The man accused of starting a fire that destroyed a construction site in Denver earlier this year has been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial, court records show.
Tony Becerra is charged with 28 felonies — 26 counts of arson, burglary of an occupied structure, and criminal mischief — related to a Jan. 2 fire at a construction site off Leetsdale Drive and Colorado Boulevard for a planned apartment building.
The 38-year-old Aurora man was ordered to undergo evaluation at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo last month, the results of which were presented at his hearing on Thursday. Denver District Judge Andrew Luxen issued an order on Thursday finding him incompetent to stand trial.
Documents obtained by CBS News Colorado in January show that family members previously reported to police that Becerra has a “mental condition” and that he “sees and hears things.” Those claims appear in previous arrest and court records, including a 2025 arrest for shoplifting, in which he was taken to a nearby hospital “due to psych issues he was exhibiting.”…