A Silver Spring man who was charged with the killing of a gas station clerk in Maryland has been found mentally unfit to stand trial at this time.
A judge during a bond hearing deemed 31-year-old Torrey Moore “a danger to others,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said on Monday. He will stay in police custody without bond to receive further psychiatric evaluation. He’ll undergo a second competency hearing in six months.
A competency hearing is held to determine the ability of a defendant to be put on trial and their ability to assess counsel and their own defense.
“For the purposes of the community safety. It’s important to note that he is not free in that community,” McCarthy said. “He is being held without bond because of the dangerousness, even though it’s still pending as an evaluation for competency.”
McCarthy said Moore will stand trial again on Jan. 6 for a preliminary court hearing, though they don’t believe that date will stand as they anticipate presenting the case before a grand jury.
McCarthy said that Moore must still be arraigned on additional murder counts for the pregnant woman and unborn child and faces another mental competency hearing which is scheduled for June 13, 2023.
Moore was charged with first-degree murder for the killing of a clerk at a Shell gas station in White Oak in early December. Days later, police discovered the body of a pregnant woman in his home, in an “advanced state of decomposition” and that they believe was there since October.
“He’s likely going to be transferred to Clifton T. Perkins Hospital, where he will be evaluated for competency to stand trial for all the matters,” he said.
McCarthy said Moore is expected to return to court on Tuesday.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report.