LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Though he was not present, Tyler Poole, 26, of Mansfield, Ohio was the center of attention in courtroom two of the Edgar County Courthouse on the afternoon of Monday, May 6.
Poole was arrested on July 21, 2023 and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Charles K. (CK) Nay of Paris. Nearly a year after his arrest, the case is being continued to Monday, Aug. 5 at 2:30 p.m. in the same room of the Edgar County Courthouse.
Monday’s fitness hearing was the latest in a long series of check-ins for Poole, who was found unfit for trial by the court back in November 2023.
Poole was to be transferred to the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Chester Mental Health Center near Chester, Ill., but was only recently admitted.
Public defender Nathaniel Harsy, special prosecutor Michael Havera and judge David W. Lewis were all present in the court and noted Poole’s “report process is not complete” due to the delayed transferring.
According to State’s Attorney Phil Dobelstein, health facilities across Illinois and around the country are overcrowded, delaying both treatment and trials for Poole and many others.
“They don’t have enough bed space for the people who aren’t fit for trial,” Dobelstein told a Prairie Press reporter.
The IDHS can attempt to rehabilitate an unfit defendant charged with a felony for a year if there is substantial reason to believe rehabilitation is possible. If there is no substantial reason to believe rehabilitation is possible or that the defendant can stand trial and plead, a discharge hearing will be held. In a discharge hearing, the prosecution will try to provide enough evidence to convince the court the defendant could be found guilty of the accused crime.
Lewis observed that the court is drawing close to the first anniversary of Poole’s initial fitness ruling.
“We may be having to make some decisions depending on the department’s findings,” Lewis explained.