DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman ordered a homicide defendant undergo competency restoration on Oct. 3, after receiving a report from the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) that initially concluded he was incompetent to stand trial.
D’Aundrey Scott, 31, is charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and two counts of arson after allegedly igniting multiple fires on May 13, 2020 on the 900 block of H Street, NE. 62-year-old Darryl Finney died from burns on May 15, 2020, from a firebomb that Scott allegedly threw at him.
The DBH report said that Scott was unable to understand the complexities of his own case, but claimed that Scott’s competency could be restored, if transferred for treatment to Saint Elizabeths Hospital for DC psychiatric patients..
Jesse Winogard, Scott’s defense attorney, stated that DBH’s report was not just about Scott’s competency, but also about the possibility of using a Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity (NGRI) defense. Winogard said that in Scott’s current state, it had been difficult to communicate the pro’s and con’s of the NGRI defense with his client, meaning he would claim he didn’t know right from wrong when commiting the crime and couldn’t conform his conduct to the law.
Judge Edelman ordered that Scott, therefore, be transferred from his current placement in the Central Treatment Facility (CTF) at DC Jail, and undergo treatment for competency restoration. All previously scheduled dates were also vacated until when and if Scott’s competency is restored.
Parties are slated to reconvene on Nov. 14.
