A Tucson man who suffered a stoke while jailed as he awaited trial on suspicion of first-degree murder is incompetent to stand trial, a Pima County Superior Court judge ruled.
The ruling this week by Judge Mark Hotchkiss says Dirk Barret Prather notes that the severity of the stroke was likely worsened due a "delayed diagnosis" at the jail.
"It is uncontroverted the Defendant suffered a massive ischemic stroke while in custody at the Pima County Jail approximately two months after being arrested and indicted in this matter," the oder states. "The evidence reflects that the stroke was not treated as quickly as it otherwise might have been due in part on initial medical imaging."
That resulted in "profound deficits" for Prather, the judge said.
A May 12 hearing is set to determine the next steps in the case. Prather, meanwhile, remains in custody.
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Prather was arrested in the April 2025 shooting of 44-year-old Clayton Moore Bishop, who had been staying at Prather's house on West 21st Street near South Sixth Avenue, Tucson police have said.
Prather told a neighbor that he shot a homeless man in the head self defense. He also claimed Bishop "confessed to a lot of murders," and that the shooting happened on a night they were both drinking and he had taken "a lot" of Adderall, court files show.
