A man accused in 3 separate Portland homicides was found unable to assist in his defense. Last Wednesday, the judge ordered the Portland man committed to the state hospital for treatment after finding out his mental status. Joseph Kelly Banks was living in a Northeast Portland group home for adults with mental illnesses at the time police say he fatally shot three men in the city in what investigators suspect were random attacks.
Based on state law, the hospital may keep patients who are under a so-called “aid and assist order” for the period of time equal to the maximum sentence the court could impose if the defendant had been convicted. Judge Katharine von Ter Stegge was the judge on the case. She made her ruling after reviewing a report from psychologist Tasha Phillips, who Banks’ defense lawyers asked to evaluate their client.
The lawyer for the defense, Gregory Scholl, submitted Phillips’ report to the judge and shared his belief that Banks is not capable of proceeding at this point. The judge shared the psychologist’s general finding with Banks, who appeared in court briefly Wednesday afternoon.
The judge told Banks that when he is determined to be able to help his defense lawyers, the case will proceed. Banks, 49, has been committed for psychiatric care before. He spent at least a decade committed to psychiatric care in federal custody after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2007 for illegally having a gun as a felon, his second conviction for the crime.
In 2007, Banks had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder, and a forensic mental health evaluation. It was concluded that he would likely be dangerous to others because of his mental illness. The evaluation recommended he be committed for inpatient treatment.
Banks pleaded not guilty this year to a 15-count indictment charging him with three homicides:
— Isaiah Hurst, 39, was found dead from a gunshot wound about 9 a.m. Jan. 2 in the driver’s seat of a brown sedan that had crashed into a tree along the 100 block of North Morgan Street.
– Jeff Ramirez, 35, was in his pickup truck when a bullet pierced the cab and struck him in the torso on Feb. 2. He died behind the wheel of his Honda Ridgeline along Southeast Stark Street near 119th Avenue just before 4 p.m.
– Mark Johnson, 55, was fatally shot on the southern edge of Dawson Park next to his black SUV on North Stanton Street just after noon on March 1.
Banks also is accused in a nonfatal shooting in February near the Ramirez homicide scene and two separate, nonfatal shootings a day before the killing near Dawson Park.
