A judge declared a Bradenton man awaiting trial on murder charges in the August 2017 double homicide at a Longboat Key resort incompetent to stand trial.
Twelfth Circuit Judge Brian Iten ordered Darryl Hanna Jr., now 30, to a one-year community release April 4, finding him in a “persistent vegetative state.”
Hanna’s mother, Patricia Hanna, was named her son’s guardian in January because he’d become incapacitated due to stroke and traumatic brain injury, Hanna’s attorneys stated in a court paper.
Hanna was arrested by the Longboat Key Police Department for second-degree murder and robbery Aug. 10, 2017, after being caught on tape in the lobby of the Zota Resort, 4711 Gulf of Mexico Drive.
Timothy Hurley, 59, of Sarasota, and security guard Kevin Carter, 51, of Bradenton, died in the attack. Hurley was a night manager and Carter a security guard at the hotel.
Hanna was in custody at the Manatee County jail less than a month when he began fainting in his cell, according to court and jail records.
In the judge’s conditional release order, he rejected a defense request for treatment at a state facility due to a “substantial probability” Hanna won’t regain competency.
The judge ordered supervision through the county’s pretrial release program and required Hanna remain at Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton “until discharge is appropriate.”
The judge tasked Hanna’s attorney to file monthly affirmations as to his incapacity.
The attorney must notify the court if Hanna’s condition “materially improves,” according to Iten’s order.
In the order, the judge listed four reports from three physicians, including doctors who had opined in Hanna’s guardianship proceedings, supporting his decision.
Also, in court documents, the defense attorneys criticized Hanna’s care while in the jail, saying MCSO and its contracted health care provider, Armor Correctional Health Services, “failed mightily” after Hanna passed out twice, Aug. 23, 2017, and Sept. 8, 2017. A deputy at the jail found Hanna on the floor at 5:28 a.m. Sept. 9, 2017, and he was transported to a hospital an hour later.
After Hanna’s arrest, Chief Pete Cumming announced he hoped to bring the perpetrator to justice.
“The case is what it is,” he said April 13, agreeing with the judge’s decision not to require the sheriff to continue providing Hanna with 24/7 custody, housing and medical care.
“It’s been so long ago, we’re over it,” Cumming added.
“We’ve moved on to other criminals.”