Judge orders bi-weekly reports from state hospital on King Soopers defendant's evaluation

Jan. 12—A Boulder judge ordered the state hospital to begin providing bi-weekly reports on its progress evaluating the King Soopers shooting defendant.

Ahmad Alissa, 24, has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, 47 counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, 6 counts of felony possession of a prohibited large capacity magazine, and 47 crime of violence sentence enhancers in connection with the shooting in March 2021.

Alissa is currently in custody on a $100 million bond and is scheduled for a three-week trial starting Aug. 12. He will have a weeklong motions hearing starting June 3.

Friday's hearingwas prompted when the Colorado Department of Human Services requested a four-month extension to complete an evaluation of Alissa following his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

The court approved the Boulder County District Attorney's objection on Jan. 4, Boulder Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke ordered a representative of CDHS to appear in court to explain the reasons for the delay.

In a preliminary hearing on Nov. 14, the court set a Jan. 8 deadline for an evaluation to be completed. On Dec. 29, the CDHS filed a letter requesting the 114-day extension. On Monday, CDHS sent another letter which included more information explaining the reason for their delay.

In court Friday, CDHS representative Ann Pogue addressed the court and apologized to the lawyers and victims for the delay in the extension request. Pogue said even if the state hospital had been more communicative, they would have still requested the same extension due to needing time to interview witnesses.

Pogue said when the hospital requested the April 30 evaluation due date, the potential rescheduling of interviews due to witnesses canceling or getting sick was taken into account. Pogue explained to the court that if there are no cancellations by the witnesses, the report will be filed in March. Pogue noted that collateral witnesses who need to be interviewed for the evaluation include Alissa's six siblings as well as multiple family members who require an interpreter.

Along with addressing the delay in the extension request, Pogue addressed concern with the delay in assigning the evaluation to appropriate doctors. Pogue said the hospital currently has two doctors assigned to the evaluation, one of which is spending 30 hours each week on the case and the other is spending 50% of their work week on the evaluation.

The delay in the evaluation could impact the motions and trial date, with lawyers needing to submit motions paperwork 30 days prior to June 3. However, Bakke maintained the current motions and trial dates and said they would be rescheduled at a later time if necessary.

The bi-weekly order was made following a request from the District Attorney's Office for monthly reports on what progress the hospital has made. District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the matter brings up a larger pattern of judicial intervention regarding the state hospital and said that the office would have likely not objected in the extension request was more thorough and submitted sooner.

"Time and time again we've had to see judicial intervention to move things forward," Dougherty said. "Victims strongly object to any delay. They want to see this case move forward. They're incredibly frustrated."

Defense attorney Kathryn Herold said her biggest concern was the due process rights of Alissa, however she said she understood the hospital was "doing everything they can" and emphasized the importance of "having a report we can rely on" that isn't rushed. Herold also said the evaluation may take longer due to Alissa's mental health.

Bakke agreed with Herold in regard to the hospital having sufficient time to do an thorough evaluation.

"We want a report that is the best work that can be done," Bakke said.

On Oct. 6, Alissa was deemed legally competent and capable to proceed with trial. He has remained at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo for two years. The CDHS operates the hospital.

Alissa appeared in person at Friday's meeting. He remains in custody on a $100 million bond.