hearing rules

– A judge ruled Friday that a man accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket last year remains incompetent to stand trial, further delaying court proceedings. in the case.

But the judge also said that the assessment could soon change.

Experts at the Colorado Institute of Mental Health in Pueblo say there is a significant probability that 22-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa can be rehabilitated in the “reasonable future” and remain competent by medication, Judge Ingrid Bakke said during a brief hearing. . That’s the prognosis she first mentioned in a March 11 scheduling order.

The prosecution of Alyssa has been on hold since December, when Bakke first ruled that he was mentally incompetent – unable to understand the legal process and work with his attorney to defend himself.

Alissa is being treated at a state psychiatric hospital and did not appear in court during Friday’s hearing. The judge set a hearing for July 21 to once again assess Alissa’s ability to stand trial.

Bakke’s verdict comes nearly a month after Boulder, home to the University of Colorado, marked the first anniversary of the attack. kills workers, customers and a police officer people rushed inside the store.

Some details have been revealed about Alissa’s condition. Reports of his assessments are not publicly available, but a court filing discussing one of the assessments last year said he had been provisionally diagnosed with a mental health condition. Unidentified gods limit the ability to “have meaningful conversations with others”.

Competence is a different legal issue than pleading guilty by reason of insanity, which concerns whether someone’s mental health prevented them from understanding right from wrong at the time of the crime.

After the hearing, District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the average time to reinstate someone is six months. He declined to speculate on when Alissa, who has been in the state hospital for four months, could be considered competent.

Robert Olds, the uncle of one of the 10 killed, manager of Rikki Olds, said Alissa had more rights than the victims. He is still quite hopeful that Alissa will go to court but does not want to predict what will happen next because the legal process is slow.

“It will happen eventually, I hope,” he said of a trial. “There’s always the outside chance that it won’t happen.”

Investigators have not released any information as to why they believe Alissa carried out the attack or why he may have targeted the supermarket. He lives in the nearby suburb of Arvada, where authorities say he passed a background check to legally purchase the Ruger AR-556 pistol he allegedly used six days ago. when the shooting happened.

The March 22, 2021 attack at a King Soopers grocery store shocked a state that has seen multiple mass shootings, including the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and the shootings. at the Aurora Cinema in 2012.

Boulder police officer Eric Talley, 51, a father of seven, was fatally shot when he rushed into the store with an initial squad of police. In addition to Rikki Olds, Denny Stong, Neven Stanisic, Tralona Bartkowiak, Teri Leiker, Suzanne Fountain, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray and Jody Waters were killed inside and outside the supermarket.

King Soopers remodeled reopen in Februarywith about half of those who worked there at the time of the shoot choosing to return.

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here