DC judge orders 30-day competency exam in stabbing case

DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on Nov. 5 ordered a full competency exam within 30 days for Kevin Vaughn, 31, at a hearing in a North Capitol Street NW stabbing case.

The order matters because competency determines whether a defendant can proceed to trial, and a Nov. 2 Department of Behavioral Health report left the court without an opinion on Vaughn’s fitness.

Vaughn is charged with assault with intent to kill while armed with a knife or a sharp object in connection with an alleged July 25 stabbing on the 1300 block of North Capitol Street NW. The case is local to DC residents not only because of the alleged street violence, but because it tests how the District’s jail and behavioral health systems document mental health concerns for detainees.

A competency finding turns on whether a defendant understands the charges and can help with the defense. The DBH report said a doctor tried to evaluate Vaughn on Nov. 2, but could not speak with him because he was on suicide watch and refused to leave his cell.

The report said Vaughn had ingested rocks, told staff he was thinking about killing himself and spread feces inside his cell before being placed on suicide watch. It also said he reported persistent sexual thoughts about women working at the jail.

Ryan questioned how the jail could report no signs of psychosis while also taking suicide-watch precautions and documenting the behavior described in the DBH report. Psychosis is a mental health condition that can affect a person’s contact with reality.

Ryan called the jail’s conclusion “an extraordinary conclusion to draw” and said he was concerned about similar determinations in other recent cases. “Most people would find [this] indicative of some underlying mental health condition,” Ryan said.

Because the doctor could not complete the Nov. 2 interview, the DBH report did not assess whether Vaughn is competent. It recommended a full competency examination.

Defense attorney Howard McEachern said Vaughn had been unwilling to meet with doctors at the jail but would speak with staff from Saint Elizabeths Hospital. Ryan told Vaughn the doctor who came on Nov. 2 was from Saint Elizabeths, and Vaughn agreed to participate in an evaluation.

Ryan also told Vaughn that the doctor needed to speak with him and that “there’s nothing that she reports to me that would hurt your case.” DBH reported that Vaughn was taking medication while housed in the jail’s mental health unit, which Ryan said could help the evaluation move forward.

The next mental observation hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7, after the 30-day examination window ordered by the court.

Source: DC Superior Court hearing and Department of Behavioral Health report, Nov. 2 and Nov. 5