The man accused of killing 10 people at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder more than two years ago is competent to stand trial, the judge overseeing the case ruled Friday — a decision that will allow the long-stalled criminal prosecution to finally move forward.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 24, understands the court process and how to assist in his own defense, Boulder County District Court Judge Ingrid Bakke wrote in a 13-page ruling, rejecting his public defenders’ arguments that he is still too mentally ill to face the charges against him.
Bakke’s ruling affirms the conclusion of state evaluators, who found Alissa to be competent in August.
Alissa, who has schizophrenia, is charged with carrying out a mass shooting on March 21, 2021, at the Table Mesa King Soopers, killing 10 customers, employees and a responding Boulder police officer. The criminal case against him stalled for nearly two years after he was found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial in December 2021.
But now, after undergoing involuntary medication and competency treatment at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo, Alissa is competent and the case against him can move forward, Bakke ruled. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 14.
In Friday’s order, Bakke urged the state mental health hospital to keep Alissa in its custody for the duration of the criminal case against him in order to ensure he does not regress and become incompetent again.
She noted that his competency is “tenuous,” and that Alissa must continue to take medication in order to stay competent. Alissa, who is currently being medicated against his will, has said he would refuse medication at the Boulder County Jail, where staff do not force inmates to take medication.
He refused to take medication during his one-night stay at the jail before last week’s competency hearing, Bakke noted.
“Given the gravity of this case and the looming prediction made by (forensic psychologist Julie Gallagher) that ultimately the defendant may not be restorable if he bounces back and forth between (the state hospital) and the jail — such a result would be an injustice to everyone who has been impacted by this case,” Bakke wrote.
She wrote that she does not have the authority to order the defendant kept at the state mental health hospital instead of the jail, but urges the facility to do so.
A competency evaluation considers whether a criminal defendant is mentally ill or developmentally disabled, and whether that mental illness impedes the defendant’s ability to understand the court process and assist in their own defense. Competency refers only to a defendant’s current mental capacity and is distinct from an insanity defense, which focuses on the defendant’s mental state at the time of the alleged crime.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a statement Friday that he is pleased with the ruling.
“This decision provides some hope for the victim families that this case will move forward and that justice will be done,” he said.
Bakke’s ruling comes after a daylong competency hearing last week in which the judge listened to hours of testimony about Alissa’s condition and treatment, and in particular how a new medication he started in March seemed to greatly improve his functioning.
One psychologist testified during that hearing that Alissa described buying guns in order to commit a mass shooting, and that he indicated he wanted police to kill him during the attack. He also experienced auditory and visual hallucinations, testimony revealed, and had not been treated for schizophrenia before arriving at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital months after the mass shooting.
Those killed in the shooting: Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Teri Leiker, 51; Boulder police Officer Eric Talley, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.
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