GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Kent County judge is sticking by his earlier decision that a man charged in the murder of 16-year-old Mujey Dumbuya is incompetent to stand trial, setting the stage for his release from jail.
Gerald Bennett has been locked up for nearly three years, accused of assisting in the murder of Dumbuya in January of 2018. Quinn James, 45, was sentenced to life in prison for Dumbuya’s murder.
Bennett’s criminal case has been on hold due to issues surrounding his mental competency. Defense attorney Charles Clapp said Bennett has mental deficits normally associated with a person with Alzheimer’s disease.
In an 8-page opinion released this week, Kent County Circuit Court Judge George Quist again ruled that Bennett is not competent to stand trial and there is no possibility he will attain competency within 15 months.
Quist made his initial ruling in October. The prosecutor’s office in mid-November filed a motion for reconsideration. That motion was heard on Friday, Feb. 5. It did not change the outcome.
“This court is cognizant of the potential for an incredible miscarriage of justice if the Defendant is not tried on the pending charges,’’ Quist wrote in his original opinion. “However, the applicable law and the evidence presented supports the Court’s findings.’’
During Friday’s hearing, an assistant prosecutor argued that one of the doctors who evaluated Bennett’s competency used the wrong standard and that her factual claims were not supported by the evidence.
Clapp again argued that Bennett does not have the ability to understand the proceedings against him, does not understand the charges and cannot assist in his own defense.
“He is very difficult to represent; he doesn’t really know what’s going on,’’ Clapp told the judge.
Clapp on Tuesday said he was pleased with the judge’s ruling. Bennett, 61, remained in the Kent County Jail Tuesday afternoon.
The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office could ask the Michigan Court of Appeals to look at the case, but Prosecutor Chris Becker said nothing has been decided at this point.
“We are looking at the law and exploring what some of our options are, given the ruling,’’ Becker said on Tuesday. “We’ve never had this situation come up before, so we are being careful in how we proceed.’’
Investigators say Bennett, of Detroit, was recruited by Quinn James to help in the abduction and murder of Dumbuya.
A Kent County jury in February of 2019 convicted James of first-degree murder in the strangulation death Dumbuya, who accused him of rape.
Dumbuya was last seen alive on the morning of Jan. 24, 2018 when she left her apartment complex near Burton Street and East Paris Avenue SE to walk to a nearby bus stop.
Her body was found in Kalamazoo four days later by two Western Michigan University students out for a walk. An autopsy determined she died from asphyxiation.
James, who was living in the city of Wyoming, was soon identified as a person of interest in her death. He was charged with her murder in April of 2018.
Bennett was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder.
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