Man Held in Crashes, Shooting to Receive Competency Hearing

Date of competency hearing not set

A Tarrant County judge has granted a request for an Arlington man facing several charges, including homicide, to undergo a competency evaluation to determine if he is fit to stand trial.

Thomas Harper, 27, is accused of crashing his vehicle in Dec., 2011, at the intersection of North Collins Street and Brown Boulevard, causing an eight-car wreck, killing another driver and then shooting a good Samaritan who ran to the crash scene to provide assistance.

Ezekiel Tyson, Jr., Harper's attorney, requested the competency evaluation to establish his client's general mental state.  The evaluation will not address his specific mental state on the day of the incident, however.

Arlington police have said Harper had evidence of cannabanoids in his system at the time of the crash -- the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana.

Tyson was quick to point out, however, that the whole story has not yet been told.

"That's something to get into when we have a chance to look at all (the evidence) that they have," Tyson said.  "But, from what we've seen so far, there's been some glaring indescrepancies."

A date for the competency evaluation has not been set.
 

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