KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A retired longtime Knox County law officer accused of abusing department drug fund money isn't able to stand trial today and needs to be evaluated to see if he can be returned to competency, a U.S. magistrate judge has ruled.
David Henderson, the former narcotics chief for the Knox County Sheriff's Office, is awaiting trial in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on a felony count of conspiracy to commit program fraud. A grand jury indicted him in early 2022.
Defense attorney Rob Kurtz has argued for more than a year that his client is in declining mental health with fading mental acuity.
Henderson needs to be able to assist in his own defense and to understand what's happening with his prosecution, Kurtz argues. But medical experts and his own wife have watched him steadily decline since 2021, the attorney has said.
Government lawyers are dubious.
Several experts -- a clinical neuropsychologist, a forensic psychiatrist and another psychiatrist with forensic psychiatric experience -- have evaluated Henderson.
Two found him to be unable to stand trial; one said it wasn't even a close call.
The government's expert suspects he's malingering.
Weighing all the reports and testimony gathered over the last 18 months or so, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill McCook said in a ruling issued Monday that at a minimum everyone agreed he had a mental defect of some kind.
"While there is some evidence that (Henderson) could be malingering to some extent, at this time the preponderance of the evidence shows that (Henderson) is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense," McCook wrote.
She directed that Henderson remain free for the moment, until the U.S. Bureau of Prisons can find a federal medical center where he can be tested, evaluated and perhaps treated such that prosecution can resume.
She's giving the process up to four months. She's scheduled a follow-up hearing in November.
McCook is asking the federal bureau to find a medical center as close to Knoxville as possible.
Henderson formerly ran the Sheriff's Office narcotics division, and used money available to the department to dispense favors and take care of friends and personal whims, court records allege.
An FBI investigation raised questions about how he used seized drug fund money and a drug expense card.
The defense argues exams show Henderson has probable Lewy body dementia.
The court ruled the law is clear: Henderson needs committal because there's evidence he can't understand what's happening in his prosecution. He'll be hospitalized for up to four months, according to the court.
"During this time, the facility shall determine whether there exists a substantial probability that (Henderson) will attain the capacity to stand trial or participate in other further proceedings in this case to take place in the foreseeable future," the court wrote.
Henderson can remain free until the BOP finds a place for him, according to McCook.
The magistrate judge set a Nov. 28 hearing to check back on his progress.
