MUSKEGON, Mich. — The man accused of opening fire on two Muskegon Township police officers in October will be evaluated for mental competency.
On Monday, 60th District Court Judge Mathes ordered Janari Spencer to be examined by mental health professionals before any more criminal proceedings continue.
The 19-year-old faces two counts of assault with intent to murder tied to the morning of October 15 when two officers from the Muskegon Township Police Department were fired at during a response to a disturbance.
Neither officer was hurt, but bullets did hit one of the police cruisers.
Spencer was named as a suspect in the case as local, state, and federal agents searched for him. The U.S. Marshals tracked him down nine days after the shooting at a hotel in Grand Haven.
Police Chief Patrick Vandommelen told FOX 17 the kind of danger caused by the shooting is something no one in his neighborhood should have to face.
"We're just regular people," Vandommelen said. "We go home every day, and that's the goal is to go home every day. And cases like this, it's a hard pill to swallow sometimes."
Muskegon
Chief speaks after man faces charges for shooting at Muskegon Twp officers
The mental evaluation order came during a preliminary hearing, where a judge decides if there is enough evidence in a case that a reasonable jury could make a conviction. No determination on the strength of the legal case was noted in the online records.
A report on Spencer's evaluation is due in mid-February.
