'No good outcome:' Twinsburg man is committed to mental facility after insanity finding

On St. Patrick’s Day in 2020, Mark Sanders was hanging out with friends at his Twinsburg home to celebrate the holiday.

Sanders went to the bathroom, and when he came out, thought there was a burglar in his house. He shot the shadowy figure several times.

Sanders, though, hadn’t shot a burglar. He’d fatally shot Michael Davis, his good friend and work colleague.

“They were not in conflict,” said Noah Munyer, one of Sanders’ attorneys. “They were having a great time. He goes in the bathroom and comes out a different person.”

After more than 3½ years and multiple evaluations and expert opinions, a Summit County judge has ordered that Sanders be committed to a mental health facility

Sanders, 71, was found to be not guilty by reason of insanity after he was diagnosed with a type of vascular dementia that causes brain bleeds, strokes and disorientation.

Munyer and Jacob Will, Sanders’ attorneys, argued that he should be able to continue living with his daughter and son-in-law in Chagrin Falls and receiving mental-health services. However, prosecutors pushed for Sanders to be placed in a more restrictive environment.

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Towell recently sided with prosecutors, ordering that Sanders be placed in a long-term care facility licensed by the state.

Sanders shoots his friend and colleague

Twinsburg police responded to a report of a shooting at Sanders’ home on Post Road shortly after 9 p.m. March 17, 2020.

Police took Sanders into custody and found Davis, 38, of Aurora, unresponsive.

Police started CPR on Davis and he was taken to Cleveland Clinic Twinsburg, where he was pronounced dead.

An investigator with the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office said Davis died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Sanders was charged with two counts of murder and one count each of felonious assault and using weapons while intoxicated.

Sanders pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Sanders is diagnosed with a type of dementia

There were signs that something was wrong with Sanders in the time leading up to the shooting, Munyer said.

Sanders had stopped driving. He also was having periods during which he couldn't remember what had happened

. He had an appointment with a neurologist but that didn’t happen before the St. Patrick’s Day party.

Two evaluations found that Sanders suffered from a mental defect that meant that he didn’t understand the wrongfulness of his actions when he shot and killed his friend. Sanders was diagnosed with cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a version of vascular dementia in which a person has brain bleeds and strokes.

The question then became: Where should Sanders be placed to provide him with the care he needs while also protecting the public?

Attorneys and experts debate where Sanders’ placement

During a hearing in late August, Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Felicia Easter suggested that Sanders be held at Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare in Northfield until a bed becomes available at a secured nursing home that provides mental health services.

Easter said a person with a mental illness like schizophrenia can take medication and their condition will improve. She said Sanders, though, suffers from a neuro-cognitive defect.

“The defendant’s condition will progressively get worse,” she said. “There also are times of plateauing where he appears to be just fine. At any moment, a dropoff in ability can happen.”

While Sanders has been on bond, Easter said, he has lived with his daughter and son-in law, both of whom work full-time. She said there are periods during which Sanders hasn’t been supervised.

“That’s not enough to facilitate treatment and protect the public,” Easter said.

James Pontau, a forensic psychologist for the state of Ohio, testified that a secured nursing facility would be the best place for Sanders. He said such facilities require patients to wear ankle monitors in locked units monitored by security.

Munyer, however, said Sanders hasn’t had any incidents while he’s been living with his daughter and wearing a GPS ankle monitor.

“That is the ‘least restrictive means,’” he said.

Arcangelo Wood, a forensic psychologist with Summit Psychological Services, testified that she thought Sanders should be permitted to live with his family while receiving services in the community. She said Sanders’ condition seems to have stabilized in the past two years.

Wood said living with his family is a low stress environment, which is better for Sanders’ condition. She said Northcoast and secured nursing homes can be stressful environments.

Wood said Sanders’ condition could worsen over time, which might then warrant placement in a secured facility.

Towell said she would consider the opinions of the experts, as well as numerous letters she received from family members and friends of Sanders and Davis.

“This is a decision I am not taking lightly,” she said.

Judge orders Sanders to be placed in a long-term care facility

Towell ordered in September that Sanders be committed to Northcoast for treatment planning and then discharged to a secure long-term care facility.

She ordered that Sanders be supervised by Community Support Services (CSS).

Munyer said Sanders is currently living with his family while he waits for a bed to open at Northcoast and for his medical records to be provided to this facility.

Munyer said Towell will have a hearing every six months to check in with Sanders to see if his placement should be changed. Sanders also will receive checkups every two years.

Munyer said he and Will were disappointed that Sanders wasn’t placed with his family, especially given how well he’s done while he’s been on bond. But he said they were pleased overall with how the case was settled.

“We’re glad this matter has come to a resolution,” Munyer said. “We think not guilty by reason of insanity was the appropriate finding, but there’s no good outcome in a tragedy like this.”

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mark Sanders is found to be insane and committed to mental facility