More Outbursts From Suspect In Competency Hearing
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4)- A competency hearing took place on Thursday for the man who acknowledges that he killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs the day after Thanksgiving 2015.
Nine others were injured in the shooting.
There are parts to determining whether Robert Dear is fit to stand trial. Prosecutors charged Dear with 179 counts including murder, attempted murder and assault for the Nov. 27, 2015 shooting.
Part one is answering the question, is he able to assist in his own defense? And the second part, does he understand the charges against him?
There were two witnesses on Thursday morning, the lead detective on the case and the psychologist for the state hospital in Pueblo.
There was no camera in the courtroom on Thursday. Once again, as in previous court appearances, Dear spoke up during the proceedings. He claimed that he figured out that his girlfriend was working for federal authorities. Under defense questioning, he said what he had already told CBS4 by phone, that he felt that the FBI has been following him for years.
Prosecutors tried to bring out that the attack was part of a long-standing opposition that Dear has to abortion. A sheriff's investigator talked about the call that Dear made to CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger from jail in which he told Sallinger that he should "watch out for the feds."
"Be careful because you got this information. An accident might happen to you. These are very dangerous people," is part of what Dear told Sallinger from jail.
It is unclear when the judge will rule on Dear's competency. If Dear is competent, the trial will continue. If not, he will be sent to the state hospital.