COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A man who acknowledged killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs has been transferred to a state hospital for a mental competency exam.
Court records show 57-year-old Robert Lewis Dear is awaiting the exam after a judge refused to delay it at defense attorneys' request. The judge ordered the exam in December after Dear said he wanted to fire his public defenders and represent himself.
The exam will show whether he's mentally capable of making that decision.
Dear is charged with 179 counts, including murder, attempted murder and assault, in the Nov. 27 attack that also left nine injured. During courtroom outbursts, he declared himself a "warrior for the babies" and said he was guilty.
Prosecutors say he's competent because his outbursts show an understanding of the charges.
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