Man accused of trying to kill Alexandria officer found competent to proceed in case
An Alexandria man accused of trying to kill a police officer on Thanksgiving Day in 2022 has been declared competent to proceed in the case against him.
Jason Jamar Shackleford, 35, was shot by an Alexandria Police Department officer, Christopher Hayward, in an altercation captured by body and dash cameras. Hayward had gone to a Rapides Avenue address after a complaint about a man who either was lying in the road or running into traffic.
In the videos, Shackleford can be seen using the officer's own baton to choke him while Hayward fired five shots at him. One shot hit Shackleford in his left arm.
He was arrested on charges of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, disarming of a police officer, possession of less than 2 grams of fentanyl, resisting an officer by force or violence and disturbing the peace after being released from a hospital.
Shackleford also was jailed on a parole violation and later was formally charged with the attempted murder of a police officer.
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His attorney, Christopher LaCour, successfully had a sanity commission established for him in September. On Monday, 9th Judicial District Court Judge Chris Hazel found Shackleford competent to proceed.
According to online Rapides Parish Clerk of Court records, Shackleford rejected a plea bargain that would have sent him to prison for 20 years.
A trial has been set for July 15.
In a separate case on Monday, both the state and defense agreed to reschedule Markese Harrell's competency hearing to March 14 for attorneys could review doctors' reports.
Harrell is facing a second-degree murder charge in the May 2020 death of a fellow Rapides Parish Detention Center #1 inmate, 23-year-old Andrew Steven Myles.
At the time, the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office stated Myles' death came after an "unprovoked attack." Myles died at a hospital after Harrell allegedly attacked him in a holding cell.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Judge: Man charged in attempted murder of Alexandria cop is competent
