Judge commits man accused of arson, making terroristic threat to Department of Mental Health
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man who was accused of arson in 2021 was ordered to be committed to the Missouri Department on Thursday.
Dominque Neighbors, 38, was charged with first-degree making a terroristic threat, second-degree attempted arson, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of an illegal weapon. Court documents say the DMH will examine and treat Neighbors at Fulton State Hospital – or another facility -- and determine if he is mentally fit to stand trial within six months.
According to previous reporting, police allegedly found Neighbors trying to light a Molotov cocktail behind the Boone County Courthouse in April 2021.
Recently, the DMH has run into issues with the availability of beds at mental health facilities. Last week, there were 314 people in Missouri jails awaiting treatment from the DMH. In addition, there were 268 people also waiting for evaluations to determine if they are competent to stand trial. There were 297 people awaiting evaluations in November.
In a separate case in Cole County on Wednesday for a woman accused of murdering a toddler, Debra Miles, of the DMH, said Quatavia Givens was assigned to receive treatment at Fulton State Hospital and is currently on the wait list. However, due to an increase in demand for services, there is currently not a bed available for Givens to receive treatment. Givens was ordered to receive treatment in August, but has not been able to receive treatment.
Miles said the hospital has 75 beds designated for competency restoration. She said all beds at the hospital, regardless of their intended use are full,
