Competency hearing ordered for man accused in Darien stabbing

STAMFORD — A state Superior Court judge ordered a competency hearing for a Maryland man accused of attempting to stab a car hire service driver during a robbery in Darien then fleeing the state.

Abiola Shonowo, 28, will undergo an examination to determine if he is capable of understanding the court proceedings and whether he is capable of assisting his attorney, Frank Bevilacqua.

Judge John Blawie ordered the evaluation during a pretrial hearing for Shonowo at the state Superior Court in Stamford on Wednesday.

Under state law, a person “shall not be tried, convicted or sentenced while the defendant is not competent.”

If Shonowo is found not competent, state psychiatric officials will need to determine if he can be “restored” to competency. Under such a circumstance, Shonowo would be sent to the Whiting Forensic Institute for restoration, and another competency hearing would be scheduled within 60 days of the finding.

In the event Shonowo is found “non-restorable,” the case against him could be dismissed.

Shonowo was arrested by Maryland authorities in August after he fled Connecticut following an alleged attempted stabbing incident in Darien on June 27. He was charged with first-degree robbery, attempt to commit firstdegree assault and fourthdegree larceny after being extradited back to the state.

Darien police were called to a reported crash near West and Holmes avenues a little after 10:30 p.m. June 27. The driver told police that he intentionally crashed his vehicle into a tree to stop an attack by his passenger, according to police.

The driver reported that he picked up a customer in Stamford. While on the way to a destination in Norwalk, and shortly after entering Darien, the passenger allegedly stabbed the driver several times and then robbed him of his cellphone, Darien police said at the time.

While police said at the time that the driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack.

After seizing the car service’s account and phone records, Darien police said they identified Shonowo as a suspect. Investigators later learned Shonowo was arrested in Baltimore County on July 4 on a violation of probation charge and was still in custody there.

Police said they learned Shonowo allegedly “was in possession of stolen property that further connected him to the Darien incident” at the time of his arrest in Maryland.

Shonowo is next expected to appear in court on April 4, at which point he will be deemed competent or incompetent to stand trial.