Richard Patton, 31, was arrested in November for alleged tampering with a voting machine and cyber crimes.
A Colorado man accused of tapering with a voting machine while casting his vote during the Colorado primary election has been found mentally incompetent and unable to continue his court proceedings.
Richard Patton, 31, was arrested in November for alleged tampering with a voting machine and cyber crimes, according to police.
Patton’s lawyer requested in a court hearing that he be given an evaluation to decide if he was competent enough to undergo the legal proceedings, according to the Associated Press.
He underwent evaluations, and based on the findings, a judge has ruled Patton mentally incompetent and ordered Patton to do outpatient mental health treatment in the hopes that he will eventually be able to stand trial, CBS News reported.
In order to be considered competent in legal proceedings, you must be able to understand the proceedings and be able to help in your own defense by communicating with lawyers, according to CBS News.
According to Patton’s arrest affidavit, he arrived at his polling location on June 28 and after asking a question about security, he was escorted to his voting machine, was given voting instructions and then voted, Colorado Sun reported.
After Patton left, someone entered to clean the machine and noticed it had been tampered with, according to Colorado Sun.
Patton denied any wrongdoing in an interview with The Pueblo Chieftain. He said a worker came in to help him and she messed with the voting machine, a claim that has been denied by officials, according to the Chieftain.
Until Patton can be found mentally competent by experts, his case will not resume. He has not been asked to enter a plea yet, CBS News reported.
