The former medical technician charged in the killing of a millionaire philanthropist in his Montgomery County, Maryland, senior living apartment has been found not competent to stand trial during a hearing Friday.
Maurquise James, 22, was indicted in April for first-degree murder in the death of 87-year-old millionaire philanthropist Robert Fuller, Jr., who was found dead in his apartment at the Cogir Potomac Senior Living Facility, with a gunshot wound to the head, on Valentine’s Day.
During a competency hearing Friday, the Montgomery County Circuit Court judge agreed with the doctor from the Maryland Department of Health in concluding that James is not capable of assisting in his own defense.
“The court will find, based on the evaluation of Dr. Smith, that Mr. James at this point is not competent to proceed to trial,” said Circuit Court Judge Karla Smith. “And that he, again, based on the evaluation of Dr. Smith, presents a danger to himself, to others, to the property of others. And based on that, the court will have him committed to work on competency.”
Court records show that in March, when the case was still in District Court, a judge ruled he was competent to stand trial. The defense then requested another evaluation, where the same doctor who conducted the first exam, Dr. Julie Smith, found James not competent.
James will be held at a state psychiatric facility until his next competency hearing in six months. That hearing is scheduled for the morning of Nov. 9.
A competency exam in Maryland only looks at whether a defendant is able to understand the charges and help his lawyer. It does not look at whether the defendant was sane at the time of the crime.
Montgomery County prosecutors have said that James planned for up to a month to kill Fuller, who was living with his partner at Cogir. Prosecutors have not yet suggested a potential motive for the killing.
Investigators have cited several pieces of evidence, including surveillance video they said showed a masked person using a secured side door near the time of the shooting. A witness also told detectives the person’s unusual gait in the footage matches James’.
Investigators additionally pointed to discarded paper towels and multiple wigs collected during the investigation.
Court documents point to another incident after the shooting in which investigators said a black napkin and a nearby paper towel were used to try to prop open a side door at the senior living facility. James is accused of being the person who put them there, which he denied when questioned.
Prosecutors also said ballistic testing links the gun to Fuller’s killing and a second case James faces in Baltimore, where he is accused of shooting at a Maryland State Trooper during a traffic stop, days after Fuller’s death.
James was indicted in Baltimore on April 8, charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder felony counts, and six gun-related misdemeanors.
In March, Fuller’s partner, Linda Buttrick, filed a lawsuit alleging that Cogir failed to intervene when employees reported James’ concerning behaviors and the facility failed to protect Buttrick after the killing.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo and Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.
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