Monday, a judge ruled that Robert Dear is still not competent to stand trial for the November 27, 2015 shootings at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.
Dear was not present during the hearing in an El Paso County courtroom. He will continue treatment at the state mental hospital in Pueblo. He is charged with 179 counts, including murder and attempted murder.
The court has ordered reviews of his status every 90 days.
Three people were killed and eight injured in the standoff that lasted for five hours before a SWAT vehicle was sent into the lobby, forcing the attacker to surrender. Killed in the attack were UCCS Police officer Garrett Swasey, Ke-Arre Stewart, and Jennifer Markovsky.
Police say Dear admitted to the armed attack. Since then, repeated court appearances have not centered around a possible start day for a trial, but instead questioning his mental state to stand trial.
In January, an appellate court ruled that staff at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo can administer anti psychotic medicine to Dear. The court ruled that "the forced administration of anti psychotic medications to Dear is not an unconstitutional deprivation of his liberty." The court’s ruling upheld a district court’s decision which said the medications that Dear had refused were "medically appropriate" and involuntary medication was "necessary to further the government interests."
The court deemed Dear incompetent to stand trial after two psychologists testified he has a delusion disorder, which they said keeps him from trusting almost anyone. Dear told investigators he attacked the clinic because of his anti-abortion stance.
