12 years later, John Hyde may be competent for trial in slayings
Rumors started flying months ago about how something big in the criminal justice world was about to break. An old murder case that had shaken the city to its core was about to come back to life.
And no one would know what to make of it.
It happened Thursday in an Albuquerque courtroom, where interested parties had been called after learning that the rumor was real — that John Hyde, committed to the state psychiatric hospital for 179 years for the murders of five people after he was found not competent to stand trial, was now competent to stand trial. Or not. What had been unimaginable almost immediately became unsubstantiated, confusing, denied, delayed for several months so attorneys on both sides could prepare for a full review of his competency status.
That’s a few more months in a case that turns 12 this Friday.
If the name John Hyde is unfamiliar, that means you are too young, too new to Albuquerque or very good at avoiding or forgetting news that had blasted across the front pages and broke the heart of this city.
So, a little history: On Aug. 18, 2005, five people were randomly gunned down from one end of
the city to the other, all in the span of 18 hours, all at the hands of Hyde, a man whose mind had gone horribly dark when his medication for schizophrenia was changed and his pleas for help went unheeded.
Before there could be a trial, Hyde, then 50, was committed to the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas on Aug. 22, 2007, after a judge ruled he was dangerous and that prosecutors had established by clear and convincing evidence that he was guilty.
Hyde, now 60, has remained there ever since, his case reviewed every two years. But every two years, Hyde has remained incompetent — essentially unable to understand or help with his defense — and nothing happens.
But last Thursday, attorneys requested more time to prepare for a full competency review, a sign that Hyde’s competency level has changed, though officials declined to confirm that.
State District Judge Benjamin Chavez, the fifth judge assigned to the case, will schedule a status conference in two to three months. A competency review is expected to take place in four or five months.
I’ve written a lot about those who died that day: Benny Lopez, 54, Garrett Iversen, 26, David Fisher, 17, and Albuquerque police officers Michael King, 50, and Richard Smith, 46. I’ve also written a lot about Hyde. I’ve met these families, borne witness to their pain, their anger. I have never stopped thinking about them over these 12 years, especially when this week rolls around.
I’m not sure any of them ever expected that a dozen years later they might be looking at the possibility of going to trial, although certainly there were those among them who once wanted a trial, who wanted to see Hyde go to prison — or worse.
Other high-profile cases have dealt with a change in competency.
Zacharia Craig of Albuquerque was charged with first-degree murder and faced the death penalty in the Aug. 1, 2001, slaying of State Police officer Lloyd Aragon of Grants. He was ruled incompetent to stand trial in 2002 and later committed to the Las Vegas psychiatric hospital.
In 2004, he was found to be competent, but it took two more years for an agreement to be struck in which Craig pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder and five other charges, thus avoiding the need for a trial. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Kevin Dickinson of Albuquerque was charged with first-degree depraved-mind murder in the August 2004 death of Albuquerque musician James Francis. He was ruled incompetent in October 2005, committed to the Las Vegas facility and found competent in August 2006.
In February 2007, Dickinson avoided trial by accepting a lastminute agreement to plead no contest to vehicular homicide. He was sentenced a month later to six years in prison.
In each case, the defendants were treated to competency in a few years. It’s hard to imagine that a dozen years in a locked psychiatric hospital has done the same for Hyde.
It’s also hard to imagine successfully bringing a case to trial that has gathered dust for so long. And it’s hard to imagine the pain of enduring a trial after so many years — not just for the families but also for the city, which still struggles with violence and mental illness.
We shall see what happens next in this case in a few months. Let’s hope that by then somebody knows what to make of it.