A second doctor has determined that John Sawchak, the man accused of shooting his Black neighbor in Minneapolis last year after months of harassment and a lack of help from police, has been determined yet again to be incompetent to stand trial.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office retained the second doctor, who had examined Sawchack twice in the past, to contest the previous finding of incompetency from January.
In a court filing Wednesday, prosecutors said they would withdraw their previous objection and agreed the court should enter a finding of incompetency, which would pause the proceedings until Sawchak is found fit to continue.
Sawchak, 54, is next due in court Friday morning.
“[Prosecutors] retained an expert to alleviate any questions about Mr. Sawchak’s competency,” the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “We expect Mr. Sawchak to remain in custody and we will resume our prosecution should he be restored to competency.”
Sawchak was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, stalking and harassment after allegedly shooting his 34-year-old neighbor, Davis Moturi, while pruning a tree.
The shooting came after Moturi allegedly endured months of harassment from Sawchak while the Minneapolis Police Department failed to intervene. Chief Brian O’Hara apologized to Moturi in the aftermath.
Sawchak remains in the Hennepin County Jail with bail set at $1 million.
