By Kate White
The Charleston Gazette
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A judge said Thursday that the man accused of shooting Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum to death two years ago is mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Tennis Melvin Maynard, 38, of Delbarton, will be committed to a psychiatric hospital for the rest of his life.
Maynard, who is charged with first-degree murder, had been awaiting trial in a state-owned psychiatric hospital. Maynard allegedly shot Crum as he sat in his police cruiser eating lunch on April 3, 2013, in downtown Williamson.
He then fled to Delbarton, where police found him. Maynard then allegedly pointed a gun at Mingo County Sheriff’s Deputy Norman Mines. Mines then shot Maynard several times.
Besides murder, Maynard is also charged with attempted murder for allegedly pointing the gun at Mines and fleeing the scene. He pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment hearing in May 2013.
Last March, Cabell County Circuit Court Judge Paul T. Farrell postponed Maynard’s trial and ordered him moved from the Western Regional Jail to the William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston. The judge did not give a reason for postponing the trial and did not set a new trial date.
The hospital treats patients’ psychiatric illness until the patient has gained competency to stand trial and can be returned to the judicial system, according to its website.
At a previous hearing, Farrell ordered the postponement before having the results of a psychiatric evaluation requested by Maynard’s attorney Richard Weston.
The judge made the decision after meeting with Maynard, Weston and Kanawha County prosecutors, who have been assigned to the case, behind closed doors to discuss the evaluation.
According to state law, an inmate may be moved from jail to a state-operated psychiatric hospital if a doctor deems the inmate incompetent.
In November, 2013, Weston asked that Dr. Bobby Miller of Huntington evaluate Maynard to determine if he is competent to stand trial,
In 2010, Maynard checked into at least two psychiatric facilities for unknown reasons. Maynard’s brother told the Gazette-Mail that Maynard’s mental state changed after a coal mining accident in 2007 in Alabama. Mental trauma from the experience caused Maynard to stay awake for days at a time, his brother said.
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