Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, the 22-year-old accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado grocery store earlier this year, has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial by a judge.
Judge Ingrid Bakke made the order after four doctors in three months deemed the man unable to stand trial, and claimed he has “deteriorated” while in jail since the March 22 King Soopers shooting in Boulder.
A spokesperson for Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Alissa was requested to move to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo, where patients are treated for acute psychiatric difficulties. While Dougherty did not state why he couldn’t stand trial, Alissa’s attorney, Kathryn Herold, said her client had a “serious” mental illness and should be sent to the institute. Another prosecution motion claims the man was diagnosed with a condition that limits his ability to “meaningfully converse with others,” according to the Associated Press.
“I’m 100% confident that the day will come that he’s held fully responsible for what he did on March 22,” Dougherty said. Alisa will not be needed back in court until March 15, to see what progress has been made.
Robert Olds, uncle of supermarket manager Rikki Olds who was one of 10 people killed in the shooting alongside a police officer and shoppers, said the delay further puts off his family’s grieving process, according to the Associated Press. He claimed that Alissa seemed competent at the last hearing.
“He’s incompetent to stand trial, but on the day he did all of this he was pretty dang competent in his actions and everything else,” Olds said.
Alissa allegedly brought a Ruger AR-556 that he bought five days before to the grocery store in March, and is being charged with 10 counts of murder.
“Based on the latest competency evaluation, we are confident that, with medication and treatment, the defendant’s competency will be restored,” district attorney spokesperson Shannon Carbone said.
