REDWOOD CITY — The Pittsburg man accused of killing East Palo Alto community leader David Lewis is not mentally competent to stand trial and will be sent to a state mental hospital.
Based on the opinions of court-appointed doctors, San Mateo Superior Court Judge Mark Forcum declared the 58-year-old man unable to aid in his own defense, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. Gregory Elarms will be held and treated at a hospital until doctors there decide he is mentally well enough to contest the murder charge against him.
Elarms is due back in court Thursday for a hearing on whether he can be forcibly medicated.
The news came at the end of an intense day of legal action on the case, including a preliminary hearing on the evidence against Elarms, which finished with Forcum deciding there was enough proof for Elarms to stand trial for the slaying.
One of the most interesting moments came during testimony on a possible motive for the killing.
Elarms, a childhood friend of Lewis, saw him talking on his cellphone June 9, 2010, in the parking lot of the San Mateo Medical Center and concluded, for unclear reasons, that the AIDS outreach worker was out to get him, testified San Mateo police Det. Rick Decker. Elarms then followed Lewis to Hillsdale Shopping Center and fired a .44-caliber bullet into the man’s abdomen.
“He described Mr. Lewis as having a stunned look on his face,” Decker said.
Elarms became a suspect in the slaying after calling police and saying his life was in danger because he had witnessed the killing. Decker and another officer went to Elarms’ house, at his request, to pick him up Dec. 18. During the ride back to San Mateo, Elarms said gang members responsible for Lewis’ slaying were trying to kill him.
Once at the station, however, police began to suspect Elarms had pulled the trigger. At one point, Decker confronted him with the video shot by the first officer on scene the evening of the killing as Lewis drew his final breaths.
On the video, Decker said, Lewis told the officer his killer was named “Greg,” but he didn’t know his last name or where he lived. After seeing the clip, Elarms admitted firing the shot that passed through Lewis’ body and sent him stumbling backward. The accused shooter had pulled up in a black Chrysler 300 as Lewis got out of his parked silver Honda.
“He came up on my car, and I shot him,” said Decker, recounting Elarms’ statement.
Defense attorney Jeff Boyarsky questioned whether the admission had been collected legally. He said Elarms requested legal representation several times during the interview.
But the interview proceeded anyway, without defense counsel. However, deputy district attorney Al Giannini said that because the man was not under arrest at that point, Decker didn’t have the authority to get him a lawyer.
Elarms was arrested Dec. 19, after police conducted search warrants and interviewed the man’s family members. Decker said Elarms had also confessed committing the killing to his son.
Lewis rose to prominence after an early life of drug use and incarceration when he began working to get people in his community off drugs. He cofounded East Palo Alto-based drug treatment center Free at Last in 1992, the same year 39 slayings left the city dubbed the per-capita murder capital of the country. His death drew condolences from many prominent public figures, including former president Bill Clinton.
Elarms is being held at San Mateo County jail without bail.
Contact Joshua Melvin at 650-348-4335.
fatal shooting Case
Suspect due back in court Thursday.
