A Chittenden County judge heard conflicting testimony on Monday about whether a man accused of shooting three Palestinian college students in Burlington is competent to stand trial.
At the center of Monday’s day-long hearing was whether Jason Eaton had a rational understanding of the legal case against him.
Eaton, 50, faces three counts of attempted second-degree murder; each charge carries a potential life sentence. He’s been held in prison since the November 2023 shooting.
Police say Eaton stepped off a porch and, without speaking, shot and wounded Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad while they were on an evening walk in Burlington’s Old North End. The three childhood friends were visiting Awartani’s uncle for the Thanksgiving holiday.
All three were hospitalized and Awartani, who was hit in the spine, was paralyzed from the waist down.
Eaton had previously been found competent to stand trial, but his attorneys disagreed and hired their own expert, who found him not competent.
According to testimony on Monday, Eaton has said he was acting on orders from American and Israeli intelligence agencies. He told mental health examiners that the CIA had contacted him through an FM radio and Bluetooth.
Eaton has filed motions asking to move his case to federal court so he can use the “public authority defense” — a legal claim where a defendant admits to the crime but is granted immunity because they were acting on government orders.
Dr. Fabien Saleh, a forensic psychologist hired by Eaton’s attorneys, told the court on Monday that based on his interview with Eaton and his review of police and medical records, Eaton is not competent to stand trial.
”He doesn’t believe that he committed a crime, he lacks the rational understanding of the crime,” Saleh said. “It’s clear he’s a psychotic individual with untreated delusions.”
Judge John Pacht, at one point, appeared skeptical. He asked Saleh if he’d considered that Eaton might be making up the story about the CIA.
“Here’s a smart guy who appears to be under performing in many areas,” Pacht said. “Why can’t this be a choice?”
Dr. Keelin Garvey, a forensic psychologist who performed Eaton’s first court-ordered evaluation, found him competent in two examinations. She told the court Monday that she didn’t find evidence that Eaton suffered from any psychotic disorders and instead diagnosed him with narcissistic personality disorder and ADHD.
Garvey said Eaton was able to discuss his defense strategies in a logical way and understand the court proceedings. She also said that Eaton acknowledged that he sometimes gets involved in conspiracy theories that are a little far-fetched.
“I found him able to consider the possibility that his ideas might be wrong,” Garvey said. “I can’t recall a time that someone whose delusion has ever said that they might not be right.”
Pacht didn’t issue a ruling at the end of hearing and gave prosecutors and defense attorneys two weeks to file additional written briefs on the issue.
Both sides reiterated their arguments to reporters after Monday’s hearing.
“I believe he is competent, I believe he is intelligent, and I believe that what he is doing is intentional,” Chittenden County state attorney Sarah George said.
If Pacht deems Eaton incompetent to stand trial, the court would hold a hospitalization hearing to determine if he should be moved to a treatment facility.
Margaret Jansch, Eaton’s public defender, told reporters her client was clearly incompetent.
“Mr. Eden suffers from delusions,” Jansch said. “He has repeatedly said that he has been in contact with the CIA. He has described being retained through his Bluetooth and the FM radio — it's implausible.”
Pacht also decided Monday to keep the case on track for a June trial and schedule a hearing to finalize the jury questionnaire next week.
