An examination on competency for Josiah Kelly, 30, of Anchor Point is scheduled for Feb. 13 at the Homer Courthouse.
Kelly was arrested and arraigned in November for 12 charges related to three shooting incidents in Homer — one at the Kachemak Bay Recovery Connection building on Oct. 20 and two at the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic on Nov. 11. No injuries were reported in any of the shootings.
Kelly, currently held in custody at Wildwood Pretrial Facility, is charged with three counts of second-degree misconduct involving weapons, two counts of first-degree misconduct involving weapons, two counts third-degree criminal mischief, three counts of third-degree assault and two counts of second-degree terroristic threatening.
Ila Clawson, Kelly’s public defense attorney, filed a motion for competency evaluation on Jan. 9, stating that “there is reasonable cause to believe that Mr. Kelly is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect that causes him to be unable to understand the proceedings against him or to assist in his own defense.”
Jon Iannaccone, prosecuting assistant district attorney for the State of Alaska, filed a limited opposition, also on Jan. 9, to the defense’s motion.
Using House Bill 66 — which came into effect Jan. 1 and among other things adds language to Alaska Statute 12.47.100(b) “requiring the court to make findings of fact and conclusions of law before ordering a defendant to be examined” — as a basis for his opposition, Iannaccone wrote that Clawson’s claim of “reasonable cause to believe” without further specifications that Kelly suffers from a mental disease or defect is insufficient.
He wrote that the prosecution “does not oppose the order as long as this court makes the statutorily required findings of fact and conclusions of law as now required by HB 66.”
Clawson filed an affidavit of counsel on Jan. 13 following a court order for additional information. She wrote that, having met with Kelly on multiple occasions, Kelly “can have difficulty focusing and requires a great deal of redirection” and he does not seem to understand the seriousness of charges against him despite multiple meetings. She also noted that Kelly’s letters to his counsel “often contain little in the way of content related to his case,” and that based on communications with his family, she believes that Kelly may have diagnosed mental health issues.
“Based on the above, counsel has concerns about Mr. Kelly’s ability to understand the charges against him, the penalties that can be imposed, and to assist in his own defense,” she wrote.
Superior Court Judge Bride Seifert appointed on Jan. 13 the director/CEO of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute to name a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist to examine Kelly for competency and report their findings to the court prior to the hearing on Feb. 13.
