Jason Dalton to undergo mental competency evaluation
KALAMAZOO — The man charged with killing six people last month will undergo a mental competency examination delaying further court proceedings by about two months, authorities said Thursday.
Jason Dalton will be evaluated at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ann Arbor to determine if he is competent to stand trial before further proceedings are held, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting told reporters.
Getting said the request for an evaluation came earlier in the day from Dalton's defense attorney, Eusebio Solis of Albion. Solis met with Getting Thursday morning at a pre-exam conference at Kalamazoo County District Court.
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"The meeting was between the prosecutor and the defense attorney to discuss future proceedings," Getting said. "The defense requested that the court order an evaluation conducted by the Center for Forensic Psychiatry to determine if Mr. Dalton is competent to stand trial."
A hearing is then held and a judge, acting on the report, determines whether the defendant is competent and whether proceedings can resume.
Getting said the evaluation is likely to take up to 60 days and will delay a March 10 preliminary examination. A status conference is scheduled for May 10 but Getting said that date could change if the evaluation is completed sooner.
Dalton, 45, is charged in the Feb. 20 shooting deaths of six people and wounding of two others. Four of the victims — including three who died — were from Battle Creek.
Getting said by law a defendant is determined to be incompetent to stand trial if because of his mental condition he is unable to understand the charges or the proceedings and if he is unable to assist their attorney in a rational manner.
"It is an important due-process right for all persons charged with an offense," Getting said. "It is important to proceed fairly against a defendant when they are capable to understand the nature of what is happening and so they can provide assistance to their attorney to defend the case. We don't want to move forward in the criminal justice system against a person who doesn't know what is happening to them."
Getting said he does not know if Dalton has a history of mental difficulties.
He said if Dalton is determined to be incompetent to stand trial he could spend up to 15 months in treatment to bring him back to competency and then legal proceedings would then resume.
Getting said Solis only asked for an evaluation on competency to determine whether Dalton was capable of understanding the charges against him and could assist in his defense.
An evaluation on criminal responsibility at the time of the alleged crimes could come later, but often that does not occur until the case is sent to circuit court for trial, Getting said.
The competency evaluation will determine "his state of mind now, but is not reflective of what his state of mind might have been during the commission of the these crimes," Getting said.
In a 16-minute meeting with reporters held at the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Getting said he did not have new information about a motive in the shooting.
"All I can tell you is the police have continued to investigate and one of the avenues is to try and determine a why for this, but I am not at liberty to discuss it any further," he said.
He also declined to answer several questions about evidence, although he said police did seize Dalton's phone and are investigating the contents. He declined to discuss what they found or the ongoing national question about access to private smartphones.
"It is a common tool of investigation in major crimes and many felony crimes," Getting said. " We access cell phone information in homicides and drug cases and other felonies. It is a common tool for law enforcement."
Dalton, of Kalamazoo, is charged with six counts of open murder and two counts of assault with intent to murder. He also is charged with eight counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
If convicted on all charges he faces a mandatory life sentence in prison without parole. Michigan does not have a death penalty.
Police and prosecutors have said Dalton shot the eight people at three different locations in Kalamazoo County and the City of Kalamazoo on Feb. 20.
Tiana Carruthers, 25, was the first victim, shot in the parking lot of an apartment complex, The Meadows Townhomes in Richland Township. She was injured and remains in a rehabilitation hospital.
Richard Smith, 53, and his 17-year-old son, Tyler, of Mattawan were killed while they looked at cars at Seelye Kia of Kalamazoo at 4102 Stadium Drive. Then five people were shot, four of them fatally, in the parking lot of Cracker Barrel in Texas Township, southwest of Kalamazoo.
Three of the women killed, Mary Jo Nye, 60; Barbara Hawthorne, 68; and Judy Brown, 74; were from Battle Creek. Mary Nye, 62, of Baroda, Mary Jo Nye's sister-in-law, also was shot and killed.
A 14-year-old girl, Abigail Kopf, was shot once in the head and remains in fair condition at Bronson Methodist Hospital.
Solis, Dalton's counsel, is a former Calhoun County chief assistant prosecutor, serving under former prosecutor Susan Mladenoff.
Solis represents indigent criminal defendants under contract with Kalamazoo County and was appointed as Dalton’s attorney.
Contact Trace Christenson at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson