Hippensteel
A homeless man accused of murder who has appeared oblivious to his surroundings during two Bartholomew Circuit Court hearings has been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Corbin W. Hippensteel, 31, who gave his address as homeless to investigators, was charged in the Nov. 27, 2023 shooting death of Alejandro Flores, 54. The victim died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head at 2630 Joseph Cox Court, where Hippensteel had been staying with his grandfather, according to court records.
When brought before Judge Kelly Benjamin for a Dec. 4 initial hearing, Hippensteel was largely silent and unresponsive. A deputy had to pull up the defendant by the arm, walk him to the defense table and assist with lowering him into his seat.
After the only thing Hippensteel told the judge during questioning was his name, Benjamin postponed the hearing for four days.
On Dec. 8, the defendant initially appeared more lucid. He walked ahead of his guards into the courtroom and chuckled at a comment another defendant whispered to him.
But the moment public defender Joseph Villanueva approached him for a consultation, Hippensteel became unresponsive again and appeared to fall asleep in his chair.
On Dec. 20, the court ordered that Hippensteel be examined by two psychiatrists: Dr. George Parker of Indianapolis and Dr. Stephanie Callaway of the Veterans’ Administration Medical Center. Parker submitted his evaluation on Feb. 5, while Callaway’s findings were received by the court on March 11.
Shortly after both psychiatric reports were received, the prosecution and defense agreed that Hippensteel was not competent to stand trial. After issuing a commitment order, Benjamin ordered that Hippensteel be sent to the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction to begin competency restoration efforts.
Competency restoration can include medication or other treatments, according to state guidelines. The defendant also receives legal education to teach them the court proceedings.
Indiana law states his treatment will continue for up to six months. But if there is still no improvement after that time, the defendant could be indefinitely committed to a mental health facility.
Columbus police said they first became aware of the afternoon shooting after responding to a 911 call made by the defendant’s grandfather, Danny W. Sanders. When first responders arrived, they found the victim in a chair with multiple gunshot wounds to the head, a probable cause affidavit states.
“Sanders advised that Hippensteel has mental health issues and believed he had been drinking liquor since (Nov. 26) due to finding an almost empty half gallon,” a CPD detective wrote in the probable cause affidavit.
The grandfather told the officer that Hippensteel had been ranting and raving all day. Sanders advised that his friend Alex (Flores) had come over to visit that evening and had only been there about 5 or 10 minutes when Hippensteel came out of a back room.
There was a conversation between Flores and Hippensteel, but no argument before Hippensteel suddenly threatened to shoot Flores in the head and pulled a revolver from his pocket, Sanders told investigators.
Sanders advised that he heard a ‘click’ as if the trigger had been pulled, and began to yell at Hippensteel that he should not have a gun and to get out of the house. The grandfather said that as he started to move toward the defendant, Flores was shot for the first time, the affidavit states.
Sanders was running from his home when he heard additional shots, according to a police report. But when he heard his grandson yelling for him, he ran to a stranger’s house to call 911, police reports state.
Officers found Hippensteel a short time later walking in the mobile home park and arrested him without incident, police said.
On Nov. 28, investigators executed a search warrant and found a .22 revolver between the bed mattresses, as well as empty shell casings and unspent rounds in the room where Hippensteel had been staying, the affidavit states. The same type of ammunition was discovered in a tent believed to belong to the defendant at a nearby homeless camp, the court document states.
