The man accused in the Livonia shooting deaths of four people earlier this summer has been found incompetent to stand trial, but restorable.
Gage Wade Pierce, 25, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the June 9 shooting of his mother, Holly Kimball, 53; his father, Sterling Pierce, 58; his brother, Tanner Pierce, 22; and Tanner’s girlfriend, Nevaeh Finch, 21, at the family home on Rensellor Street in Livonia.
In court on Thursday, Aug. 20, 16th District Court Judge Sean Kavanagh said a competency evaluation deemed Pierce “incompetent and not able to assist his attorney,” but noted that evaluators believe he is restorable to competency.
The finding means the case against Pierce cannot move forward until he is restored
to competency.
His attorney, Robert Mullen, said he agreed with the evaluation.
“I strongly believe that Mr. Pierce is restorable because he lacks a mental health background as indicated in the report,” Mullen said. “He's pretty smart. He's intelligent enough, and he certainly has demonstrated interest in wanting to try to assist counsel.”
But Mullen said Pierce disagreed with the report, noting a breakdown in Pierce’s ability to assist the attorney in his representation.
Pierce, appearing via Zoom from Wayne County Jail, was allowed to make a statement during the hearing.
He said he believed his behavior had been misinterpreted and could be attributed to his confinement and lack of normal social interaction.
“It has been falsely misconstrued in those reports that my expressions have been unduly limited in the sense of, firstly, I am confined in a space where it's a sub-dayroom room in … this jail where I am stuck in such a shielded space with lack of sunlight,” he said, noting he was also “confined with other persons that you would not label sane.”
He also objected to references in the report to instances where he “laughed and chuckled.”
“Now, this sort of imbues abstractly alone an heir of a facetious character,” he said. “And this is totally errant.”
Kavanagh told Pierce he could discuss obtaining an independent competency evaluation with his attorney.
More than a dozen family and friends attended the hearing, with some shedding tears and sharing hugs after leaving the courtroom. All declined comment.
Livonia police responded about 5:30 p.m. on June 9 to the family’s home at 19332 Rensellor St. on reports of a shooting.
Police found Tanner Pierce and Nevaeh Finch inside a bedroom of the residence with multiple gunshot wounds, prosecutors said. Holly Kimball and Sterling Pierce were found on a backyard patio, also with multiple gunshot wounds.
All four were pronounced dead at the scene.
Prosecutors allege Gage Pierce used a semi-automatic rifle to shoot the victims multiple times.
Gage Pierce was taken into custody at the scene.
Pierce stood mute during his arraignment June 12. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
A conviction of first-degree murder in Michigan carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for each count. He is also charged with four counts of felony firearm, which carry a two-year sentence for each count.
The next court date is set for Oct. 29.
Contact reporter Laura Colvin: lcolvin@hometownlife.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Livonia man accused of killing family found incompetent to stand trial
