TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — A man accused of killing a Terre Haute police detective has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial.
According to court documents obtained by FOX59/CBS4, a judge overseeing Shane Meehan’s case determined Meehan is suffering from a mental disease that makes him “mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and the consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense.”
Meehan was previously charged with the murder of federal officer Greg Ferency, attempted arson of federal property and using a firearm during a crime of violence causing death.
According to previous reports, Meehan arrived at the secured parking lot for the Terre Haute RA building on July 7, 2021, where he proceeded to throw a Molotov Cocktail.
A short time later, Meehan encountered Ferency which ended with Meehan reportedly shooting the former federal officer. Ferency was a veteran of the Terre Haute Police Department for 30 years.
Before his death, Ferency was working with the FBI Task Force.
After the first altercation, Meehan reportedly got involved in a shootout with another officer before entering his truck and fleeing the federal building’s parking lot.
Meehan was later found by law enforcement at a hospital in Terre Haute where he was undergoing surgery for his gunshot wounds. Investigators subsequently recovered three Molotov Cocktails and a firearm while searching Meehan’s truck.
The competency hearing also concluded with Meehan being left in the custody of the Attorney General’s Office, which has been tasked with ensuring the suspect is hospitalized in a facility where he will receive any necessary medical treatment until his medical condition improves. This period cannot exceed four months.
Another competency report will be filed after Meehan’s time in the medical facility has concluded when Meehan has “attained the necessary capacity to continue the proceedings, the report will be due at the time of that determination.”
