Ex-Turnstile Guitarist Brady Ebert Ordered To Undergo Competency Evaluation Before Attempted Murder Trial

For the past few months, former Turnstile guitarist Brady Ebert has been held without bail at the he Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds, Maryland. Ebert is being charged with attempted murder after allegedly using his car to intentionally run over 79-year-old William Yates, the father of Turnstile singer Brendan Yates. Before he can face trial, though, a judge has ordered that Ebert needs to undergo an evaluation to see whether he's competent to participate in that trial.The Baltimore Banner reports that Brady Ebert's attorney raised questions about his competency in a court hearing on Thursday. Mark Sobel, Ebert's lawyer, told Circuit Judge Eric Johnson that he has "significant concerns regarding competency." Ebert disagreed, arguing that he's "perfectly competent" and that he committed no crimes, claiming that he plans to file charges against police officers, prosecutors, and his own defense lawyers. When the judge told Ebert that he has "a very good attorney," Ebert replied, "No, he's not. I'm going to fire him." Shortly after his arrest, Brady Ebert reportedly told court commissioners that he acted out of "pure self-defense," claiming that he "was straight-up attacked." In yesterday's hearing, Ebert, appearing in a green prison jumpsuit, reportedly told the judge, "Every part of the police report is a lie... We can watch the video right now and prove my innocence. I did not commit a crime." He also said that he believes his current attorney is working with prosecutors and that his previous lawyer might've accepted a bribe.A competency evaluation is a formal assessment to figure out whether someone facing prosecution can properly understand the charges against them and assist in their own defense. If they are not ruled competent to face trial, they must go through a process of competency restoration, which involves treatment and education and which often result in longer periods of incarceration. The judge on this case ordered one for Ebert, with a status hearing scheduled for Sep. 22.Ebert was arrested and charged in April. He and Brendan Yates were childhood friends for formed Turnstile together in 2010, and Ebert co-wrote and played on Turnstile's first three albums, including 2021's massive Glow On. In a statement that they shared after Ebert's arrest, Turnstile said that they fired him "in response to a consistent pattern of harmful behavior affecting himself, the band, and the community" and that he resorted to threats of violence afterwards. Before his arrest, Ebert was kicked out of the S.E.T., another hardcore band that he co-founded, for making disparaging statements about Turnstile. After his arrest, he was removed from another nascent band called Experience.