Wednesday, May 28, 1997
Jury finds man incompetent to stand trial
By RICHARD HORN / Abilene Reporter-News
Jurors quickly agreed Tuesday an Abilene man is currently incompetent
to stand trial for biting and hitting two Taylor County jailers.
But the jury found a substantial probability Flynoind Floyd
Demery can be restored to competence after in-patient treatment
and medication.
The 37-year-old Demery, who's charged with retaliation and
aggravated assault on a public servant, will now be moved to a
state mental hospital, probably in Vernon, District Judge Billy
John Edwards said.
He will be returned to Taylor County to face the charges against
him when he's judged competent. Edwards said he will receive reports
on Demery's progress every 90 days; he can be hospitalized for
a maximum of 18 months.
Demery was jailed here last year for violating probation on
a prior forgery conviction. Two indictments accuse him of biting
one jailer on the hand and hitting another on the head with a
hairbrush during an incident last April 19.
Dr. Mark Cunningham, an Abilene clinical psychologist, told
jurors he interviewed Demery three times and believes him to be
incapable of understanding court proceedings or consulting with
an attorney with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.
The defendant has a history of mental health treatment dating
back to 1979 in San Diego County, Cunningham said. Demery also
receives Social Security disability because of mental illness,
evidence shows.
"These are not symptoms that have just come forward since
he's come to jail," Cunningham testified.
Demery has been on anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medication
in the past, Cunningham told defense attorney Jeff Johnson, but
it is not uncommon for patients to discontinue their medication
because they don't believe them to be necessary.
The state did not contest Cunningham's findings and Demery
did not testify. Jurors deliberated less than 10 minutes.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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