DATE: Wednesday, April 16, 1997             TAG: 9704160483

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   61 lines

JUDGE SENDS INCOMPETENT DEFENDANT HOME

Roger Lee Vann, who has been in jail since he was charged with beating his father to death last summer, got his wish Tuesday: He ate with his family.

His relatives - the only people he's ever harmed - took him home after a court hearing, because there was no other place for him to go.

Judge Alfreda Talton Harris ruled Tuesday in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court that Vann, 41, was not competent to stand trial. And there was little hope that he could ever be brought to competency.

With an IQ of 55 and a first-grade education, Vann is retarded, witnesses testified. His mother said later that his brain was damaged by a high fever when he was a year old. But he's not mentally ill, or he'd be committed to a state mental hospital.

``The system is just not equipped to handle this type of situation,'' said Dr. Rex Walker, a psychologist for Western Tidewater Mental Health Center.

Harris said law required her to release Vann, commit him to a mental hospital, or certify him for trial.

``I have no other choice but to release him,'' she said.

After the family stopped at Long John Silver's to pick up some shrimp Tuesday evening, Vann's mother, Ollie Vann, said by phone that she was happy to have her son back.

``I tell you, I need him here,'' she said. ``My heart has lifted.''

In court Tuesday, Vann, his salt-and-pepper hair disheveled, had occasionally whispered to defense attorney Patricia Cannon and smiled. Several times, he looked up at a witness, but most of the time he just stared in front of him as witnesses described his limitations.

They testified he couldn't read or remember a list of three words. He knew he lived on Carolina Road, but didn't know what state he lived in.

Charged with first degree murder, he couldn't remember that his father was dead. He didn't understand the role of lawyers but knew the judge would decide whether he would stay in jail or go home with his mother.

``I really don't think he can weigh the issues and make an intelligent decision,'' said Dr. Paul Mansheim, a psychiatrist.

But because of his history of aggression - including an earlier attack on his brother, Walter Vann Jr. - he wasn't a candidate for a training center.

A 1989 charge of malicious wounding was not prosecuted.

``I understand that nobody wants him on the street,'' Harris said. ``He's a danger to his family, but who else is going to keep him? Nobody, but his family.''

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jo Anne Spencer said officials had not tried hard enough to make Vann capable of standing trial.

``We're trying to hold this man accountable for the murder of his father,'' she said.

James L. McLemore III, who had been appointed Vann's guardian during the court proceedings, kept searching for another option.

``He's fallen through the cracks,'' McLemore said.

The judge agreed.

``We don't have any community services available,'' Harris said. ``So it's back to the family. No one likes that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Walter Vann was beaten to death, allegedly by his son, who has

``fallen through the cracks,'' the son's guardian says. KEYWORDS: MURDER ASSAULT RELEASE <

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