Competency review for Hyde delayed

Attorneys asked for more time to prepare for full review in killing spree

A biennial competency review for the man accused in a 2005 murder spree has been pushed back by several months after attorneys requested time to prepare for an out-of-the-ordinary full review.

John Hyde, 60, was committed to a mental institution for 179 years after he was found not competent to stand trial. He is accused of shooting a state worker, two young employees of a motorcycle shop and two police officers in a one-day rampage in August 2005. The day before the shooting, he had unsuccess-

fully sought medical help for his schizophrenia.

Hyde is entitled to a competency review every two years, and if at any of those reviews he is found competent, his 2005 case could be taken to trial. In years past, attorneys have simply agreed that Hyde remained dangerous and incompetent to proceed and a full-blown hearing was unnecessary. Attorneys came to that decision, according to court documents, based on two-year reports generated by a doctor at the Behavioral Health Institute.

The request for a full-blown hearing in Hyde’s case could be a sign that his competency status has changed, though attorneys would not confirm the findings of the latest report. Competency, in criminal law, means generally that a defendant understands the legal proceedings and can aid in his or her defense.

Defense attorney Stephen Taylor said he could not discuss the report, though he said “if BHI submitted a report and their finding is that the defendant is competent, then, yes, you would need to have a full-blown hearing.”

And alternatively, if the findings were the same as they were in prior years, “there would be really no reason to have a fullblown hearing,” Taylor said, speaking generally about competency hearings.

The case will return to Judge Benjamin Chavez’s courtroom in two to three months for a status conference, to make sure both sides are still on track for a full review. That review is set to take place in four or five months.

The District Attorney’s Office refused to comment on the hearing or the report.

Hyde saw his mental health decline rapidly in the months before the shooting, after a doctor switched his medication. Attempts by Hyde and his family to find solutions for his escalating behavior were fruitless.

The two officers were shot after they arrived at Hyde’s home for a mental health pickup.