Share this @internewscast.com

DENVER (AP) — A man accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in 2015 is incompetent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled Thursday, delaying U.S. prosecutors’ efforts to bring the suspect to trial after he was repeatedly deemed incompetent in state court.

U.S. District Court Senior Judge Robert Blackburn found Robert Dear incompetent during a brief hearing in Denver. Neither prosecutors nor the defense contesting the finding — but Dear did, as he has on past occasions, The Denver Post reported.

“I’m opposing it; I’m not crazy,” Dear shouted via a video feed from a mental health facility in Missouri. He was diagnosed in 2016 with a delusional disorder that has caused him to believe for decades that the FBI was persecuting him.

Dear, 63, is accused of killing three people and wounding eight others during the Nov. 27, 2015, attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.

Authorities have said Dear planned to wage “war” on the clinic because it performed abortions. Dear arrived at the clinic with multiple firearms and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, prosecutors have said.

Dear has been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial because he lacks a rational understanding of the case against him and is too distrusting of his attorneys to aid in his defense. That judgment has been affirmed multiple times.

Dear had been undergoing treatment at a state psychiatric hospital aimed at restoring him to competency before undergoing the federal evaluation.

Killed in the shooting were Garrett Swasey, a University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus police officer who rushed to the clinic to help, and Ke’Arre Stewart, 29, and Jennifer Markovsky, 35, who were accompanying friends to the clinic.

Four police officers were wounded during a five-hour standoff. Police eventually rescued 27 people who were hiding inside the clinic during the attack.

Blackburn ordered that Dear continue receiving mental health treatment to determine if he “will attain the capacity to permit the proceedings to go forward.”

After state proceedings were repeatedly stalled by incompetency findings, federal prosecutors brought 68 criminal counts against Dear in 2019, including use of a firearm during a crime resulting in death and violating a law ensuring access to clinic entrances. They sought their own mental evaluation.

Dear was first found legally incompetent in May 2016. The rulings mean he cannot understand the charges he faces or help in his own defense. Dear, however, repeatedly has insisted that he is competent.

Source: huffpost

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Driver’s Sudden Braking Sends Passenger Airborne: Police Report

Inset: Lamireon Robinson (Navarro County Justice Center). Background: East 13th Avenue in…

Authorities Conduct Thorough Search of Rural Toowoomba Property in Connection to Alleged Dismemberment Case

A man has been charged with murder as police search for the…

Fugitive Nicholas Rossi Sentenced for Rape After Elaborate Fake Death and International Escape

A man from Rhode Island who staged his own death before escaping…

Duo Caught in Foiled Robbery Attempt

Staff Report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Early this morning, authorities apprehended Leeandra Morris,…

Father Sentenced in Tragic Corporal Punishment Case Resulting in Son’s Death

Derrick Coles (Bexar County Jail). Background: The street in Texas where Coles…

Shocking Incident: Adelaide House Party Turns Violent, Leaving Man with Disability Stabbed

A man with a disability was stabbed during an unruly house party…

Georgia Family Alerts Authorities to Man Planning Attack at Atlanta Airport

Authorities apprehended a Georgia man on Monday morning at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International…

Could Samuel Alito’s 1986 Perspectives Offer a Lifeline to James Comey?

Left: U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. attends inauguration ceremonies…

Police Report: Mother Charged After Infant Found Unattended in Bathtub

Inset: Courtney M. Newsom (Craighead County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in…

Tragic Outcome: High School Cheerleader Suffers Critical Injury in Bonfire Dispute

An Alabama resident has been arrested and charged with murder after a…

PI Uncovers Shocking Truth Behind Teen’s Body Found in D4vd’s Tesla: Celeste Rivas Investigation

A private investigator involved in the Celeste Rivas case is reaching out…

Disgraced Investigator Abandons Reinstatement Battle After Firing Over Unprofessional Conduct

A Massachusetts State Trooper, dismissed for misconduct during the Karen Read investigation,…