Man accused of killing police officer not competent to stand trial
A man accused of killing a Las Vegas police officer in October 2022 was deemed not competent to stand trial on Wednesday.
Tyson Hampton, 25, has been charged with murder, battery, battery constituting domestic violence, four counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and 19 counts of illegally discharging a weapon. Police have said that Hampton shot Metropolitan Police Department officer Truong Thai on Oct. 13, 2022, when Thai was responding to a report from Hampton’s wife that her husband was beating her.
He was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation this month. District Judge Christy Craig said Wednesday that he has been found not competent to face the charges.
Prosecutors said there were concerns that Hampton was “malingering,” or feigning his mental illness, but the judge said that only one of the two doctors who evaluated Hampton noted a “suspicion” that he was exaggerating.
“I’m inclined, based on the charges, to ensure that he gets a complete and total evaluation in an appropriate facility to make that determination, as opposed to the initial competency evaluations at the jail,” Craig said.
Court records filed this month contained a note from a doctor stating that Hampton’s mental health “seems to have deteriorated.”
The doctor wrote that Hampton’s appearance had “dramatically” declined and that he had not showered or changed his clothes in months. Hampton had also began exhibiting “paranoid” behavior, had refused visits and has started refusing to leave his jail cell, according to court documents.
“He has a history of mental health issues that unfortunately have gone untreated, and that’s really our focus right now with him,” defense attorney Lance Maningo said after Wednesday’s court hearing.
Maningo said that he expects it will take at least 90 to 120 days for Hampton to be transferred to a state psychiatric hospital for treatment to restore his competency. Inmates have faced delays in competency treatment for months, resulting in the Nevada Supreme Court upholding fines against the Department of Health and Human Services, which had been held in contempt for not transporting inmates in a timely manner.
A jury trial for Hampton had been scheduled for February but has been delayed due to the competency evaluations, court records show.
When Thai was called to a report of domestic violence in October 2022, police said, he approached Hampton sitting in a car near University Center Drive and Flamingo Road. Police said that Hampton refused to answer the officer’s questions, grabbed an AK-47 pistol from his passenger seat and fired 18 rounds, striking Thai, a Metro vehicle, and Hampton’s mother-in-law.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.