A Beebe man who has claimed to be a "black ops" soldier who has fought and killed all over the world is fit to stand trial on a capital-murder charge, a Pulaski County circuit judge ruled Monday, rejecting defense claims that the 46-year-old defendant is too delusional to be tried.
Christopher Maines is accused of killing 24-year-old Corey Morgan Derscheid by shooting him in the head at a home on Waltre Place in North Little Rock in May 2015.
Two women in the home -- Derscheid's girlfriend, Ashley Lloyd, and tenant Jessica Rudd -- saw Maines shoot him, and Maines, arrested the day of the killing, admitted to police that he had shot the man, court filings show.
Maines told detectives that he shot Derscheid because the younger man had referred to him and a friend as "half-breeds," police said.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright ruled Monday, after hearing from doctors testifying for the prosecution and the defense, that Maines was competent to stand trial.
Wright scheduled a November trial. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence.
Monday's ruling comes after Maines spent about 10 months in the State Hospital after his previous lawyer questioned his sanity.
Maines had claimed to be a Marine five-star general or a lieutenant who has fought in secret military operations all over the world, including Afghanistan, Vietnam and Somalia.
The state psychologist who examined Maines at court order last year reported that he was unfit for trial, possibly in regard to schizophrenia, because his delusions kept him from being able to assist in his own defense.
But a second review of Maines' mental health conducted in March by Dr. Samuel House, a state psychiatrist, concluded that Maines had abandoned his more extreme claims about military service, the judge was told at Monday's hearing.
Questioned by deputy prosecutor Scott Duncan, House told the judge that while Maines might at least have minor delusional beliefs about his military service, those irrational thoughts are not serious enough to keep him from being able to participate in his own defense.
"These are not inhibiting beliefs," House said. "Fitness [for trial] does not have to be perfect. He doesn't have to score 100 percent."
At worst, Maines could be faking his symptoms, House told the judge.
The psychiatrist said that while Maines has at times complained that hospital staff members have been trying to poison him through his food, the defendant has almost never missed an opportunity to eat.
Hospital staff members have also never seen him do anything to suggest that he was hallucinating, House said.
For the defense, neuropsychologist Garrett Andrews told the judge that he thought Maines' delusions were too rigid for him to be able to contribute to his defense.
Andrews, who works for Department of Veterans Affairs health care, said Maines' claim that Pentagon lawyers are about to take over his case from his attorney and his beliefs that he's a soldier keep him from fully engaging with his lawyer, Cheryl Barnard.
Metro on 07/21/2016