Elyria man ruled competent to stand trial

An Elyria man charged with assaulting a corrections officer is competent to stand trial.

Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski ruled Jordan Sand, 20, could assist his attorney in trial preparation.

Sand assaulted and spat blood at a police officer during his booking July 10, according to court documents filed Dec. 17.

Sand originally was charged with criminal damaging, a second-degree misdemeanor; and prohibition, a first-degree misdemeanor; when police located him in the 200 block of Seventh Street in Elyria on July 10 after receiving a complaint about shots fired.

Officers found no evidence of a shooting in the area.

During their investigation of the complaint, officers observed an altercation between Sand and another man.

Officers told Sand to leave, but later discovered he returned, prompting police to return, Elyria police Capt. Chris Costantino previously said.

They found Sand hiding behind a tree with scrapes to his knee and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, according to an Elyria police report.

A man at the scene told police that Sand received the scrapes during an altercation over some items he wanted to retrieve earlier that morning, the report stated.

During the confrontation, Sand knocked the man’s door off its hinges, Costantino said.

The man admitted that he struck Sand with a piece of lumber in an attempt to get him to leave.

Shortly afterward, Sand was arrested and transported to the Elyria Police Department.

At the police station, Sand used profane language with officers and banged his head on a cell door until it bled, Costantino said.

When LifeCare was called to respond to Sand’s injuries, however, he began spitting blood toward Officer Kyle Shawver, according to Costantino.

In addition to his original charges, Sand was charged with two counts each of aggravated menacing and harassment by an inmate; both fifth-degree felonies. He also was charged with resist- ing arrest, a first-degree misdemeanor; and obstructing official business, a seconddegree misdemeanor.

In July 2012, Sand had a confrontation with Lorain County Sheriff’s Office corrections officer Marlon Taylor, who was caught on video assaulting Sand in a jail cell.

Taylor, who was employed as a jail nurse, was dispensing medication to Sand. When Sand refused to take his medication, Taylor removed him from his pod.

During Sand’s confrontation with Taylor, he was seen grabbing Sand, pushing him to the floor and hitting him.

When the video of the incident was revealed, Taylor pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights was sentenced in January to 18 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson.

Sand was not charged in his encounter with Taylor.

On Oct. 23, Sand pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and suggested that he was not competent to stand trial, court records show.

Upon reviewing two psychological evaluation reports completed by Dr. Bethany Yound-Lundquist, Betleski ruled that Sand was “not experiencing symptoms indicative of a severe mental illness at the time of the alleged offenses and knew the wrongfulness of his alleged actions.”

Sand is scheduled for a pretrial hearing at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 22

The case is set to go to trial Jan. 8.