Expert witness: Suspected Boulder King Soopers shooter hallucinated day of shooting, intended 'suicide-by-cop'

Sep. 27—An expert witness testified Wedneday that the man accused of killing 10 people at a Boulder King Soopers in March of 2021 said he had hallucinations that day and that he had purchased guns with the intention of committing a mass shooting and "suicide-by-cop."

After the one-day competency hearing at the Boulder County Justice Center, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was transported back to the Pueblo state hospital on the order of Boulder County Judge Ingrid Bakke, who took the case under advisement, meaning she will come back with a decision on competency.

Bakke decided to keep Alissa under an incompetent status while she reviews Wednesday's hearing. Throughout the competency hearing, prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses argued and testified that Alissa should continue to be held at the state hospital regardless of competency status.

Alissa 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 in connection with the shooting.

"He is so sick he needs to remain at the hospital to remain on those medications," lead defense attorney Kathryn Herold said. "A little improvement while on your medication doesn't mean you've been restored to competency."

District Attorney Michael Dougherty argued that Alissa is competent and the case should go on.

"He's been restored to competency," Dougherty said. "Even in April, he was showing signs of improvement."

During the one-day hearing, the prosecution brought three expert witnesses to the stand, one of which testified that Alissa said he had hallucinations the day of the shooting and had purchased guns with the intention of committing a mass shooting and "suicide-by-cop."

In her testimony, Dr. Loandra Torrez, who has conducted eight evaluations with Alissa, said the 24-year-old told her in an August evaluation he was not suffering from hallucinations as a result of his schizophrenia but was doing so on March 21, 2021, the day of the shooting at the Table Mesa grocery store.

According to Torrez, Alissa also told her his preferred strategy is to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

Alissa also said he was aware his fingerprints were found on guns from the scene and asked if there was video footage of him on the day of the incident, Torrez testified.

Dr. Julie Gallagher, who has also evaluated Alissa, said that in the past Alissa had not met the four prongs of competency previously in his case, but he adequately does now. The four prongs, defined by Gallagher, include factual understanding; rational understanding; ability to reason and make decisions; and the ability to assist counsel and understand the roles of people in the courtroom.

In the hearing, Dr. Hareesh Pillai, a defense witness who sees Alissa weekly at a state hospital in Pueblo, said that in an August meeting with Alissa, he responded with short, quick answers, he said he was not meeting with a psychiatrist and not attending groups other than occasionally attending karaoke on Thursdays. Pillai added that he was only willing to take medication if court-ordered to do so and had a "lack of insight" concerning his medication, meaning he did not believe he has schizophrenia.

Pillai said Alissa met all the factors of Medina v. California, a court precedent regarding competency, which allows state hospitals to forcibly medicate defendants through court orders. Pillai, who writes the bi-annual affidavits to request such court orders for Alissa, said if he was able to have a clear, logical discussion with Alissa he would stop the affidavits. Alissa, however, has recently been "incompetent" to participate in medication decisions, Pillai said.

Pillai added that Alissa recently punched another patient multiple times in an "unprovoked manner" he believed to be due to psychosis. Boulder County Dougherty noted that assaults are a frequent occurrence in jails and state hospitals, to which Pillai also agreed.

"Of course when you have people at the state hospitals you have ups and downs," Dougherty said. "Those struggles are not as dramatic or drastic or impactful as they used to be."

The prosecution brought Scott Bender, an expert witness in neuro-psychology, to the stand who suggested that Alissa may have been malingering or feigning his symptoms of schizophrenia. Bender said approximately 25% to 35% of individuals in the same setting have been found to deliberately feign their symptoms, even if they do have diagnosed mental health conditions.

"He likely doesn't have signs of schizophrenia, and he likely does have antisocial traits," Bender said.

Herold argued that Bender had no interactions with Alissa and that his suggestions contradicted the diagnosis of six other doctors in the case.

Alissa was deemed competent in a report from the Colorado Department of Human Services in August. However, the order to formally lift the mental health stay on the case has to be issued by a judge.

If the order is lifted, Alissa will be required to have a bond set due to Colorado Supreme Court ruling that banned no-bond holds in first-degree murder cases.

Dougherty has asked that Bakke instruct the state hospital to keep Alissa at its facility even if he is declared competent, due to his "tenuous" competency situation.

Gallagher and Torrez have expressed concern with Alissa being held at the Boulder County Jail. Pillai also suggested that the state hospital would be a suitable environment for Alissa as long as he required involuntary medication, as he was unsure of the Boulder County Jail's ability to enforce involuntary medication.

The state hospital has reportedly asked the Boulder County Jail to hold Alissa, but Bakke noted that until she lifts the mental health stay, he must remain in Pueblo. Alissa was held in the county jail Tuesday night and refused to take his medication, lawyers said.

Alissa has been held at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo since he was deemed incompetent in 2021.

On Aug. 29, Herold requested a second evaluation. Dougherty objected to the motion, citing delays in the case and the "pure exhaustion" for the victims' families. Bakke denied the motion and set Alissa for a half-day preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Nov. 14.

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, and was shot and killed. Police said Alissa fired at other responding officers before one of them shot Alissa in the leg.

Alissa later surrendered to police. Officers 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.