EAGLE GROVE — A Fort Dodge man accused of killing a co-worker at an Eagle Grove pork processing plant is not competent to stand trial at this time, a Wright County District Court judge ruled on Friday.

Lukouxs Alan Brown, 26, of Fort Dodge, was arrested on Feb. 16 after Wayne Smith, 50, of Fort Dodge, was found dead in the employee locker room at Prestage Foods of Iowa, 3183 Highway 17, outside of Eagle Grove. According to the criminal complaint, Brown cut Smith’s throat around 5:40 a.m.

According to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Brown and Smith knew each other, though the exact nature of their relationship has not been identified.

Brown was charged with first-degree murder.

On Feb. 24, Brown’s defense attorney filed a motion for a competency hearing, saying that the defendant “exhibited an abnormal thought process, stated he had been ‘hearing voices,'” and “appeared to respond to outside stimuli that were not present in reality.”

Charles Kenville, Brown’s defense attorney, said Brown was hospitalized for chronic schizophrenia in Oregon from October 2019 to February 2020 and has a longstanding history of illness with the disorder.

District Court Judge Gregg Rosenbladt then ordered that all proceedings in the case be suspended pending evaluation of the defendant’s competency.

According to Kenville, Brown was evaluated via Zoom by staff from the Iowa Medical and Classification Center (Oakdale), who found that Brown is suffering from a mental disorder preventing him from understanding the proceedings and assisting in his own defense.

The issue of a defendant’s competency to stand trial is not related to any potential insanity defense that may be used during the trial.

In a hearing on Friday, Rosenbladt ordered that Brown is not competent to stand trial at this time and proceedings in the case will remain suspended until his restoration of competency.

Iowa Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown noted that it’s going to be “several months” before Lukouxs Brown can be admitted to the IMCC due to COVID-19 restrictions and limited space at the facility. He said the current estimate is about four-to-six months.

Lukouxs Brown will remain at the Wright County Jail until he can be admitted to the IMCC.

Rosenbladt ordered that once Lukouxs Brown is admitted to the IMCC, the facility is “directed to provide any medical treatment necessary to defendant in order to restore competency, including the prescribing and administering of medications necessary and appropriate to treat defendant’s illness, even if it is against defendant’s will.”

The IMCC will also provide a written status report within 30 days of Lukouxs Brown’s placement, and then progress reports every 60 days until competency is restored.