Attorneys for suspect object to forensic evaluation
Attorneys for the man accused of killing 10 people at a King Soopers in south Boulder two years ago have filed an objection to the forensic neuropsychological evaluation requested by prosecutors.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 23, is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, 47 counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, 10 counts of felony possession of a prohibited large capacity magazine, and 47 crime of violence sentence enhancers.
Alissa was declared incompetent to proceed in December 2021, and has been undergoing treatment ever since at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo. At a hearing on Jan. 27, doctors again said Alissa was not competent to proceed but maintained he could be restored with further treatment.
But in a motion filed by prosecutors on Feb. 2, the Boulder County District Attorney asked for a examination by a forensic neuropsychological evaluation due to concerns that the symptoms doctors cited as evidence Alissa was not competent to assist in his own defense were not due to a mental illness but to an unwillingness to participate in the court and treatment process.
Defense attorneys for Alissa filed an objection to the request on Thursday, noting that four psychologists have all found Alissa incompetent to proceed, with no mental health professional ever issuing a differing opinion.
The objection notes that all four psychologists have also diagnosed Alissa with schizophrenia.
“While the prosecution’s motion does seek a court order regarding ‘additional information,’ the prosecution requests much more than information,” the motion read. “Rather, it seeks unprecedented direct access to Mr. Alissa to create information through its hand-selected agents.”
Defense attorneys stated there is no case law that supports compelling Alissa to undergo such an exam, and said that a restoration hearing was not an opportunity for the attorneys to question doctors about why Alissa was not being restored within “the prosecution’s preferred timeline.”
“There is no constitutional or statutory support for conducting a restoration hearing when the accused is in restoration therapy, and doctors believe there is a substantial probability that the accused will be restored to competency within the reasonably foreseeable future,” the motion read.
Defense attorneys also argued that a forensic neuropsychological evaluation was not designed to evaluate a person with a thought disorder such as schizophrenia, or to provide information as to competency.
They also noted that Alissa’s condition makes it unlikely he could even go through with such an examination.
“A neuropsychological battery of tests takes seven to eight hours of attentive effort on testing. The patient has to focus and perform tasks and put forth optimal cognitive effort in order for the testing results to be valid,” the motion read. “Mr. Alissa cannot engage in conversation that lasts more than a few minutes and there is no way he will be able to get through a neuropsychological examination and obtain valid results because he remains so profoundly sick.”
Boulder Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke has yet to rule on the examination. Alissa’s next scheduled hearing is April 28.
According to an arrest affidavit, police were called to the King Soopers at 3600 Table Mesa Drive at 2:40 p.m. March 22, 2021, for a report of an armed man who had shot a person in a vehicle in the store’s parking lot and was inside the store.
Eric Talley, a 51-year-old Boulder police officer, was the first to arrive on scene and was shot and killed. Police said Alissa fired at other responding officers before one of the responding officers shot Alissa in the leg.
Alissa later surrendered to police. Police found weapons and tactical body armor at the scene, according to the affidavit.
In addition to Talley, Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Teri Leiker, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65, were killed in the shooting.