Judge rules Boulder King Soopers shooting suspect competent to stand trial
A judge has ruled that the Boulder King Soopers shooting suspect is mentally competent to stand trial. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa is facing multiple murder and attempted murder charges after the shooting spree on March 22, 2021, in the grocery store on South Table Mesa.
Ten people were shot and killed.
The competency of the suspect has been debated for months since the shooting. He was found mentally competent at the state mental hospital in August, but his defense attorney asked for the determination to be debated in a Boulder County Courtroom last week.
Judge Ingrid Bakke found that the suspect "has been restored to competency... and that the Court shall resume the criminal proceedings."
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Boulder County Court for Nov. 14 at 9 a.m.
The suspect has not entered a plea.
The judge argued that when the suspect is medicated, he has a "far improved capacity to elucidate his reasoning and decision-making," which is considered a key element of competency.
Competency is a different legal issue than a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, which involves whether someone's mental health prevented them from understanding right from wrong when a crime was committed. The suspect remains in custody without bond.
Killed in the attack were Rikki Olds, Denny Stong, Neven Stanisic, Tralona Bartkowiak, Teri Leiker, Suzanne Fountain, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray, Jody Waters and Eric Talley, who rushed into the store with an initial team of police officers.
The suspect lived in nearby Arvada, where authorities say he passed a background check to legally buy the Ruger AR-556 pistol six days before authorities say he used it in the shooting.