Mental competency shadows trial lead-up for man charged with killing 10 at a Boulder grocery store

BOULDER (CN) — Nearly one year after he was declared mentally competent, a Colorado man who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges related to killing 10 during a 2021 shooting spree in a Boulder grocery store is scheduled for trial this month. Prosecutors and defense attorneys asked the court on Thursday to referee lingering questions of mental competency for the man initially declared incompetent in December 2021 and restored last August.

Prosecutors say Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, of Arvada, donned a tactical vest and Ruger AR-556 on March 22, 2021, before indiscriminately killing 10 shoppers and workers at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado's Table Mesa neighborhood.

The victims, who were between 20 and 65 years old, included three King Soopers employees, several shoppers and a police officer. Authorities identified them as Eric Talley, 51; Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.

Alissa’s public defenders do not deny the allegations. On Nov. 14, 2024, Alissa pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. As part of his defense, Alissa’s attorneys want to present his history of incompetency and restoration to the jury tasked with determining his fate.

Public defender Sam Dunn argued that excluding Alissa’s treatment over the last three years would be misleading and confusing for the jury, particularly since it’s common to ask doctors how they became involved with a patient.

“We have a very mentally ill individual who was deemed not competent to stand trial for several years. Does that make it more likely he was not sane on March 22, 2021? Of course it does, because of the other evidence we have in this case,” Dunn argued. “Chronic illnesses can be treated, but they don’t go away.”

Since the shooting, Alissa has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and was first found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial in December 2021. After being forcibly medicated by court order at the state mental hospital, Alissa was found mentally competent in August 2023.

Mental competency refers to a defendant’s ability to aid in his own defense, whereas the issue of insanity delves into Alissa’s mental state during the shooting and intent to commit the crime.

Twentieth Judicial District Attorney Michael Dougherty countered with concerns about a jury’s ability to sort through Alissa’s periods of mental incompetency, restored competency and mental state during the crime.

“The law is clear that the jury should never hear whether a defendant was competent," Dougherty argued. "Everything else comes in, the defense will have an opportunity to present it."

Dougherty also told the court that a deputy at the Boulder County Jail notified him of Alissa recently presenting difficulties in taking the medication ordered by the court as part of his regimen to restore and maintain competency. The incident prompted Alissa’s defense to request the court to prohibit anyone from sharing Alissa’s treatment details unless first reviewed by the court.

“It’s highly appropriate for the jail to inform us the defendant is refusing to take his medication for anti-psychotic effects, and that’s admissible,” Dougherty countered.

Chief Judge for the 20th Judicial District Ingrid Bakke took the issues under advisement and said she would reach a decision ahead of the trial scheduled to begin Aug. 26.

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