EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — Robert Dear, the admitted gunman in the 2015 deadly attack at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood will not be going to trial in the state case anytime soon. State attorneys said he is currently in the process of being civilly committed at the federal level.
November 27 will mark ten years since the tragedy that killed three people and injured nine others.
Dear has yet to make a plea, as his mental competency has been called into question for the last decade. He admitted to the shooting during a 2015 court hearing saying, "I'm guilty, there's no trial!"
Typically, every three months, attorneys in the state case meet in court to discuss how the case should move forward.
Dear is facing both state and federal charges, in both courts he's been ruled incompetent to stand trial. In September, a federal judge granted a motion to begin the process to civilly commit Robert Dear, meaning he would be court-ordered to a federal mental health facility for treatment.
Dear has been held at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP) in Springfield, Missouri.
A mental health evaluator told a federal judge earlier this year he is likely "unrestorable" for the foreseeable future.
In an El Paso County courtroom Thursday, attorneys shared the status of Robert Dear's federal case with the judge, saying he is being evaluated to be civilly committed, which could take months.
If Dear is civilly committed, attorneys told the judge there is no immediate plan for him to be transferred back to Colorado for his state charges. Attorneys will reconvene in February.
Three people died in the attack: University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) Police Officer Garrett Swasey, Iraq War Veteran Ke'Arre Stewart, and Jennifer Markovsky, a wife and mother of two.
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