The man charged with carrying out a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs abortion clinic a decade ago is still mentally incompetent to stand trial, and it is unlikely additional treatment will improve his condition, a judge ruled Wednesday — a decision that will likely permanently stall the federal prosecution of the suspected shooter.
Robert Dear, 67, is accused of killing three people and wounding nine others at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs in 2015. He is charged with both state and federal crimes connected to the attack, but has long been considered too mentally ill to go through the court process — that is, he has been consistently found incompetent to stand trial.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn found Dear to be both incompetent and unlikely to be restored. The ruling, which was agreed to by the defense and prosecutors after a doctor’s opinion in August, starts a process in which Dear will be committed long-term to a mental health facility in Missouri.
Federal prosecutors stopped short of dismissing the charges against Dear, however, and instead asked that the case be set for a status conference as his treatment continues. Victims in the attack sought to offer comment in court Wednesday, but Blackburn denied their requests to be heard.
Dear appeared virtually from the facility in Missouri on Wednesday, resting his handcuffed hands on his stomach during the hearing. He did not speak.
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