CENTENNIAL — A judge ruled Monday that the man accused of shooting and killing a Centennial doctor and wounding two women — including his wife — in a this year is competent to stand trial.
Chief District Court Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. made the decision based off a report from the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo that found Kevin Lee Lyons does not have any mental health or developmental disabilities that would keep him from participating in his defense.
“The defendant (has) adequate or better understanding of the judicial system,” Samour read from the review.
Lyons’ public defenders told Samour they will not challenge the competency evaluation report.
Samour said based on the evaluation and Lyons’ attorneys’ decision not to challenge it, “the defendant is competent to proceed.”
Lyons’ competency came into question during the 46-year-old’s when he had several loud outbursts. Samour in April, days after the rampage, Lyons to be evaluated.
At the Monday morning hearing, Lyons, shackled and clad in red jail clothes, answered Samour’s questions in a low, subdued voice from a chair beside his defense team. His demeanor was a far departure from previous hearings in which he was visibly frustrated and raised his voice, once yelling to one of his public defenders: “You’re not my representation, bro!”
Lyons faces in the April 4 shootings. The charges include one count of first-degree murder after deliberation, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer.
Lyons allegedly unleashed a hail of gunfire on his Centennial neighborhood, killing as the doctor ran out of his home to help two women. The 65-year-old physician was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
One of the women wounded in the shooting was Lyons’ wife, Elizabeth L. Lyons, 44. Authorities identified the second woman as Laurie H. Juergens, 46. Both women were expected to recover.
Kevin Lyons is due back in court Aug. 5 for a preliminary hearing in which Samour is scheduled to decide whether there is enough evidence against him to continue to trial. Lyons is being held without bail at the Arapahoe County jail.
