A mentally ill man accused of making a false report about a bomb at a high school has been held in jail for almost a year, despite being found incompetent to stand trial, and he will stay in jail while waiting for a bed at Broughton Hospital to open up. 

Dillon Gregory Ledford, 31, was arrested on June 23, 2022, and accused of calling Bessemer City High School and telling someone there that there was a bomb on campus. He was charged with making a false threat of mass violence against an educational institution.

Ledford told WFAE in an interview that he was being “terrorized by artificial intelligence,” according to the station. He wanted the radio station to warn the public about what he called a “terrorist plot.”

Ledford appeared in court Thursday with his lawyer, Veronika S. Monteleone, who asked that the state dismiss the charge against Ledford, who at that point had been in jail for 343 days. 

Monteleone told Superior Court Judge David Phillips that Ledford is in a state of psychosis, and Broughton has not said when he might be able to be admitted to the hospital. She said that holding him in jail for so long under these circumstances is a due process violation.

Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Hamlin argued in court that state allows for Ledford to be incarcerated while waiting to get into Broughton, and that he has not yet been held for the maximum time allowed by law. She said that Monteleone had no plan for what might happen if Ledford is allowed out of jail.

At that point, Ledford interrupted.

“So you’re saying I’m not being represented properly?” Ledford said. 

“That’s not what I’m saying, I’m saying there’s no—” Hamlin said.

Ledford continued to interrupt, but Phillips told him to be quiet. 

Hamlin said that Monteleone’s motion was premature. Monteleone said that with the amount of time Ledford has served so far, there are “constitutional concerns.” 

“I just don’t think at the time the statute was written, we were contemplating having people remain in custody for this amount of time on a pretty low level felony, all things considered, your honor,” she said.

Phillips said that under state law, Ledford can be held for 39 months, the maximum sentence for his felony charge. He said that Ledford’s evaluations stated that he could eventually be found competent to stand trial, with mental health treatment. 

He ordered that Ledford be required to stay in jail.

In an interview, Monteleone declined to comment on Ledford’s mental health diagnosis, but she said that Ledford’s case is not uncommon. She has several clients waiting for a bed at Broughton Hospital. 

“Everyone in the office has clients who are going through this process, who are either waiting on the evaluation or waiting on a bed,” she said. 

She said that Ledford’s case is the first time she’s asked for a dismissal in a situation like this.

“I hope I made it clear that I don’t think that the state is at fault. I don’t think the prosecutor is at fault. I don’t think the judge is at fault, but unfortunately, we can’t just forget about these people, and that’s what’s happening,” she said. 

Monteleone requested that Ledford be psychologically evaluated on July 5, 2022, less than two weeks after his arrest. The results of that evaluation came back on July 14: he was incompetent to stand trial. On Sept. 8, the state requested a second psychological evaluation, but he did not receive that evaluation until Jan. 24, 2023. That evaluator also determined that he did not have the capacity to proceed in court.

In a hearing Feb. 8, Superior Court Judge Justin Davis ordered that Ledford be committed to Broughton for treatment, but so far no bed has opened up, so Ledford remains incarcerated in the Gaston County Detention Center, where he refuses to take medication for his mental health.

“Every single client who’s been found incapable to proceed is waiting months and months and months to go to Broughton,” Monteleone said. And in jail, “He’s not getting any help.”

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