TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Leon County judge has ruled that the man accused of stabbing five co-workers at Dyke Industries on September 11, 2019 is competent to stand trial and has now been ordered to return back to custody.
Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll issued an order on Wednesday requiring Antwann Brown, 41, to return to the custody of the Leon County Sheriff's office no later than Oct. 19 for another mental health hearing.
This comes after a doctor completed a competency evaluation and found that Brown was "competent to proceed."
A competency evaluation is a court-ordered mental health assessment to determine how much a defendant understands their charges and alleged offense, as well as his or her capacity to understand court proceedings and help a lawyer in their defense.
In January, Brown was found incompetent to stand trial after a judge ordered him to be placed with the Department of Children and Families and to undergo two mental health assessments.
Since the incident, Brown has been treated for mental illness in Pensacola and at Capital Regional Medical Center's psychiatric unit.
In May, DCF sent a letter to Judge James Hankinson, stating Brown was competent to proceed and no longer met the criteria for continued involuntary commitment. In June, his attorneys filed a notice that Brown is planning to "claim insanity" in the case due to his long history of mental illness, which included delusional conduct and hallucinations.
Brown's attorneys listed 17 witnesses he plans to call to back up his claims, including several people who work at Dyke Industries.
Court documents say that on the morning of September 11, 2019, Brown confronted his warehouse supervisor after he found out the business might be letting him go.
The supervisor told investigators Brown reached into his pocket, as if he had a weapon so the supervisor grabbed a piece of wood and asked Brown to clock out.
Before he left, documents said Brown argued with an office assistant about being able to use the phone but he eventually left the building.
That's when he called his pastor to "confront him because his soul was evil." Brown also said that he had a "gift that allows him to see into a person's soul," and claimed his pastor stole his gift and ability to sing.
However, contrary to what Brown told police, the pastor said Brown called "begging" the pastor to pray and forgive him, leading the concerned pastor to call 9-1-1.
After that phone call, the arrest report said Brown came back into the building and attacked five co-workers with the knife. He told investigators that when he went back into the building, he could see demons in the people he attacked.
Brown also told police that he was diagnosed with two mental illnesses and hadn't taken his medication since March.
Brown is facing five counts of attempted first degree murder and a single charge for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is due back in court on Oct. 20 for another mental health hearing.
