BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Okey Payne, the man accused of shooting and killing a maintenance worker at a Lafayette assisted living facility has been deemed incompetent to stand trial, according to the Boulder district attorney.
The DA said he is at the state hospital and will begin the process of restoring him to competency. He remains in custody throughout the process.
Payne was arrested Feb. 3 after shooting Ricardo Medina-Rojas inside the lobby of Legacy at Lafayette where he lived.
Payne said Medina-Rojas, and possibly others had been stealing from him, police said. According to the arrest report, Payne told police two $100 bills were stolen from his wallet.
Payne said he wanted the thefts to stop so he went to the lobby with his gun and waited for Medina-Rojas. Payne said he made the decision to shoot after he saw him walk in, police reported.
Payne told police he had two guns taken away from him at the facility prior to the shooting. Payne told police the gun he allegedly admitted to using in the shooting had been given to him by his father when he was 23 years old after his father used it in World War I.
In addition to the suspected theft, Payne said he believed employees were trying to kill him and that he’d woken up with needle marks in his big toe, which he believed were caused by staff members trying to drug him.
The officer who interviewed Payne said the elderly man had difficulty hearing but was “clear headed” and “lucid” while providing detailed information about what happened and did not appear “confused or unable to comprehend questions.”