Blaze Forrester, who is charged in three cases with having violent, physical confrontations with various people including his grandfather and a jailer in the Baxter County Detention Center, has undergone a second psychological evaluation. Forrester has been found not fit to proceed in his cases at this time, according to electronic court records.
The 22-year-old Forrester is being held in the Baxter County jail and is expected to be transferred to the Arkansas State Hospital in Little Rock for treatment, when bed space opens in the facility.
Technically, Forrester is being committed to the custody of the Department of Human Services for detention, care and treatment until restoration of his fitness to proceed is achieved or it is determined his condition would preclude that from happening.
The director of DHS or his designee has been ordered to report to the Baxter County Circuit Court one way or the other no later than 10 months from the date of the entry of the not fit to proceed commitment order.
This is the second evaluation done on Forrester. It was requested after his defense attorney, Mark Cooper, disagreed with the conclusion reached in the first evaluation. Since Forrester’s cases proceeded after the results of the first evaluation were received, it can be assumed he was found fit to proceed in the initial evaluation.
Forrester’s first charges stemmed from an attack on his grandfather. The grandfather reported Forrester became angry with his elderly relative when told to put his shirt on before leaving the house May 31st last year.
Forrester was reported to have repeatedly hit the older man about the face and head. The victim told law officers he did not believe his grandson was ever going to stop hitting him.
While an inmate in the Baxter County Detention Center in June following his arrest for the attack on his grandfather, Forrester is reported to have punched a jailer. The incident occurred while the jailer was moving Forrester from C-Pod to the detox cell for his own protection. It was reported Forrester had been spitting on the floor in the C-Pod area, and his fellow inmates were not happy and threatening to beat him up.
After being hit by Forrester, the jailer went behind the booking counter and retrieved a Taser. When Forrester saw the Taser, he is reported to have run into the detox cell and slammed the door behind him. The jailer told Forrester to get on the ground, but the inmate refused. The jailer opened the door to the detox cell and Forrester charged the jailer who then deployed the Taser.
Forrester then ran down the hall toward the housing area until he fell in front of a bathroom door and began yelling, “I’m done, I’m done.”
When the jailer shut the Taser off, Forrester grabbed the lead wires and pulled on them breaking the connection.
The jailer went for another Taser, and Forrester took that opportunity to run into the multi-use room and close the door behind him, holding it shut. A number of law officers arrived on the scene and assisted the jailer in opening the door, subduing Forrester and placing him into a restraint chair and moving him into the detox cell.
Just before Christmas last year, Forrester was arrested again after having confrontations with people at a local movie theater and a fast food restaurant.
During the episode at the theater, a person later identified as Forrester punched a pregnant female in the face. The female’s husband reported having a verbal disagreement with Forrester prior to the attack, occurring as they were leaving the theater.
Approximately 20 minutes after the incident at the theater, Forrester allegedly showed up at a fast food restaurant, leaned into a vehicle parked in the drive-thru and punched the driver in the face.
There was no indication in court records there was any relationship between Forrester and the victims.
At the time of the December incidents, Forrester was out on bond on charges stemming from the attack on his grandfather and the jailer at the detention center.
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