BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — A judge has ruled the gunman accused of shooting and killing 10 people at a Colorado grocery store in March is incompetent to stand trial.
Ahmad Alissa is facing a total of 10 first-degree murder charges, 15 first-degree attempted murder charges, and 11 first-degree attempted murder charges of persons who are law enforcement after the shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder.
His attorney raised the question about his competency on Sept. 1. In the ensuing time, he has been evaluated by several doctors.
In October, doctors said he was not competent to stand trial because of limits to his “ability to meaningfully converse with others.”
Additionally, doctors cited “superficial responses” to hypothetical legal situations indicate a “passive approach to his defense” and “potential overreliance on his attorneys.”
A second evaluation was ordered at the time.
Due to the determination from this evaluation, he will be treated at a state hospital and potentially face trial at a future date if it is determined he is mentally competent. The next hearing for the case is set to take place in March.
“Based on the latest competency evaluation, we are confident that, with medication and treatment, the defendant’s competency will be restored,” an emailed statement from the District Attorney’s Office said. “Our goal is to get him restored to competency and returned to Boulder so that the case can proceed.”
District Attorney Michael Dougherty did not disclose why the experts determined that Alissa is not competent. Alissa’s defense attorney, Kathryn Herold, said Friday her client has a “serious” mental illness but did not provide more details
Competency issues have also delayed the prosecution of a man accused of killing three people in a 2015 attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.
Robert Dear was repeatedly found incompetent to proceed in his state case. Federal prosecutors then charged him in 2019, but the competency issue has continued to delay the case in federal court.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.