A man accused of assaulting two Korean American sisters at a liquor store in West Baltimore last year has been deemed incompetent to stand trial.
Daryl Doles, 51, was indicted on 22 counts — including attempted murder and hate crime charges — for the violent rampage, during which he allegedly hit the victims with a cement block and attacked two other Asian-owned liquor stores.
The cement block incident, which was caught on surveillance video, occurred at Wonderland Liquor Store in the 2000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue at around 11:45 p.m. on May 2 last year.
The sisters were closing the store when Doles allegedly showed up, kicked a display window and attacked them.
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The Wonderland attack was reportedly Doles’ third target. His rampage allegedly started at Linden Discount Liquors at 904 West North Avenue, where he was refused entry for not wearing a mask, and continued to nearby 40/40 Liquors at 2139 Pennsylvania Avenue.
After being barred from Linden Discount, Doles allegedly returned “with a large piece of lumber and attacked the security guard,” according to Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. Then, at 40/40, he allegedly “kicked a display window, and said ‘f*ck Chinese.’”
Doles appeared before the Baltimore City Circuit Court via Zoom on Wednesday where the judge ruled that him incompetent to stand trial, based on a psychiatric evaluation.
“Based on the opinion of the evaluators at the Department of Health, I find beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant is incompetent to stand trial and dangerous to himself and others,” the judge said, as per WBAL-TV 11. The defense and prosecution were reportedly in agreement.
Doles has been in jail since the time of his arrest hours after the attacks. The latest ruling means he will be committed to a mental health facility instead of facing trial.
Feature Image via WJZ
