Donald E. Whiting, Jr. found competent to stand trial, getting sanity evaluation

Nancy Molnar, The Times-Reporter
·2 min read

NEW PHILADELPHIA — A 69-year-old man from the Bolivar area who is charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting at law enforcement has been found competent to stand trial.

At a hearing held Monday, Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos found Donald E. Whiting, Jr. is able to understand the nature and objectives of court proceedings and can assist in his defense.

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The competency determination followed the acceptance by the prosecution and defense of an evaluation conducted by a doctor at Heartland Behavioral Healthcare in Massillon. The report also said Whiting has schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder, according to the judge.

Thomakos sent Whiting to Heartland to be restored to competency in October.

His attorney, public defender Nicole Stephan, asked on Monday that Whiting be evaluated to determine whether he was sane at the time of the alleged offenses. Thomakos granted the request.

Forensic Diagnostic Center of District Nine, Inc., in Byesville, is to conduct the sanity evaluation. Whiting will stay at Heartland.

In addition to attempted murder, Whiting is charged with felonious assault and two counts of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer on May 18, 2021.

What happened during the incident?

The incident for which Whiting is charged began after a deputy responded to a complaint from a female neighbor who said Whiting put a disturbing letter in her mailbox.

The deputy then went to Whiting's home at 1337 Russell Drive NW in Lawrence Township.

Whiting allegedly fired at law enforcement and drove his truck toward them before leading officers from multiple departments on a pursuit that ended when he crashed in Fairfield Township.

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Bolivar-area man, found competent to stand trial, to get sanity exam