BURLINGTON — Veronica Lewis, the woman facing federal gun charges after allegedly shooting her firearms instructor in 2015, will be heading to Texas for a federal insanity evaluation.
While both the prosecution and defense agree that an insanity and competency evaluation is necessary, Lewis’ attorney requested the government’s evaluation of Lewis be conducted at her current location, the Cheshire County Department of Corrections in Keene, New Hampshire.
Judge Christina Reiss ruled Thursday that Lewis will instead go to a federal facility in Fort Worth, Texas, for an evaluation to ensure the government has a fair opportunity to rebut Lewis’ planned insanity defense.
Vermont U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan brought federal gun charges against Lewis after Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George dismissed a state attempted murder charge against Lewis. George determined she would not be able to rebut Lewis’ insanity defense.
Lewis is accused of shooting firearms instructor Darryl Montague during a lesson in Westford on June 29, 2015.
Lewis pleaded not guilty to two federal charges in June — one for unlawfully possessing a stolen firearm that had been transported interstate and another for being in possession of a firearm after being found “mentally defective” in a 2013 case in New York.
A superseding indictment was filed on Nov. 14, charging Lewis with stealing Montague’s firearm used in the shooting, using the gun during a crime of violence and possessing a stolen firearm which had been transported in interstate commerce.
Lewis pleaded not guilty to the new charges at a Nov. 25 hearing.
David McColgin, assistant federal public defender and Lewis’ lawyer, made his case for Lewis to remain in New Hampshire and get evaluated by a prosecution expert there.
McColgin argued that due to Lewis’ extensive evaluation and observation during the state court proceedings, there was no need for her to be transferred to the custody of the U.S. Attorney General for additional observation at a Bureau of Prisons facility.
Lewis has been stabilized on her medications and is doing well at the facility in New Hampshire, where she has been since her arrest on federal charges, McColgin wrote.
McColgin wrote in a response to the government’s motion for the evaluation that he was very concerned that Lewis’ stability would be “severely disrupted” by the process of transferring her to a federal medical facility for an evaluation.
“It is likely during any such transfer, which can take several weeks or longer and would involve transfers through multiple facilities, that she would not have access to her medications on the same regular schedule she now has at Cheshire,” he wrote.
Since the only federal medical facility for women is in Fort Worth, Texas, transferring Lewis there would be time-consuming and disruptive, McColgin wrote. She would likely be held at a number of facilities on her way there as the government typically does not transport detainees individually, he wrote.
McColgin also argued that limited Bureau of Prisons capacity would delay the evaluation, and said that aided his argument to have the evaluation done in New Hampshire.
Jonathan Ophardt, assistant U.S. attorney, pushed back on McColgin’s arguments in a motion filed in response.
In state court, defendants have to prove insanity by “a preponderance of the evidence,” a lower standard than the “clear and convincing evidence” standard used in federal court. Ophardt wrote that the evaluations conducted in the state court process were not sufficient due to the different evidence standard and the different charges being considered in federal court.
Bureau of Prisons policies permit a 45-day observation and evaluation period, which exceeds the amount of time that state mental health evaluations usually take.
“The government has a substantial interest in obtaining mental health examinations from its own professional experts,” Ophardt wrote. “BOP psychiatrists and psychologists have extensive experience in conducting mental health examinations, and have developed substantial expertise in the field of competency and insanity evaluations.”
Ophardt wrote that McColgin’s claims that the transport would harm Lewis’ mental state were “conjecture.”
Reiss expressed concern that granting the defense’s request to have Lewis evaluated in New Hampshire would harm the government’s ability to counter her insanity defense.
Reiss said Lewis should be transported to Texas only when a bed is available for her and should be able to return to New Hampshire promptly after the evaluation is completed.
