Accused killer in clinic attacks says he fears becoming 'zombie'

Trevor Hughes | USA TODAY

COLORADO SPRINGS — The man accused of killing three people during a shooting spree at a Planned Parenthood clinic has been ordered to undergo a mental competency exam after trying to fire his lawyers and claiming he's being poisoned by jailers.

At one point in Wednesday's court hearing, Robert Lewis Dear mimicked being a zombie, a condition he said he would be in if he submitted to medications.

Dear vowed he wouldn't cooperate with any mental health exams, and repeatedly said he's worried his attorneys will try to medicate him into submission.

Dear, 57, faces 179 counts and could receive the death penalty in connection with the Nov. 27 clinic attack. In a previous hearing, Dear claimed he was a "warrior for the babies."

The three people he killed, one of whom was a police officer trying to protect the others, were all parents. Twisting in his seat to address dozens of reporters and victims watching the proceedings, Dear mimicked what he said he'd look like if he was forcibly medicated.

Police ended the standoff by crashing SWAT vehicles into the clinic.

"Do I look like a zombie?" Dear said loudly, ignoring his court-appointed attorneys' efforts to quiet him, his hands and feet shackled.

Judge Gilbert Martinez ordered Dear to undergo an competency exam, and explained that while he doesn't have to cooperate, his refusal could be used against him during further proceedings. Martinez' order effectively halts further proceedings in the case, likely for several months, until the exam is finished.

Prosecutors objected to the competency exam, arguing that Dear appears to know exactly what's going on and the penalties he faces, as well as the consequences of his actions both in and out of court.

Dear said he wants to exercise his right to defend himself, and complained about being subject to the "whim" of the judge. He also said his court-appointed lawyers were planning to forcibly medicate him, and once again referenced James Holmes, who killed 12 people at a suburban Denver movie theater in 2012.

Many of the members of Dear's defense team also represented Holmes, who was medicated during his three-year court case.

"I'm not going to say anything at that (exam)," Dear told Martinez. "I'm not going to say a word."

Dear then claimed his food at the El Paso County Jail is being poisoned, and demanded that someone take samples of his hair to test it.

At times, Martinez appeared frustrated that Dear refused to keep quiet, especially when he began to talk about the circumstances of the case. At one point, Martinez cleared the courtroom of the public and prosecutors so he could talk privately with Dear and defense attorneys, an unusual step to which an attorney for Colorado media organizations objected.

"If you keep talking, you're doing to say something that's going to hurt you," Martinez cautioned Dear before ordering everyone else out of the room. "Once the cat's out of the bag, the cat's out of the bag."

Killed in the attack were police officer Garrett Swasey, a father of two, Army veteran Ke'Arre Stewart, a father of two, and Jennifer Markovsky, a mother of two. None of the three worked for Planned Parenthood. Nine other people were injured in the attack.

Dear could also face federal charges, although the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver said its current focus is on assisting with the

ongoing investigation. Federal prosecutors could also seek the death penalty.

Dear lived in a small trailer in a remote area of Colorado about an hour's drive west of the clinic. His trailer in Hartsel lacked running water or standard electricity, although it was equipped with solar panels and a television aerial.