Man accused of attacking Colorado Springs fertility clinic remains incompetent to stand trial 10 years later

DENVER (CN) — Nearing the 10-year anniversary of the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting, in which three people perished, a federal judge on Wednesday found the man charged with their murder is likely to remain incompetent to stand trial, following a recent forensic psychiatrist’s evaluation.

“The defendant remains incompetent and is unlikely to be restored to competency in the near future,” said Senior U.S. Judge Robert Blackburn. “The parties do not contest these conclusions.”

Robert Dear, facing 68 federal and 179 state charges, is being held at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, where he has undergone treatment to restore his competency to stand trial for attacking a Colorado fertility clinic nearly a decade ago.

A forensic psychiatric report submitted in August found that, despite court-ordered medication, Dear is unlikely to regain competency “within a reasonable time,” Blackburn said. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons will evaluate the danger he would pose if released.

Blackburn denied a request from victims’ families to be heard at Wednesday’s hearing but said he was concerned they could be excluded from the process if the case is moved out of state.

Future competency proceedings will be closed to the public. Still, U.S. Attorney Laura Cramer-Babycz pledged to keep the victims’ families updated. Federal prosecutors also refused to dismiss the indictment, saying they will pursue the case if Dear’s competency is restored.

According to a 13-page federal indictment, Dear drove to the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood on Nov. 27, 2015, armed with “four SKS rifles, five handguns, two additional rifles, a shotgun, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, and propane tanks.”

“Intending to wage a war” against the fertility clinic which provides abortions, Dear fired 198 bullets at patients and staff both in the parking lot and inside the facility, according to prosecutors.

Three people were killed: University of Colorado Colorado Springs police officer Garrett Swasey, Ke’Arre Stewart, and Jennifer Markovsky.

In December 2015, Dr. Richard Martinez first declared Dear incompetent to stand trial after Dear called then-President Barack Obama, Satan, and claimed his food was being poisoned.

Dear was diagnosed with delusional disorder. Despite facing life in prison, he has insisted he is competent and has chosen to represent himself, with federal public defenders still appointed to assist him. At Wednesday’s hearing, defense attorney Jennifer Beck appeared remotely from Springfield with Dear.

Prosecutors charged him in 2019 to avoid the statute of limitations expiring. After a judge ordered him to take medication, the court held two Sell hearings — named for the 2003 Supreme Court case Sell v. United States   — where Dear opposed treatment, citing a heart condition.

Following the August 2022 Sell hearing, Blackburn found Dear could be forcibly medicated, a finding affirmed by the 10th Circuit last year. Blackburn was appointed by George W. Bush.

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