CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cuyahoga County judge on Monday set a deadline for restoring the mental competency of De’Lawnte Hardy, the man charged with killing Cleveland police officer Jamieson Ritter during a July 2024 confrontation.
County prosecutors and public defenders agreed to a new restoration deadline of Feb. 20, according to the order by Common Pleas Judge Ashley Kilbane. She previously ruled that Hardy’s monthslong refusal to take court-ordered medication to treat his schizophrenia should not count against the state’s one-year window to restore him.
Defendants in criminal cases must be found legally competent—able to understand the proceedings and assist in their defense—for the case to proceed…