Troy man shot by officer found not guilty by reason of insanity

A Miami County judge Tuesday found a Troy man charged with felonious assault for threatening a Troy police officer with a knife in January 2015 not guilty by reason of insanity.

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Kenneth Coleman Jr., 33, was shot by a responding police officer during the Jan. 20, 2015, incident outside an apartment on Mayfield Drive. Police said they were asked to check on Coleman after a neighbor reported hearing screaming and loud noises.

In an affidavit, a police detective said Coleman refused to drop a knife while walking toward Officer Jim Short yelling "shoot me."

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Coleman was shot in the legs and hospitalized. He was found incompetent to stand trial in March 2015 and sent to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in Toledo for competency restoration.

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A county grand jury cleared the police officer in the shooting in February 2015.

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Coleman subsequently was indicted on the felonious assault charge in August 2016 after being released from the Toledo facility and living in a group home.

In court Tuesday, Coleman waived a jury trial and agreed to have the case heard by Common Pleas Judge Christopher Gee.

Gee said Coleman signed a stipulated listing of facts agreed to by prosecutors and defense lawyer Jay Lopez. The judge said in reaching his verdict he considered those facts and a recent forensic evaluation of Coleman in which an examiner found Coleman "suffered from a serious mental illness ... he did not know the wrongfulness of his actions and at the time of the offense was not sane."

Gee ruled Coleman met legal criteria of being legally insane at the time of the offense.

An assessment of Coleman to determine whether or not he is now mentally ill will be conducted before another hearing. At that hearing, Gee will determine the next steps to be taken with Coleman, including whether he should be hospitalized for mental treatment.

Coleman will remain in jail until that hearing is held.

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