Aaron Mrowka underwent 3 exams to determine if he could stand trial.

BARNSTABLE — A Provincetown man facing charges in three cases has been found competent to stand trial after his third examination.

After a hearing in Barnstable Superior Court on Monday, Aaron Mrowka, 29, was ordered sent back to Bridgewater State Hospital to be evaluated for his criminal responsibility. Judge Robert Rufo has requested that evaluation in January, along with a competency review, but the hospital conducted only one examination.

Competency assesses a defendant's current mental state and entails the degree to which he understands the legal proceedings against him and is able to assist in a defense. Criminal responsibility gauges his ability to know what was right and wrong at the time of the offense.

Mrowka has been indicted in three separate cases for allegedly slashing an 82-year-old man with a box cutter, biting a jail guard and breaking into a building.

He appeared in court after Rufo, defense attorney Colleen Duarte and Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Sharon Thibeault had a chance to read his newest examination.

"It does appear the doctor finds him to be competent to stand trial, and we're asking a finding of competency to be entered," Duarte said.

Mrowka was last in court Jan. 24 when the judge and attorneys puzzled over his second competency evaluation. During that hearing, Thibeault said the second report was inconsistent and made no finding as to whether or not he was competent.

In addition to the competency report, doctors at Bridgewater, which is run by the state Department of Correction, submitted a petition to have Mrowka committed to the hospital for at least six months.

He will be back in court May 8 for a hearing on his criminal responsibility.

On May 10, Mrowka allegedly forced his way into an apartment on Commercial Street and hours later slashed a man on the neck and back as he walked near him in downtown Provincetown. While being held at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in June, he allegedly bit an officer who was trying to move him out of his cell for disruptive behavior.

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Editor's note: The original version of the sub-headline of this story incorrectly identified Aaron Mrowka as Adam Mrowka. The story has been corrected.