Apr. 6—A judge has granted prosecutors' request to have the defendant in the Boulder King Soopers shooting appear for a competency hearing to determine if he is still incapable of proceeding in his case.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 23, is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, 47 counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, 10 counts of felony possession of a prohibited large capacity magazine, and 47 crime of violence sentence enhancers.

Alissa was declared incompetent to proceed to trial in December 2021 and has been undergoing treatment ever since at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo.

The Boulder County District Attorney's Office asked for a competency hearing in a motion last month, raising the same concerns about Alissa's symptoms, his refusal to accept treatment and the state hospital's ability to treat him.

Defense attorneys objected, saying prosecutors did not have a "good faith" reason for requesting a hearing.

But in a ruling on Wednesday, Boulder Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke granted the request for a hearing.

Bakke wrote in the ruling that prosecutors "presented a sufficient offer of proof" to warrant a hearing, offering expert testimony on reports from the state hospital and witness testimony and other evidence.

Doctors have said Alissa may suffer from schizophrenia, but in a motion prosecutors wrote that doctors "candidly acknowledged on Nov. 14, 2022, that there is a possibility that defendant's lack of communication and participation in the restoration process could be volitional and not a product of his schizophrenia diagnosis, but they circumstantially 'believe' this is not the case."

Prosecutors in the motion said updates from the state hospital indicate Alissa "has repeatedly declined to attend group sessions, including programming specifically aimed at improving his functional abilities, and he has repeatedly failed to fully comply with the restoration process."

Prosecutors also brought up issues with staffing and wait times at the state hospital in questioning the facility's ability to properly diagnose and treat Alissa.

While Bakke acknowledged those concerns, she said the restoration hearing "shall be an evidentiary hearing solely to determine whether defendant has been restored to competency."

Bakke in the motion ordered attorneys to determine the length of a restoration hearing so one could be scheduled.

According to an arrest affidavit, police were called to the King Soopers at 3600 Table Mesa Drive at 2:40 p.m. March 22, 2021, for a report of an armed man who had shot a person in a vehicle in the store's parking lot and was inside the store.

Eric Talley, a 51-year-old Boulder police officer, was the first to arrive on scene and was shot and killed. Police said Alissa fired at other responding officers before one of the responding officers shot Alissa in the leg.

Alissa later surrendered to police. Police found weapons and tactical body armor at the scene, according to the affidavit.

In addition to Talley, Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Teri Leiker, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65, were killed in the shooting.