Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in March, is led into the courtroom for trial on September 7, in Boulder, Colo.
David Zalubowski / AP
hide captions
switch captions
David Zalubowski / AP
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in March, is led into the courtroom for trial on September 7, in Boulder, Colo.
David Zalubowski / AP
DENVER – Experts have found an accused man Killed 10 people at a Colorado supermarket The attorneys said earlier this year that they were not mentally fit to stand trial, the attorneys said during Friday’s court hearing.
22-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa allegedly opened fire at a crowded King Soopers hotel in the university town of Boulder in March – killing a police officer, shopper and several store employees, including an Olympic hopeful.
District Attorney Michael Dougherty said four doctors have now determined that Alissa is mentally incompetent to participate in the court proceedings. He demanded that Alissa be sent to a state mental hospital for treatment.
Dougherty did not disclose why experts determined that Alissa was incompetent. Alissa’s defense attorney, Kathryn Herold, said on Friday her client was “severely” mentally ill but did not provide further details.
Judge Ingrid Bakke ruled after Dougherty revealed the results of an examination that Alissa was incompetent and ordered him to be sent to a mental hospital.
The ruling halted virtually all proceedings in the case indefinitely. Bakke scheduled another hearing for March 15, 2022, nearly a year after the shooting, to discuss whether any progress has been made in Alissa’s treatment and decide what to expect. out next.
An earlier assessment found Alissa mentally inadequate, but prosecutors requested a second assessment.
Bakke ordered the first review after Alissa’s lawyers questioned his competence based on their own expert assessment.
Capacity 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 with his state lawsuit. Federal prosecutors then charged him in 2019, but capacity issues further delayed the case in federal court.
