Lawyers for the man accused in the mass shooting in Kalamazoo earlier this year say they’ll argue in court that their client is insane. Jason Dalton’s defense told a Circuit Court judge of their intentions during in a closed pre-trial conference Monday.
Dalton is accused of killing six people and seriously wounding two others in February. After his arrest he told police the ride-sharing app Uber had possessed him. Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting says given the evidence that Dalton carried out the shootings, the defense’s decision doesn’t surprise him.
“When you start going through a case and trying to evaluate from the defense perspective where you’re going to have your best shot, I think that’s where you end up here is, insanity is their best shot,” he said.
Dalton has been found competent to stand trial, meaning he understands what crimes he’s accused of committing and can help with his defense.
He’ll go through at least one more psychiatric evaluation before the case goes forward. Getting says he expects the results to affect how Dalton ultimately pleads.
“If the only evidence we had was the forensic center’s evaluation saying he was sane, he’s not going to be able to meet his burden under the law,” he says.
Getting says a trial could start around October. He expects it would take about three weeks.
