LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office announced the murder indictment Wednesday of Gavin Perkins, the Louisville man who allegedly shot his mother but was repeatedly ruled not competent to stand state trial and was feared to be released soon.

Perkins' case has attracted widespread criticism and interest in recent weeks as it appeared that not only would he not stand trial for the alleged 2018 murder but be released after Central State Hospital officials testified in April they could no longer keep him in custody.

A judge sided with Central State, which said Perkins wasn't benefitting from treatment and the facility could no longer continue to hold him under Kentucky law.

However, Perkins has remained hospitalized by his own choice, according to people familiar with the case.

His bond was set at $500,000 cash bail. He will be arraigned in Jefferson Circuit Court on June 26.

A defense attorney was not listed in court records. 

The family of the Perkins' mother, Ruth, as well as Gov. Andy Beshear had pushed for Cameron's office to take up the case, as they believe he is still a danger. Perkins was in the military and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. 

In a news release Wednesday, Cameron announced a Jefferson County Grand jury indicted Perkins, 44, on one count of murder for allegedly shooting his mother, who was 69. The case was presented to the grand jury by the attorney general's office.

Another judge will again have to find whether Perkins is competent to stand trial.

A spokeswoman for Cameron's office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The case has been compared to that of Cane Madden, a Louisville man who continued to commit crimes, be found incompetent to stand trial but also failed to meet the criteria for involuntary hospitalization, over and over for several years. 

Most recently, Madden was charged with the August 2019 beating and rape of a Louisville child until he was found mentally incompetent to stand trial on March 11, 2020. 

In multiple instances in the past, Madden has been found incompetent and failed to meet this mental health criteria — meaning he repeatedly walked free — dodging both incarceration and mental health treatment. In Madden's case, psychiatrist ruled treatment would not help Madden. 

On April 1, 2021, Beshear signed a bill into law that patched that gap in state law.

Under the new law, a defendant found incompetent has an evidentiary hearing, in front of a judge, to determine if there is a probability the person committed the crime. The defendant will have an attorney for this hearing.

If a judge finds there is a preponderance of evidence of guilt, there will be another hearing to determine whether it is in the best interest of the defendant and the community for the person to be involuntarily hospitalized using four new criteria, such as whether the person was a danger to self or others.

If the defendant is hospitalized, a judge would periodically review the status of the person.

But that law was meant for defendants with multiple crimes.

Perkins' record is clear outside of the murder charge, and it is unclear if prosecutors could just the law since his crimes occurred before it was passed. 

Prosecutors believe Perkins shot his mother, Ruth Perkins, to death in April 2018. He was originally charged with murder, but that charge was dismissed in September 2021, after he was found incompetent to stand trial twice, based on competency evaluations conducted by medical professionals.

Tom Wine, the Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney at the time, filed two petitions in an effort to keep Perkins hospitalized. The second petition led to a civil trial, in which the judge allowed Perkins to be involuntarily hospitalized for 60 days.

When that period came to an end earlier this month, the new Commonwealth's Attorney, Gerina Whethers, filed another petition asking that Perkins be hospitalized for another 360 days.

The petition was denied.

Family members Kirsten Russell and Chad Perkins are concerned about what could happen if Gavin Perkins doesn't remain hospitalized.

"We are just trying to prevent really bad things from happening," Chad Perkins said.

They both talked to their brother in the second to last court hearing and told him how devastated they were for what he did.

According to them, he suffers from persecutory delusional disorder.

"He believes that specifically government agents are out to get him," Chad Perkins said. "The FBI, the police, CIA, anyone like that."

On June 9, Cameron tweeted: "As Kentucky's chief law enforcement officer, I've requested that the governor allow my office to intervene in the Gavin Perkins case. Doing so allows us to use all of the prosecutorial authority to help keep communities safe."

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