BOULDER, Colo. — The Colorado Department of Human Services missed a court-imposed deadline Monday to complete an evaluation of the man who killed 10 people at a Boulder grocery store – a move that could trigger another delay in the case.
Ahmad Alissa, 24, is tentatively scheduled to go on trial in August on 10 counts of first-degree murder, 47 counts of attempted murder, and other charges.
He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in November.
A court hearing scheduled Friday afternoon could determine whether the trial gets pushed back.
It was already delayed about two years after his attorneys raised questions about whether he was competent to stand trial. After multiple evaluations and treatment, Boulder District Judge Ingrid Bakke concluded in October that he was competent – meaning that he was able to understand the proceedings and assist in his own defense.
His plea of not guilty by reason of insanity triggered a new requirement that he be evaluated at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo, which is operated by the Department of Human Services.
Bakke ordered that evaluation be completed by Monday. On Dec. 29, a DHS official sent a letter to Bakke requesting that the deadline be pushed back to April 30.
“Cases involving issues of competency and then the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity always take time, and they're always frustrating for the victims,” said attorney Scott Robinson, a 9NEWS legal analyst.
Boulder prosecutors asserted in a filing last week that DHS officials dragged out the process – waiting about three weeks to select doctors to do the evaluation and then three more weeks before requesting the delay.
According to court documents, that request was designed to give the doctors doing the evaluation the chance to ask the man about the attack.
“A further delay in this case predicated by the need for hypothetical interviews with the defendant on a topic he has historically refused to discuss would be devastating for the victims of the case,” prosecutors wrote in their court filing.
That filing noted that Bakke cleared the way for the man to head to trial when she ruled Oct. 6 that he was competent.
“Now, just weeks later, the case appears stalled again,” prosecutors wrote. "This case must proceed forward without further, unnecessary delay.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services declined to comment.
“It is entirely typical that the judge would set a deadline,” Robinson said. “What is not typical is that the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo is asking for close to four months, having just recently asked for an extension of time and indicating they can't get the report done.”
Bakke ordered DHS to have a representative at a hearing that was already on the calendar for Friday afternoon to answer questions about the request for a delay.
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