Ex-BDO Employee Not Competent to Stand Trial in 2022 Atlanta Shooting Spree, Judge Says

Kengne has been in jail since she was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Aug. 22, 2022, hours after she allegedly shot and killed Michael Shinners and Wesley Freeman, injured another man and held a fourth victim at gunpoint.

Kengne was indicted in November 2022 and charged with two counts of murder, two counts of felony murder, five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and single counts of attempted burglary and false imprisonment.

In her order, Ingram said the court had ordered a psychological evaluation of Kengne, which was conducted June 17, 2024, and that “it was the opinion of the psychologist that the defendant was not competent to stand trial.” Prosecutors are not challenging the opinion at this time, the judge noted.

“After consideration of all the medical and psychological evidence and the observations of defense counsel, the court finds that the defendant is incapable of understanding the nature of the charges against (her) or of understanding the object of the proceedings against (her) and is incapable of rendering (her) attorney the proper assistance in (her) defense,” Ingram wrote in her order.

Once in the custody of the Department of Behavioral Health, Kengne’s mental capacity is to be re-evaluated. The department must report its findings within 90 days about whether she can stand trial and if there is a substantial probability that she will “attain mental competency to stand trial in the foreseeable future,” the judge said.

If Kengne is found to be mentally incompetent but there is a good chance that she will become competent, the department must keep her in custody and continue to treat her for up to nine months.

Shinners was found dead and another man found injured around 1:45 p.m. on Aug. 22 at the first shooting scene, the 1280 West condominium building on West Peachtree Street. Shinners was the property manager, and the man who was shot and survived is the building’s chief engineer.

The two were found in the management office. Beacon Management Services, the company that manages 1280 West, described Kengne as a “disgruntled resident of the building.” The Atlanta Police Department has said the victims were “likely targeted.”

Thirty minutes after the men were found at the first shooting scene, Freeman, 41, was injured in the second shooting at an office tower at 1100 Peachtree Street, not far from the Colony Square development. Freeman later died at Grady Memorial Hospital. Freeman was Kengne’s direct supervisor at BDO USA, a public accounting firm, between 2018 and 2021. She sued him and others after quitting.

After the second shooting, Kengne fled the scene in a taxi that picked her up at the Starling Atlanta Midtown Hotel on 14th Street around 2:20 p.m. before taking her to a home in Ansley Park. According to her indictment, Kengne walked to the backyard of a home on Robin Hood Lane and approached the rear door with the intent to enter the home.

Kengne intended to remain inside and “commit the felony crime of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” the indictment states. The home belongs to a lawyer who represented her for a short time last year while evaluating a potential claim.

After no one answered the door, Kengne got back into the cab and told the taxi driver to take her to the airport, claiming she was going to pick up someone. She was arrested at the airport without incident.

While in jail, Kengne has filed multiple handwritten motions to Fulton County, though she is represented by an attorney.

During her first appearance hearing, Kengne took the unusual step of directly addressing the judge. Magistrate Judge Todd Ashley asked Kengne several times not to speak during the hearing, but she ignored his direction and insisted the public defender representing her at the hearing was not her lawyer, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Ashley explained several times that, because of the charges against her, Kengne was not eligible for bond and would be able to hire her own attorney later. Kengne continued her attempts to address the judge, but he ended the hearing and dismissed her from the courtroom.

_______

©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.