Texas man accused of killing six people found incompetent to stand trial

AUSTIN (KI) — Texas judge found Shane James Jr.accused of killing six people during December shootings in Austin and San Antonio is incompetent to stand trial, according to court records.

To be incompetent to stand trial, you literally have to be unable to articulate anything about your case and be in that bad of a position,” said criminal defense attorney Amber Vasquez. She is not associated with this case, but is closely following developments.

James accused of killing his parents in San Antonio before traveling to Austin, where he allegedly killed four more people and wounded three others, including two police officers. The former army officer has documented mental health problems.

The ruling came less than a month after James, 35, appeared in court to ask to represent himself and object to a mental capacity assessment. During the hearing, James told Judge Clifford Brown that the assessment was “unnecessary” and “unreasonable.”

His lawyer, Russell Hunt Jr., previously noted that clients often resist psychological evaluations, describing James as trying to “gain some control over the situation.”

He’s accused of heinous crimes and has a history of mental illness,” Hunt Jr. said.

Court documents show that a commitment order was issued following the competency assessment report.

“A person cannot stand trial if he cannot evaluate the charges against him,” Vasquez said. “If he is not mentally able to do this, he should undergo treatment.”

James is expected to receive treatment at a state mental hospital until he is competent enough to stand trial – Vasquez said that is a very low threshold to meet.

But will James’ defense plead insanity at the time James allegedly committed the crimes? Vasquez said that remains to be seen.

“If someone meets the standard of not guilty by reason of insanity in Texas, they don’t belong in the system,” Vasquez said.

Experts have said that depending on the severity of James’ mental illness, he could be institutionalized for months or even years before he is deemed competent to stand trial.

James still has a court date set for late January.

KAY has reached out to the District Attorney’s Office for more information on how this means moving forward with his case. We are waiting for an answer.