A judge ruled Brandon Council competent. Here are the next steps in his double-murder trial
A judge declared Brandon Council competent to stand trial, paving the way for his death penalty case to resume Tuesday.
Council — who faces charges in connection to a double murder and robbery at the Conway CresCom bank in 2017 — was examined by two mental health professionals over the weekend. That was after his defense lawyers requested the evaluation on Friday.
“We now no longer believe Mr. Council is incompetent,” defense attorney William Nettles said Monday.
Judge R. Bryan Harwell said he found that Council understood the nature of the charges against him and could help his lawyers in the case.
Monday’s hearing had a noticeably different tone than other parts of the trial. Council entered the courtroom wearing an orange, jail-issued jumpsuit with his arms and legs in cuffs. He wore a sports coat and dress shirt, with no handcuffs, for proceedings before the jury.
The defense’s request came as it was slated to call witnesses on Council’s behalf in the capital trial. If the jury determines Council is guilty, then the penalty phase would start where the panel hears whether he should be executed.
Government lawyers rested their case last week after three days of testimony.
Video surveillance showed Council entering the 16th Avenue branch on Aug. 21, 2017. Inside, he waited about 45 seconds and then shot Donna Major twice at the teller counter. He ran into Katie Skeen’s office where he shot her twice.
Council then went back and shot Major in the head before robbing the bank of about $15,000.
Council stole Skeen’s car and fled to North Carolina. He was arrested by authorities two days later.
In an interview with police, Council sat he went into the bank intending to shooting whoever was inside. He said he was essentially homeless and hit his bottom before committing the robbery.
This story was originally published September 23, 2019 at 11:04 AM.
