With his lawyer saying that she has major concerns about her client’s competence during his probable cause conference Tuesday morning, Andrew Hakeem Jewell was ordered to take a competency test .
Jewell, 19, is charged with attempted unlawful imprisonment, attempted kidnapping/child enticement and assault/battery, and was arrested in late August after trying to drag an 8-year-old girl into the bathroom of local Hope Thrift Store.
He appeared in court September 19 via Zoom and accompanied by his defense attorney, Leslie Clark. She told Judge Ross and Assistant Prosecutor Robert Heyboer that after several discussions with her client, who had been working at the thrift store and living at its associated shelter, Michigan’s House of Hope, she was referring him for the test due to her concerns.
Judge Ross agreed, with Jewell to be tested within 60 days of Tuesday, by the state’s Center for Forensic Psychiatry.
It is unclear if Jewell will be back in court before the test is completed, with his preliminary examination next week cancelled and a review hearing not scheduled until December 19 at 8:00 a.m.
