Since McKale Dick was booked into Montezuma County Detention Center on April 17, 2018, he has allegedly assaulted detention officers on two occasions and jumped off the railing at the county jail, breaking both ankles.
In Montezuma County Court on Wednesday, public defender John Moran said Dick is the poster child for the failures of the Colorado Mental Health Institute system.
The court in October found Dick, 28, of Kayenta, Arizona, incompetent to stand trial.
On Wednesday, Montezuma County Judge JenniLynn Lawrence issued a motion ordering the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo to transfer Dick to the facility and provide him with treatment to restore his competency.
She also issued an order demanding CMHIP to show cause for its failure to timely admit Dick into treatment.
The order comes after Lawrence in June ordered a competency evaluation at the state’s expense, granted a time extension in August and granted a motion in September to complete a new evaluation at the CMHIP.
About three weeks after the court found Dick incompetent, a public defender stated in court that there had been no correspondence from CMHIP to restore Dick to competency, according to court documents.
A week later, the court recorded that CMHIP had one more day within the 28-day limit to accept Dick as a patient. Moran requested that Dick be released on a personal recognizance bond into his family’s care because the state has been unable to accept Dick into inpatient treatment. The District Attorney expressed concern with releasing Dick.
Moran on Wednesday described some of Dick’s mental health issues and their implications. He said Dick has described hearing voices that scare him. Moran said he yells at the voices to leave him alone.
“Mr. Dick is suffering,” Moran said. “He is in a very dark place.”
Two detention officers rolled Dick into the courtroom on Wednesday in a wheelchair. He had two removable black casts on his ankles. He remained silent, staring at the wall and showing little reaction to the proceedings.
Moran said that in the three months since the court found Dick incompetent, he has harmed himself and others. He said Dick’s lack of mental health treatment has led to criminal behavior in jail.
Three days after he was booked into jail on April 17, Dick on April 20 picked up one felony and two misdemeanor charges that accuse him of assaulting an officer, causing injury. He also faces a felony charge after allegedly punching a detention officer in the face on Nov. 29.
Sheriff Steve Nowlin told The Journal in December that Dick recently jumped off a railing in a pod at the jail, breaking his ankles.
Moran on Wednesday requested that Dick be transferred to inpatient treatment in four days. If that doesn’t happen, he asked that Dick be released to his sister, who could transport Dick to an inpatient facility, possibly with the Indian Health Service.
Deputy District Attorney Sheena Goldsborough proposed a 24-hour furlough that would allow Dick’s sister could pick him up from Montezuma County Detention Center and take him to a mental health facility. If he isn’t booked in within 24 hours, then he would return to the jail.
Lawrence, in addition to issuing the two orders, said she felt there was “too great of a concern” to release Dick to a family member. She said she would like to know that there is an available bed at CMHIP before releasing him.
Dick is scheduled for a show-cause hearing on five active cases on Feb. 6.
sdolan@the-journal.com
