A judge’s ruling Tuesday that admitted Planned Parenthood shooter Robert Lewis Dear Jr. remains incompetent keeps his prosecution on hold.
The results of his latest evaluation by state psychiatrists — that Dear, 59, remains too mentally disturbed to participate in his defense and to understand the charges against him — was announced Tuesday during a brief hearing before 4th Judicial District Chief Judge William Bain.
Bain ordered that Dear remain at the Colorado Mental Health Institute Pueblo, extending a legal limbo that began in May 2016, when a different judge ruled that Dear is unable to separate delusions from reality.
Dear, who is diagnosed with a delusional disorder, is charged with 179 counts in a Nov. 27, 2015, shooting that killed three people, including a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs police officer, and wounded nine at Colorado Springs’ lone Planned Parenthood clinic. He confessed to police during his surrender at the end of a five-hour standoff and has affirmed his guilt at court hearings and during repeated interviews with media outlets including The Gazette, claiming himself a “warrior” for unborn children.
Under state law, Dear must be evaluated every 90 days by state psychiatric evaluators. He has been ruled incompetent each time. His next hearing is May 21.
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