Suspected Miami Beach Arsonist "Unfit" To Stand Trial
MIAMI (CBS4) - A man accused of torching two Miami Beach buildings will spend the foreseeable future in a state psychiatric hospital after a Miami-Dade judge ruled that he was not competent to stand trial.
During a hearing Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Monica Gordo declared 33-year old Joel Paul Williams 'incompetent', according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald. The ruling was made after two doctors told the judge he was not fit to stand trial and would not be able to help his defense attorney.
Williams will remain in a state hospital under the care of the Department of Children and Families until his mental health improves enough to stand trial.
According to Miami Beach investigators they were able to connect Williams to at least two of twelve fires in the city from mid-February to mid-March; they believe however he's connected to more, if not all of them.
Police said he was on the scene when the historic Art Deco-style Hotel Miljean on James Street burned. Officers followed him and eventually stopped him for questioning. That's when a specially trained dog alerted to an accelerant on his pants and shoes. At the time investigators said videotape from security cameras had captured Williams on the scene of other fires.
Williams reportedly graduated from torching vacant buildings when he set a hallway fire in an occupied apartment building 928 Jefferson Ave. The small fire was quickly extinguished, but caused residents to be evacuated.
Williams is no stranger to being on the wrong side of the law, he has a lengthy arrest record in the state of Washington. Williams was in the state for just five years and was arrested and booked 32 times. He has eleven convictions for theft, unlawful use of a weapon, criminal trespass in the first degree, property destruction, and unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
