 Jason Dalton (Photo: Associated Press) 
 
 Kalamazoo — A Kalamazoo County judge ruled Friday that an Uber driver charged with killing six people is mentally fit to stand trial. Dalton, shackled and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, attended the hearing but didn’t say anything. He is accused of shooting eight people, including the six who were killed, in three incidents over a five-hour period Feb. 20. District Judge Tiffany Ankley made the ruling after receiving the results of a psychological exam from the state Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ann Arbor. Killed in the attacks were Mary Lou Nye, 62, of Baroda; Richard Smith, 53, and his son Tyler, 17, of Mattawan; and Mary Jo Nye, 60, Dorothy “Judy” Brown, 74, and Barbara Hawthorne, 68, all of Battle Creek. Widow Laurie Smith and other relatives of the Smith family filled the courtroom for Friday’s hearing. “Competency is a determination by the court and the court alone,” she said. The other two victims, Abigail Kopf, 14, and Tiana Carruthers, 25, are recovering from their injuries. “The (competency exam) process isn’t to determine whether he’s guilty or not guilty,” Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said after the hearing. INSIDE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION 
 
 According to the psychological evaluation released to 24 Hour News 8 Friday, Dalton said during the shootings, “It almost seemed like my phone could control me.” The statement is consistent with previous reports that Dalton told police he started shooting after a “devil” in his Uber app took over his body. The findings of the mental competency exam pertain only to Dalton’s current state of mind, not to what he was thinking during the alleged shooting. Dalton, who is being held without bond in the Kalamazoo County Jail, is facing 16 charges, including six murder counts. But he withdrew the motion after Getting said he didn’t plan to use the statements in the preliminary hearing.
– The former Uber driver accused of killing six people during a shooting rampage in Kalamazoo has been cleared to stand trial. A judge ruled Friday that Jason Dalton is mentally competent after she received the results of a psychological exam that found he understands the charges and can assist with his defense. As the Detroit News notes, the exam only declares him mentally fit now and does not prevent him from claiming he was temporarily insane at the time of the shooting spree in February. In a press conference after Friday's competency hearing, the county prosecutor said no plea deal will be offered to Dalton, WOOD-TV reports.