Nearly two years after he was accused of walking into a neighbor’s home and zapping her with an electronic stun gun, 71-year-old Hendrik J. Bouma has been found competent to stand trial.
The case isn’t necessarily remarkable and didn’t grab headlines. But it underscores the delays in conducting competency exams and working through a backlog of cases delayed even further because of the pandemic.
“It’s a long process and just like anybody else, the Center for Forensic Psychiatry has been impacted by COVID,’’ Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said. “So, it’s put a delay in the system as well.’’
Not only have wait times for evaluations increased, but so too has the number of defendants waiting in line.
The evaluation waitlist statewide was 225 defendants in April of 2020. As of May 2021, it was 432 defendants.
“You see across the country, and not just in the state of Michigan, there are a lot more competency requests going on,’’ Becker said. “There’s a lot more people in the criminal justice system with mental health issues.’’
Judges can authorize competency exams to determine if a defendant understands the charges against them and can assist in their own defense.
Bouma had a motion for competency hearing on Friday, June 4 in front of Kent County Circuit Court Judge Paul J. Denenfeld.
During the virtual hearing, Denenfeld accepted a report that found Bouma competent to stand trial.
“He did find Mr. Bouma to be competent,’’ Denenfeld said. “The doctor concludes that he did understand the basics of the criminal process.’’
Defense attorney Marcus T. Chmiel asked that the next hearing for Bouma be scheduled sooner than later.
“Mr. Bouma has been incarcerated in and out of the forensic center one month shy of two years now,’’ Chmiel told the court.
Denenfeld said he understands; he set a status conference for later this month.
“I did see how long your client had been already locked up and I am sensitive to that,” Denenfeld said. “And so, we will try to schedule this as early as possible to see if some resolution can be met.’’
The incident that got Bouma in trouble occurred July 7, 2019 at Maplewood Mobile Home Park, located off of South Division Avenue south of M-6 in Byron Township.
A disagreement between neighbors escalated.
Bouma, who lives across the street from the alleged victim, followed her into her trailer, “shutting the door behind him,’’ a deputy wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
He began assaulting the woman, “using the weapon as well as holding her down and not letting her go,’’ Gokey wrote. The woman grabbed a broom handle, “which she used as a weapon to strike Hendrik in order to get away.’’
Deputies searched Bouma’s trailer on Inca Drive SW and found a stun gun flashlight with the word “police’’ printed on it, court records show.
He is facing four charges, including home invasion and assault.
The most serious charge, first-degree home invasion, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
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