Twice this month, felony defendants initially found fit for trial procedures following evaluation at mental health facilities have been sent back for further evaluation by Lake County Circuit Court judges.
On Friday, Michael Coffee, one of three defendants facing murder charges in the 2013 death of 20-year-old Highland Park resident Colin Nutter, was found unfit for trial by Judge Victoria Rossetti, according to prosecutors.
Assistant State’s Attorney Reginald Mathews said that after a secure mental health facility returned Coffee to Lake County Jail with a report that he is fit for trial, Rossetti determined after questioning Coffee that she felt he needs more evaluation.
Coffee was transferred to a facility last fall, and under state statute could have spent up to a year receiving treatment there before moving forward with trial or being declared unfit for trial, prosecutors have said.
A trial date for another defendant, Philip Vatamaniuc, also of Highland Park, is scheduled April 17 after numerous delays.
State doctors: Highland Park murder defendant fit for trial Jim Newton
After spending time in a state mental health facility, one of the defendants in the shooting death of Colin Nutter in Highland Park has been found fit for trial by mental health evaluators.
Michael Coffee, one of three men charged with first-degree murder in the June 2013 shooting death of 20-year-old…
After spending time in a state mental health facility, one of the defendants in the shooting death of Colin Nutter in Highland Park has been found fit for trial by mental health evaluators.
Michael Coffee, one of three men charged with first-degree murder in the June 2013 shooting death of 20-year-old…
(Jim Newton)
The third defendant, Benjamin Schenk of Highwood, has pleaded guilty under a negotiated agreement and is awaiting sentencing until after it is determined whether he will be needed to testify at the trials of Vatamaniuc and Coffee.
According to police reports and prosecutors, Coffee, Vatamaniuc and Schenk arranged a marijuana deal with Nutter on June 3, 2013, and when the group gathered in Nutter’s car, he was shot in the head in an apparent robbery attempt.
Under state law, all three were eligible to be held accountable of first-degree murder if convicted at trial, regardless of who fired the gun.
Attempts to reach Coffee’s defense attorney, Michael Krejci, were unsuccessful Monday.
Earlier this month, Judge Mark Levitt ruled that Daniel Pederson, who had been evaluated for several months and found fit for sentencing by a state mental health facility in Elgin, was still not ready for court proceedings.
Defendant again interrupts testimony during ongoing terrorism threat hearing Jim Newton
Another outburst on Friday punctuated an ongoing mental fitness hearing for a California man convicted of making terrorism threats in Lake County.
Daniel Pederson, of Calabasas, Cal., was convicted in May of making a terrorism threat, a felony that carries a potential sentence of 6 to 30 years…
Another outburst on Friday punctuated an ongoing mental fitness hearing for a California man convicted of making terrorism threats in Lake County.
Daniel Pederson, of Calabasas, Cal., was convicted in May of making a terrorism threat, a felony that carries a potential sentence of 6 to 30 years…
(Jim Newton)
The case against Pederson began on Sept. 12, 2014, when prosecutors said Pederson called the Illinois Department of Health Care and Family Services and said he was going to "kill people" and "light up" the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, as well as the Gurnee Police Department.
Last fall, Levitt initially found Pederson unfit for sentencing due to his behavior following his conviction by a jury on charges of making a terrorism threat, a felony that carries a potential sentence of 6 to 30 years in prison. Doctors and officials from the Elgin facility testified during Pederson’s recent fitness hearing that they believed he was now fit for a sentencing hearing.
His attorneys, however, successfully argued that Pederson wasn’t legally fit and that his loud and at times profane outbursts during his fitness hearing and unwillingness to work with defense attorneys demonstrated their assertions.
Pederson initially was sent to the facility in Elgin for a 90-day review, and now the process will be repeated, with another 90-day period of evaluation and treatment.
Pederson is scheduled for another court appearance before Levitt on May 3, while Rossetti has set a March 28 status hearing for Coffee.
jrnewton@tribpub.com
Twitter @jimnewton5
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
