GREENVILLE — The trial of a Greenville teen accused of felonious assault was postponed Tuesday in Darke County Common Pleas Court.
Prior to the start of the trial, scheduled for Tuesday, Dave Rohrer, the court-appointed attorney for Ryan M. Monahan, 18, filed a motion for a competency hearing, saying his client did not fully understand the seriousness of the charges nor the potential penalties, and therefore is not able to fully aid in his own defense.
Monahan was indicted by a grand jury with four second-degree felony counts of felonious assault, and one third-degree felony count of tampering with evidence. The charges stem from an incident June 9 when Monahan purportedly fired a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle at a vehicle filled with four juveniles. A girl was reportedly grazed in the neck by one of the rounds. After an investigation by Greenville Police, Monahan was arrested August 1. He is currently free on his own recognizance.
Both the defendant and his mother, Julie Monahan, took the stand to answer questions posed by Rohrer, Darke County Assistant Prosecutor James Bennett, and Darke County Common Pleas Court Judge Jonathan P. Hein.
Bennett sought to show the court Monahan was fully capable of understanding the charges, and asked if he understood the plea deal offered by the prosecution, in this case, a four-year prison sentence with two years mandatory.
During the questioning of Monahan by Bennett, Rohrer objected to the assistant prosecutor’s tone of voice, saying “my client’s not deaf.” Judge Hein overruled Rohrer’s objection.
“Am I intimidating you Mr. Monahan?” asked Bennett.
“Yes,” replied Monahan.
“You just don’t know if you want to take the deal, right?” asked Bennett.
“Of course I’m not going to take the deal,” responded Monahan.
Neither the defense nor Monahan’s mother were able to pinpoint what disabilities the accused may suffer, as the mother admitted she has never had him diagnosed by a professional.
After stating the defendant had difficulty reading and writing, Bennett produced Monahan’s handwritten statement to Greenville Police from the night of the incident. He asked his mother to find any misspelled words in the 16-line statement. She could only find three.
“So just so I’m clear, your son hasn’t sought any mental health treatment while he’s been in Darke County, Ohio. He hasn’t made an appointment, he hasn’t seen anybody, he’s on no [medications]?” asked Bennett.
“No he is not,” Julie Monahan stated.
Judge Hein told both parties he would issue a written decision, with no precise expectation of when the ruling would be completed.
