Longboat murder suspect files for incompetence ruling

Expert appointed to examine Hanna and report back to the court by April 13.

By Bret Hauff
| 8:00 a.m. March 28, 2018

Darryl Hanna has been charged with two counts of first degree felony murder and one count of first degree felony armed robbery.

Longboat Key
News

The attorney for a now-incapacitated suspect in the double murder at the Zota Beach Resort less than a year ago has asked the court to determine whether his client is mentally fit to stand trial.

Darryl Hanna Jr., a 28-year-old Manatee County resident police say shot and killed Zota security guard Kevin Carter and night manager Timothy Hurley on the morning of Aug. 4, 2017, has been in a coma since Sept. 10.

Reward not disbursed

Thousands of dollars in reward money for information leading to a closure in the case of Kevin Carter and Timothy Hurley deaths has not been disbursed, according to Manatee County Crime Stoppers.

The reward, a combination of funds from the Town of Longboat Key, the Zota Beach Resort, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Manatee County Gold Star Club and others, has been offered by Manatee County Crime Stoppers, a service that offers rewards for anonymous tips that can solve crimes.

Frank Brunner, a representative with Manatee County Crime Stoppers, said the organization is not ready to disburse a reward.

Although Crime Stoppers has been “working with and communicating with the Longboat Key Police Department,” Brunner said the investigation is still active and the department is still developing leads.

“We may be getting close to distributing a reward, but we’re not quite there yet,” Brunner said.

The case is still listed as an “unsolved murder” on the Manatee County Gold Star Club’s website, a list that Crime Stoppers references on its website.

The money, if not disbursed within a year, will be returned to the donors.

Longboat Key Police arrested Darryl Hanna Jr. on Aug. 9 and charged him with murder in the deaths of Carter and Hurley. The shooting was the first on Longboat since 2000 and just the third homicide in more than 30 years.

The suspect’s latest filing with the court, submitted by his attorney, Jordan Redavid, requests that Hanna be considered mentally unfit for trial and that the case be postponed until he has regained competence to stand before a judge.

For a defendant to be competent to proceed in Florida, according to the state constitution, she or he must have the mental capacity to:

Appreciate the charges or allegations against her or him;
Comprehend the range and nature of potential penalties that may be imposed
Understand the adversarial nature of the legal process;
Disclose to counsel facts pertinent to the proceedings;
Behave appropriately in a courtroom; and
Testify relevantly.

Hanna’s attorney claims his client cannot meet those criteria in his current state.

Judge Brian A. Iten of the 12th Circuit Court last week ordered an examination of Hanna by Dr. Karim Yamout, an expert in neuropsychological assessment of the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral changes that accompany neurological problems. A report on Yamout’s examination is due to the court on April 13.

The motion to be declared incompetent to proceed follows a much longer February filing that, in more than 100 pages, detailed allegations against the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office for improperly treating Hanna after he collapsed while in its custody.

A declaration of incompetency would permit Hanna’s recovery outside of the confines of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and allows for further legal discovery by the state that may not require the defendant’s testimony or cooperation.

This decision, however, does not relinquish Hanna of his trial. The case will remain open with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court until Hanna regains competency to stand trial, or dies.

“The Defendant has been in a comatose state since late 2017 and has mande (sic) no meaningful recovery,” Redavid wrote in his motion. “At this time, he is unable to participate in his defense in any meaningful way and there is no basis to suspect that his condition will change or his competence be restored anytime soon.”